A member of the Ceramic Brotherhood and owner of the Ceramics Centre on Kościuszki Street in Bolesławiec Bogusław Tyrcz called us. He informed us that the Brotherhood had decided to warn customers of Vena, which—as Bolesławiec’s ceramic makers stress—sells products that are copies of Bolesławiec ceramics.
Bogusław Tyrcz even hung a warning banner by Vena’s company store—in three languages—telling potential customers that they were dealing with a copy. Company employees took the banner down and hid it last week. Bogusław Tyrcz became so angry that he struck the stairs in front of the competitor’s store with a hammer.
The police were called to the scene, but it turned out that... the stairs were on the Bolesławiec ceramic maker’s property. He also owns the place where the aforementioned banner hung—and hangs again now.
What irritated the businessman so much? The fact that Vena sells ceramic products which, incidentally, are manufactured in Brzeg, as Bolesławiec ceramics. It advertises and sells them abroad in the same way—to the USA, Korea, China and Japan.
The owner believes that Vena is actually exploiting him. The Bolesławiec Ceramic Brotherhood has asked the European Union to recognise Bolesławiec ceramics as a regional product, which is intended to curb such practices.
We received the following statement from the Ceramic Brotherhood through B. Tyrcz:
On behalf of the Ceramic Brotherhood, and in defence of the national heritage that Bolesławiec Ceramics undoubtedly is, we express our opposition to the unfair trading practices of Vena from Brzeg. The company uses the symbols of the city of Bolesławiec and, under the guise of the name Bolesłavianka, sells its products and knowingly misleads our customers. In accordance with the statutes of the Ceramic Brotherhood, the origin of Bolesławiec ceramics is confirmed by the boundaries shown on the map of Bolesławiec County.
The production of ceramic goods is permitted for any entity, but the name itself is protected at the Polish Patent Office. Using this good name harms the pottery traditions of our community; therefore, we will take appropriate legal and informational steps.
Yours sincerely
Ceramic Brotherhood
Vena, in turn, put a statement on the store door:
We hereby inform you that the defamatory poster hanging in front of our store entrance and the damaged stairs are the actions of UNFAIR COMPETITION.
Statement by Sławomir Bednarczyk, president of Vena
Vena Ewa Walczak was established in 2005. The company’s owner comes from Bolesławiec and worked at the Ceramic Works for almost two years; after moving to Brzeg, she and her husband launched a company producing ceramics. Step by step, the company expanded its range with more decorations created by Ewa, as well as additional shapes, and gained its first customers from Bolesławiec and the surrounding area, followed by customers abroad.
In 2007, the company rented a store at 24 Kościuszki Street in Bolesławiec, where it began retail sales while continuing to supply wholesale customers from Bolesławiec.
At the end of 2008, the company was transformed into a limited liability company under the name Ceramika Artystyczna Vena, based in Brzeg.
The company then developed dynamically, and Vena products became increasingly popular both on the domestic and foreign markets.
In 2012, taking advantage of an opportunity, the company bought the store it had previously rented from its former owner, while Mr Tyrcz acquired the remaining part of the building.
As interest in Vena ceramics grew, the store and its location became a popular destination for tourists and traders visiting Bolesławiec from Poland and abroad. The place became even more popular after the building was renovated and additional ceramics stores opened next to Vena’s store.
During the Ceramics Festival, crowds of customers wishing to buy ceramics not only from Vena but also from other manufacturers pass through not only the market square but also Kościuszki Street.
After several years of relatively proper functioning as neighbours, Mr Tyrcz began applying increasing pressure, seeking to interfere in Vena’s advertising and promotional activities.
He often visited the store, commenting on Vena’s pricing, promotional and image policies.
The turning point came last year, when Vena placed an advertising banner on the wall belonging to the company’s store. Mr Tyrcz was very dissatisfied that the banner had been hung without consulting him about its content and became increasingly demanding toward Vena. Among other things, he threatened to destroy the stairs leading to the store, which belong to Vena but lie on Mr Tyrcz’s road, over which Vena has a registered right of way, if Vena did not change the banner’s content. The stairs had always been located there and had caused no problems for many years. The banner at the centre of the dispute contains photographs of products manufactured by us.
At Vena’s initiative, with the company seeking to resolve the dispute amicably, a meeting was organised at a law office in Bolesławiec. Mr Tyrcz attended with his lawyer, as did Vena’s management board with its lawyer. After negotiations, terms for continuing operations were agreed, including special financial compensation for Mr Tyrcz and a number of compromise arrangements concerning use of the premises. It quickly became clear that Mr Tyrcz broke the agreement almost immediately.
On 11 June, Mr Tyrcz placed a banner on the wall of Vena’s store containing false information about our company. Because the wall was damaged and the company consequently suffered property losses, the police were notified on 12 June and made an appropriate note. The banner was removed and secured, with particular care taken not to damage it. When Mr Tyrcz learned of this, he came to Vena’s store holding a hammer, frightened the staff and customers present, and demanded that the banner be handed over. He refused to sign a receipt for it and, after store employees told him that the banner would be released once such a receipt had been signed, began destroying the stairs with the hammer. Store employees immediately called the police, who arrived fairly quickly; however, Mr Tyrcz had already damaged the tiles on the stairs leading to the store. The police officers who arrived stopped Mr Tyrcz from causing further damage and questioned the employees and the perpetrator. The banner was returned, but Mr Tyrcz refused to sign a receipt for it. After receiving the banner, he hung it up again, threatening that if Vena removed it, he would completely destroy the stairs. To prevent the dispute from escalating and out of concern for the health of employees and customers, although the banner had again been hung on the store wall, the company refrained from taking it down.
The company is currently preparing the appropriate reports and applications, which will be submitted to the police and the court. The company has photographic and video material confirming the events described.
Vena’s management board declares that the company has conducted its business transparently throughout its entire operation. The company’s customers often visit its headquarters in Brzeg. All advertising and informational materials, including websites and social media, provide information about the company’s headquarters and the locations of its sales outlets. On its products, the company places only the legally protected marks belonging to Vena under the names “Vena” and “Bolesławianka”, and, where applicable, the distributor’s marks.
All decorations placed on the products were created within the company by its shareholder, Ewa Walczak. The company also decorates a small number of products with “dots” and “mosquitoes”—decorations also used by other ceramic manufacturers. Vena’s brand and products are valued by customers around the world, which also positively affects the overall positive reputation enjoyed by ceramics and the region.
The company regrets that Mr Tyrcz’s actions are hurtful and entirely unjustified. The company has never sought or provoked any dispute. It has not engaged in unethical or anti-market activities intended to discredit the competition. Nor has it taken actions that would violate the principles of fair competition through aggressive pricing or promotional practices. Vena products maintain the highest quality. The company also cares about the positive image of the company, its ceramics and the region through a high level of service for both retail and wholesale customers. In the company’s view, such actions strengthen the credibility not only of the company itself but also of Polish ceramics and the region.
Ultimately, customers are the best judges of a company’s actions, and they decide whether and which products they want to buy.
The company also regrets that, during such a difficult time associated with the coronavirus epidemic, instead of trying together to get through the period with mutual support, it encountered such unethical and unjustified actions. The company believes that healthy competition consists of competing through product quality, design and customer service—not through destroying property and defaming competitors.
Vena has never engaged in such practices and does not intend to do so. Nevertheless, in order to protect its good name and image, the company will pursue its rights through legal action.
Update: 2020-06-16 16:30
We received one more statement from the Ceramic Brotherhood:
It is not the case that the Brotherhood is waging war against anyone. As the Brotherhood, we do not support the forceful measures taken by Mr Tyrcz. We do not support them and never have. We cannot prohibit anyone from producing ceramic goods similar to Bolesławiec ceramics; our concern is unfair trading practices, because the similar name “Ceramika Bolesławianka” on Vena’s company stamp is not accidental. The company also uses the phrase “ceramika bolesławiec” on its website.
The quotation from the statement—“the origin of Bolesławiec ceramics is confirmed by the boundaries shown on the map of Bolesławiec County”—refers to Brotherhood members and companies seeking membership in the Brotherhood.
The Brotherhood adds that if one enters the phrase “ceramika bolesławiec” into Google (the most popular search term in this industry), Vena can be found on the second page of results, and the following text appears beneath the link: “Vena is hand-painted ceramic tableware from Bolesławiec.” (We checked, and that is indeed the case.)
