On 19 April 2004 the Polish company Browar AMBER Andrzej Przybylo from Bielkówko applied for two word-figurative trade marks HANZA PILSENER (Z-279466) and PRIVAT BRAUEREI EST 1664 HANZA PILSENER EXPORT PREMIUM BIER (Z-279465). However, the Polish Patent Office was not able to grant them because there existed an earlier registration for the word trade mark HANSA (R-77233), first applied for on 30 December 1991 by German company Dortmunder Actien-Brauerei Aktiengesellschaft for goods in class 32 (beer). The right of protection was granted by the PPO on 3 March 1994.

Browar AMBER filed before the PPO a request to issue a decision on the lapse of the right of protection for the HANSA trade mark. The request was based on article 169(1)(i) of the Polish Act of 30 June 2000 on Industrial Property Law (ustawa Prawo wlasnosci przemyslowej z dnia 30 czerwca 2000 r.) published in Dziennik Ustaw 2001 No 49, pos. 508, consolidated text on 13 June 2003, Dziennik Ustaw No 119, pos. 1117, with later changes:

1. The right of protection for a trade mark shall also lapse:
(i) on failure to put to genuine use of the registered trade mark for the goods covered by the registration for a period of five successive years after a decision on the grant of a right of protection has been taken, unless serious reasons of non-use thereof exist,