According to “Rzeczpospolita”, on April 24, a verdict was passed in the case regarding the rights to the image of Stanisław Marusarz. The lawsuit was brought by the family of the athlete who died in 1993. His image in a highlander costume with the Tatra Mountains in the background was featured on the labels of moonshine, slivovitz and vodka, sold in stores and online. The bottles also bore the surname Marusarz, which – like the ski jumper – is also the name of the alcohol producer. A dispute broke out in court over image rights between the family and the entrepreneur.
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The image of an athlete on alcohol bottles. “Arouses outrage”
The District Court in Katowice, Intellectual Property Division, ordered Andrzej Marusarz to stop using the trademark registered in the Patent Office with the image of a ski jumper and the inscription “Marusarz”. The entrepreneur must also pay PLN 25,000. PLN to the Stanisław Marusarz Foundation from Zakopane and bear court costs – reports “Rzeczpospolita”. The judgment is not yet final.
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As Stanisław Piotr Marusarz, the ski jumper's son, told the newspaper, the family had previously asked the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland to withdraw the alcohol manufacturer's trademark with the name Marusarz and the athlete's drawing (the mark was protected in 2023). However, the office rejected the application, and the family's representative filed a complaint against this decision. The complaint was accompanied by letters including: from the principals of two schools named after Stanisław Marusarz. They stated, among other things, that “the use of the trademark in question, especially in the context of alcoholic beverages, raises outrage and reservations on the part of institutions honoring the memory of Stanisław Marusarz.”
According to the athlete's family, the registration of the controversial trademark “harms the honor, dignity and respect that should be shown to a famous athlete with great achievements.” […]and also that the trademark was submitted “in bad faith” and “is contrary to good customs” – quotes “Rzeczpospolita”.
The similarity of the names of the athlete and the entrepreneur is accidental. Marusarz is a popular surname in Podhale, and the producer of alcohol (and other products) has been running its business there for years, branding it with its own name – as the entrepreneur's representative explained to “Rz”.
