On October 30, 2013, Poznań Regional Court issued a judgment in the case No. IX GC 928/11, which validly terminated the proceedings in a case brought by the European football federation against the national agency of the MICE (Meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) sector, dismissing the claim in its most part – 7/8 of the dispute.
The plaintiff pursued a number of claims in the field of industrial and intellectual property, and under the Act on Combating Unfair Competition, based on the assertion that the sale of services enabling access to matches of the European Football Championship, and organising events related to the European Championship by entities other than the organiser infringes a number of rights of the organiser, and at the same time it demanded, among other things, awarding return of unlawfully gained benefits, payment of damages, publication of the judgment, cessation of infringement, removal of effects of infringement.
The defendant presented a different view, which was successfully defended by Aleksandera Sobczyńska, attorney-at-law, indicating that regulations of ticket sales developed by the Federation must not constitute a source of law applicable in Poland, therefore offering tourist services, ensuring participation in European Championship events by other entities, on the basis of valid and legally purchased tickets for the Championship matches does not infringe the rights of the organisers and does not constitute unfair competition. She also referred to a number of conditions determining pursuing of claims by the plaintiff, which were not proven, such as the lack of threat of injury, the lack of effects of the alleged infringement, failure to demonstrate actual prejudice suffered, the lack of a causal relationship between the action of the defendant and possible damage.