In today’s edition of Gazeta Prawna, an article by Monika Żuraw, PhD entitled The recipient of the advertisement is (not always) a reasonable and critical customer. It contains a commentary to the verdict of the Łódź Court of Appeal of 12 September 2018 (case no. I ACa 216/18) regarding the advertising of the dietary supplement. The decision was issued on the basis of art. 16 of the Act on Combating Unfair Competition, i.e. misleading advertising. The content of the article can be found in the link below (Polish version):

https://edgp.gazetaprawna.pl/e-wydanie/56290,19-marca-2019/67277,Gazeta-Prawna/690790,Odbiorca-reklamy-to-(nie-zawsze)-klient-rozsadny-i-krytyczny.html

The author analyzes the judgement in the scope in which the court interpreted the applied provisions, in particular the client’s model, from which the legality of advertising is assessed in Polish law. She notes that  courts should take into account the type of the product being advertised, and the standards for verifying the accuracy of advertising slogans and the lack of confusion should be higher for certain categories of goods. Supplement clients may not always identify the exaggeration language acceptable in advertisements, and they will seek reliable information about the product.

The article also contains critical remarks regarding the dismissal of the claim for the publication of an apology for the infringement, which the court considered to play the role of only removing the effects of the infringement. One can not agree with the view that the passage of time from the cessation of the violation should decide about the lack of having an interest in obtaining protection in this form.