Currency
One SA, a Polish online currency exchange provider, has announced plans to
appeal a recent court ruling related to an ongoing legal dispute with its competitor, Cinkciarz.pl, part of Conotoxia Holding. The case has been ongoing since October 2013 and
involves alleged keyword manipulation leading to increased online ad visibility
for Currency One.
As Finance
Magnates reported yesterday (Tuesday), the court decided that Cinkciarz.pl
should receive monetary compensation of PLN 2 million (EUR 440,000) from
Currency One. However, the verdict is not final and Currency One intends to
appeal the court’s decision.
The dispute
revolves around the use of keywords that would trigger the appearance of
Currency One’s advertisements in Google searches. The keyword in question is ‘cinkciarz’:
a Polish term also used in Cinkciarz. pl’s brand name. ‘Cinkciarz’ was a person
who, during the communist era, engaged in the illegal exchange of PLN for
foreign currencies that were not officially in circulation.
In the
lawsuit, Cinkciarz.pl argued that the term ‘cinkciarz’ is no longer in widespread use. They stated that Currency One, by using this term as a keyword to position itself in search results, negatively impacted Cinkciarz.pl’s business. The implication here is that Currency One leveraged a term closely associated with its competitor to gain an unfair advantage in search engine visibility.
However, Currency One maintains that ‘cinkciarz’ is a word that many people still associate with currency exchange
and should not be treated as a trademark.
“The
possibility of influencing the display of ads in this way remains disputable.
It can be said that so far there has not been a final ruling in Poland
concerning contextual advertising in the Google Ads system that would give a
clear signal to the industry,” Przemysław Szmidt, a Senior Lawyer at
Filipiak Babicz Legal, commented in a press release sent to Finance Magnates.
The
allegations date back to the period between 2011 and 2013, before the merger of
Walutomat and InternetowyKantor.pl, the two independent entities now forming
Currency One. Back then, the companies had distinct ownership. In 2018, the
entities merged to become Currency One under new ownership.
“The
change of ownership of the Company took place in 2018, i.e., 5 years after the
events that were the subject of the case,” Maciej Przygórzewski, the Head of
Operations at Currency One, explained.
Currency
One emphasized that the current leadership had no involvement with the
advertising activities that occurred over a decade ago. The company views the
lawsuit as more of a PR move, given the claim’s amount far surpasses the
financial performance of the company at that time.
“We
should remember that the court found that the Cinkciarz.pl trademark was not
reputable at the time when the dispute arose – as the plaintiff wanted,”
Bartosz Jóżwiak, an attorney for Currency One, commented. “On the other
hand, the issue of whether such use of elements of a trademark is unfair or
creates a risk of confusion for the recipients is the subject of lively debate
in many jurisdictions, and the rulings are not clear-cut.”
Currency One Will Appeal
Currency
One has underscored that its advertising campaign was not intended to imitate
Cinkciarz.pl, but to present a comparable offer from an identifiable
competitor.
Marcin
Rogalski, Head of Business Intelligence at Currency One noted that his company
cooperated with legal experts, who were granted access to the analytical
systems and data. This enabled a more efficient conclusion of the initial
proceedings and allowed for a more precise evaluation of the competitor’s
claims.
The court
awarded approximately PLN 2.2 million related to a group of clients acquired
between 2011 and 2013. Currency One disagrees with the primary points of the
judgment’s rationale and has announced plans to appeal the ruling.
Currency
One SA, a Polish online currency exchange provider, has announced plans to
appeal a recent court ruling related to an ongoing legal dispute with its competitor, Cinkciarz.pl, part of Conotoxia Holding. The case has been ongoing since October 2013 and
involves alleged keyword manipulation leading to increased online ad visibility
for Currency One.
As Finance
Magnates reported yesterday (Tuesday), the court decided that Cinkciarz.pl
should receive monetary compensation of PLN 2 million (EUR 440,000) from
Currency One. However, the verdict is not final and Currency One intends to
appeal the court’s decision.
The dispute
revolves around the use of keywords that would trigger the appearance of
Currency One’s advertisements in Google searches. The keyword in question is ‘cinkciarz’:
a Polish term also used in Cinkciarz. pl’s brand name. ‘Cinkciarz’ was a person
who, during the communist era, engaged in the illegal exchange of PLN for
foreign currencies that were not officially in circulation.
In the
lawsuit, Cinkciarz.pl argued that the term ‘cinkciarz’ is no longer in widespread use. They stated that Currency One, by using this term as a keyword to position itself in search results, negatively impacted Cinkciarz.pl’s business. The implication here is that Currency One leveraged a term closely associated with its competitor to gain an unfair advantage in search engine visibility.
However, Currency One maintains that ‘cinkciarz’ is a word that many people still associate with currency exchange
and should not be treated as a trademark.
“The
possibility of influencing the display of ads in this way remains disputable.
It can be said that so far there has not been a final ruling in Poland
concerning contextual advertising in the Google Ads system that would give a
clear signal to the industry,” Przemysław Szmidt, a Senior Lawyer at
Filipiak Babicz Legal, commented in a press release sent to Finance Magnates.
The
allegations date back to the period between 2011 and 2013, before the merger of
Walutomat and InternetowyKantor.pl, the two independent entities now forming
Currency One. Back then, the companies had distinct ownership. In 2018, the
entities merged to become Currency One under new ownership.
“The
change of ownership of the Company took place in 2018, i.e., 5 years after the
events that were the subject of the case,” Maciej Przygórzewski, the Head of
Operations at Currency One, explained.
Currency
One emphasized that the current leadership had no involvement with the
advertising activities that occurred over a decade ago. The company views the
lawsuit as more of a PR move, given the claim’s amount far surpasses the
financial performance of the company at that time.
“We
should remember that the court found that the Cinkciarz.pl trademark was not
reputable at the time when the dispute arose – as the plaintiff wanted,”
Bartosz Jóżwiak, an attorney for Currency One, commented. “On the other
hand, the issue of whether such use of elements of a trademark is unfair or
creates a risk of confusion for the recipients is the subject of lively debate
in many jurisdictions, and the rulings are not clear-cut.”
Currency One Will Appeal
Currency
One has underscored that its advertising campaign was not intended to imitate
Cinkciarz.pl, but to present a comparable offer from an identifiable
competitor.
Marcin
Rogalski, Head of Business Intelligence at Currency One noted that his company
cooperated with legal experts, who were granted access to the analytical
systems and data. This enabled a more efficient conclusion of the initial
proceedings and allowed for a more precise evaluation of the competitor’s
claims.
The court
awarded approximately PLN 2.2 million related to a group of clients acquired
between 2011 and 2013. Currency One disagrees with the primary points of the
judgment’s rationale and has announced plans to appeal the ruling.
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- Source: https://www.financemagnates.com//fintech/currency-one-challenges-cinkciarzpls-court-victory-with-planned-appeal/
