Prof. Ryszard Markiewicz for Prawo.pl: Shoes in Copyright Law

Another article by Professor Ryszard Markiewicz has appeared on the Prawo.pl website.

Quoting the author: “I was inspired to write the article, entitled “Shoes in Copyright Law”, by a shoe from a salt mine displayed in the office of a friend of mine, who is also known for his excellent photo albums. The descriptions of lawsuits concerning shoes and sandals provided a pretext for a few, somewhat banal, observations. Firstly, it can be observed that in lawsuits concerning consumer goods, the plaintiff cautiously raises all theoretically possible grounds for protection, usually including the allegation of copyright infringement, regardless of the actual chances of its being upheld. Secondly, industrial design disputes clearly demonstrate that the criteria for determining the characteristics of a work are rather vague, as is their application. Furthermore, across the EU countries, despite the common principles for determining the existence of a work, there are fundamental differences in the “rigor” of the assessment of whether a given product already meets the required degree of creativity. Thirdly, it seems that in the case of industrial designs, allowing for the cumulative application of their protection under the provisions on works, trademarks, and industrial designs often leads to the abuse of the function of copyright protection – it is particularly long and restrictive, due to this right being angled towards other types of creation and other interests that deserve protection.”