BUSINESS BRIEF: POLAND
BUSINESS BRIEF: POLAND Patents
How do you register or secure patent rights, and is national or international coverage most appropriate?
Currently, most monopolies granted in Poland are validations of European patents. Foreign applications filed in the manner specified by the Paris Convention and entry into the national phase of PCT applications filed directly in Poland are not that frequent. Nowadays, the national system is used mainly by Polish applicants so as to ensure protection on the domestic market and claim priority.
What are the costs for obtaining a patent, and what are the costs of defending it?
Te costs connected with filing a validation of a European patent depend on the length of the description as it has to be translated. Usually, the total cost of validation is about €1,500. Te proceedings costs in a national case are comparable with the proceedings costs before the EPO with the exception of official fees, which are much lower at about €200. Proceedings before the PPO can last two or three years but even in complicated disputes the total costs incurred by both parties should not exceed a few thousand euros.
Where can you find information on existing patents in your jurisdiction? Te only reliable source of information on existing patents in Poland is the Patent Register of the PPO, where one can obtain an extract pertaining to an indicated patent. Moreover, the PPO provides on its website a database of patents in force in Poland.
Is there anything unusual about the patent law that companies should be aware of, and what are the most common mistakes businesses make?
Only a Polish patent attorney can be a proxy in proceedings before the PPO so foreign companies must use a Polish proxy. In the case of filing
validations of European patents in Poland, the Polish translation of the whole specification must be filed at the PPO within three months of publication.
What are the key threats to patent owners, and what is the best strategy if you suspect someone is infringing your patent?
Any disputes pertaining to patent infringement fall within the competence of the civil courts, whereas cases on invalidation are heard by the Litigation Board of the PPO. Terefore, when conducting a case on infringement, one should take into consideration the risk of patent invalidation during the administrative proceedings.
In a situation where an infringement could lead to irretrievable losses for a patentee, enforcement action can be initiated by filing a request for a preliminary injunction. Te court may consider such a request during ex parte proceedings and obtaining and executing such an injunction can be effectively carried out in two to three months.
However, claiming damages in the main proceedings on infringement will take a long time. In Poland there is no specialised patent court and cases on infringement are heard by district civil courts. As a result, before issuing a decision, a judge will try to obtain the opinion of an independent expert, which in practice leads to the proceeding being prolonged significantly.
Trademarks
How do you register or secure trademark rights, and what protection does it grant? On behalf of our clients we file Polish national trademark applications and Community trademark (CTM) applications. We also file responses to provisional refusals of protection in Poland in matters relating to international trademark registrations. To file a national or CTM application we need to obtain instructions indicating the applicant and the trademark, a list of goods and/or services and a signed and sealed power of attorney form.
130 World Intellectual Property Review Annual 2014
Te national trademark registration procedure in Poland usually takes about 18 months. It includes a detailed search conducted by the Polish Patent Office (PPO) on its own initiative and a citation of any colliding earlier trademarks. Te PPO is very strict in matters relating to trademark similarity, and does not accept letters of consent or coexistence agreements. It does not take into consideration any legal, organisational or financial connections between the applicant and the owners of the earlier similar trademarks.
As a result, unification of trademarks ownership (transfer of right to an earlier trademark or transfer of the trademark application) very oſten appears to be the only way to avoid collision of trademarks and finally obtain the trademark registration.
Te national trademark protection period is ten years and is calculated from the date of filing. Renewal applications may be filed in the last year of protection or within six months of expiration, with a surcharge for late renewal.
As to responses to provisional refusals of protection in matters relating to international trademarks, a deadline for filing a response expires within five months of receipt of the WIPO provisional refusal notification by the applicant or his local representative. Te deadline may be extended once, by two months.
International trademarks are examined by the PPO according to the same strict rules that are applied to national trademark applications. Te final refusal decisions of the PPO in national and international trademark matters may be subject to requests for reconsideration by the PPO, and then—in cases where the PPO’s position has not changed—to complaints filed at the District Administrative Court in Warsaw.
www.worldipreview.com
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