Poland

GENERAL INFORMATION

Area: 312,696 sq. km.

Population: 37,636,508 (2023).

Capital: Warsaw.

Language: Polish.

Currency: Zlotys.

 

 

GENERAL REMARKS

Member of the European Union as of May 1, 2004.

 

 

PATENTS OF INVENTION

LEGAL BASIS

• Industrial Property Law of June 30, 2000, in force since August 22, 2001, as amended.
• Regulation of the Prime Minister of September 17, 2001, as amended.
• Regulation of the Prime Minister of September 9, 2016 on filing and processing of applications for supplementary protection certificates for medicinal products and plant protection products.

 

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, Stockholm Act.
• Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), since December 25, 1990.
• European Patent Convention, since March 1, 2004

 

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney (not legalized);
• Specification and abstract in Polish, English, French, German or Russian;
• Drawings: size 297 x 210 mm (1 set);
• Priority document, if not issued in English, French, German or Russian, together with authenticated translation into one of these languages;
• Statement concerning the priority rights if the applicant in Poland is not the applicant mentioned in the priority document;
• Statement or document as to the applicant’s right to the invention if he is not an inventor (e.g. assignment of right, contract of employment or other agreement);
• Certificate of deposition of a microorganism (if applicable) in a recognized international collection.

 

REMARKS

National Phase of PCT: under Chapter I: 30 months; under Chapter II: 30 months.

Validity: issued after a formal preliminary and full examination – valid for 20 years from the filing date.

Annuities: accumulated annuities and due after the grant; subsequent annuities are payable after the anniversary of the filing date.

Opposition: possible within six months from the publication date of the granting decision.

 

 

TRADE AND SERVICE MARKS

LEGAL BASIS

• Industrial Property Law of June 30, 2000, in force since August 22, 2001, as amended.
• Regulation of the Prime Minister of December 8, 2016 on filing and processing trademark applications.

 

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, Stockholm Act.
• Madrid Agreement, since March 18, 1991.
• Madrid Protocol, since March 4, 1997.

 

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney (not legalized);
• 1 print (not for word marks);
• List of goods and/or services;
• Priority document (with a certified translation if not in English, French or German).

 

REMARKS

Kinds of protection: trade and service marks, words, designs, ornaments, combinations of colors, three-dimensional shape of goods or their packaging, phonetic signals, or compositions of these elements.

Classification: International.

Use of the registered mark: mandatory within any five-year period from the registration date.

Duration – renewals: 10-year period from the filing date, renewable for further periods of 10 years.

Opposition: for applications filed from April 15, 2016, opposition may be filed before registration, within three months from publication of the application.

 

 

INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS

LEGAL BASIS

• Industrial Property Law of June 30, 2000, in force since August 22, 2001, as amended.
• Regulation of the Prime Minister of January 30, 2002, as amended.
• Regulation of the Prime Minister of March 2, 2004 on payments, as amended.

 

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, Stockholm Act.
• Hague Agreement, Geneva Act, since July 2, 2009.

 

FILING REQUIREMENTS

• Power of Attorney (not legalized);
• Illustrative materials – drawings or photographs, capable of being reproduced in a scale 1:3, samples of textile fabric may also be enclosed;
• Assignment deed if the inventor is not the applicant in Poland or the applicant of the priority application is not the applicant in Poland; respective statements on acquired rights could replace them;
• Priority document, as for patents.

 

REMARKS

Duration – renewals: after formal examination: 5 years. Renewable for four additional 5-year periods.

Opposition: possible after registration has been granted, within six months from the publication date of the granting decision.

 

 

DOMAIN NAMES

LEGAL BASIS

• There is no specific legislation on country code top-level domain names.

 

FILING

• ccTLD: .pl
• Applicant: individuals and legal entities.
• Local presence: not required.

 

REMARKS

Duration – renewals: one year, renewable.

Uniform dispute resolution procedure: yes, before Arbitration Court at the Polish Chamber of Information Technology and Telecommunication (when one or both parties are registered or resident in Poland), or WIPO Arbitration Center (when both parties are registered or resident outside Poland).

 

 

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