The Warsaw Court of Appeal in a judgment case file I ACa 1270/10, decided a dispute between the Croatian Podravka (and its Polish filia – Podravka Polska), and Hungarian company Marina Maziarny which produces the equivalent of the Podravka’s spice called Węgierska Virgin Przyprawka.

Podravka argued that Marina Maziarny use trade marks that are similar to those used by Podravka in Poland for almost 20 years. Marina Maziarny argued that Croatians’s claims might have had, had long expired, pursuant to Polish regulations on combating unfair competition. The limitation for the unfair competition claims arising under the Act shall be 3 years. The Court held that failure to enforce one’s trademark protection can lead not only to the expiration of the protection right but even to an entire forfeiture of the right and decided that this aspect of the case should be remanded for more thorough investigation.