Case 1:
A rival company is “poaching” my staff. Is it possible to pursue legal action in such situations? How can I protect myself?
Answer:
The primary safeguard for your business against staff being poached by a rival company is to include appropriate non-competition clauses in contracts. THIS MUST BE IN WRITING!
Importantly, a non-competition agreement may be concluded not only with a prospective employee but also with a current employee (refusal to agree may justify termination of the employment contract). THIS APPLIES TO EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS, BUT ALSO TO CONTRACTS FOR SERVICES AND CONTRACTS FOR SPECIFIC WORK
If the employer suffers loss as a result of an employee breaching the non-competition clause set out in the contract, the employer may claim compensation for that loss from the employee. However, the employer is obliged to demonstrate the circumstances justifying the employee’s liability and the extent of the damage incurred.
2. Case:
I have learnt that employees of a rival company are posting unfavourable and untrue information about my business online. What can I do?
Answer:
Firstly, it should be noted that defaming the company online constitutes a violation of our company’s personal rights.
You should then contact the administrator of the website on which the offensive post has been published, sending a letter informing them of its unlawful nature and requesting its removal.
IF THE ADMINISTRATOR FAILS TO RESPOND, YOU MAY CONSIDER INITIATING CIVIL PROCEEDINGS.
Remember that you will have to bear the costs of court fees and have the obligation to prove (based on relevant facts) that the online post is untrue and defamatory.
Another way to protect our rights is to initiate criminal proceedings, as publishing defamatory posts online constitutes the offence of defamation. In this case, however, the assessment of whether a post is defamatory does not depend on our subjective feelings but on objective criteria, i.e. the feelings of others (public perception).
3. Case:
I have noticed that a newly established paving company in my town has a logo that closely resembles mine. The name is also similar. What should I do first?
Answer:
The steps we take to protect our logo depend on whether the graphic or word mark in question has previously been registered as a trade mark, which constitutes the strongest possible form of protection, or not.
If our logo has not been registered, it is possible to make use of legal provisions from:
I. copyright law – condition: the logo must be recognised as a work (creative and individual in nature)
II. the Act on Combating Unfair Competition – condition: demonstrating that we were the first on the market to use the specific logo (from what date, in what territory).
In view of the above, in order to protect our rights, we should first issue a pre-litigation cease-and-desist notice, citing the relevant legal provisions, with the proviso that, in the absence of a response, the matter will be referred to the courts.
