The Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita in a recent article reports two judgments of the District Administrative Court in Warsaw (act signature VII SA/Wa 1449/08 and 1450/08) regarding legal rules for building billboards. This issue does not concern trade marks directly, but may be helpful for Class46 readers to understand nuances of Polish law.

Jet Line is a company which specializes in installing large advertising billboards. The company has reported to the governor of Zachodniopomorskie province that it intends to erect two billboards at the port of Szczecin. The Governor has made an opposition which was also upheld by the The General Inspector of Building Control (GIBC). In GIBC's opinion, billboards are constructions which, because of its size and being permanently linked to the ground, require a building permit as it is required by the Polish law (article 28 of Building Law Act of 7 June 1994 - BLA). The company appealed this decision claiming that it is inconsistent with article 29(2)(6) of BLA:

The building permit is not required for installation of advertising boards and equipment, except those located on structures listed as national monuments under the provisions on the protection of monuments and the care of monuments, and with the exception of light and illuminated advertisings located outside built-up areas within the meaning of the rules on road traffic