Which entrepreneur does not dream about their last name becoming
such a recognizable brand as Chanel or Gucci, or to mention
examples from the Polish domestic market – Blikle or Grycan?
The use of a recognizable last name of the company's founder is
a common marketing practice. So how to obtain legal protection for
the last name which is deemed to be a distinguishing mark of a
particular company?
It has been until quite recently that the legislator did not
mention directly the last name as a category of a trademark, which
might have been the reason for some controversies over the
possibility of its registration. However, the circumstances have
substantially changed as a result of the most recent amendments to
the Polish Law on Industrial Property responding to the requirement
of harmonization of the national provisions to the Regulation on
the Trademark of the European Union. Currently, the legislator
mentions two criteria which must be fulfilled by the last name
