Restrictive regulations in Poland regarding advertising of
alcoholic beverages create numerous problems for the alcohol
industry. In principle, alcohol cannot be advertised. Beer is
treated exceptionally, advertising of beer is permitted but it is
subject to significant restrictions.
The Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) verdict brings new
explanations in the context of the so called "Beer tax".
It is an established standpoint of administrative courts,
that action aimed at public dissemination of trademarks of
alcoholic beverages is considered to be advertising. In this
particular case the SAC had to make a decision whether placing a
beer logo on distributors' glasses and washers for those
glasses constitutes a provision of advertising services by the
claimant. In the SAC opinion, such activity constitutes advertising
services. The SAC in its ruling explicitly stated that any
reproduction of the beer trademark or graphic symbols associated
with it, as well as the
