Poland amends the Industrial Property Law
Amendments to the industrial property law have come into force on December 1, 2015 in Poland. The new law introduces changes clarifying and specifying regulations concerning all types of intellectual property protection. The main amendments are listed below.
Joint application for a trademark
According to the amended law, several natural persons or legal entities who have jointly applied for trademark protection could be the trademark owners. Earlier, it was stipulated that such joint ownership could be granted to the legal entities only.
Grace period for disclosure of inventions
The new law specifies the novelty grace period provision for inventions and utility models. Grace period constitutes six months preceding the filing date, on condition that disclosure was prejudicial and was made by a third party. Previous law required that invention was not disclosed in any way before filing of the application.
New register of protection rights
A new register of additional protection rights was presented by the amended Law. This register consists of information about medical products and plant protection products made by using the protected invention. Currently, such information is stored along with exclusive patent rights in the patent register.
Changes in industrial designs law
Polish amended law provides the rules for recognition of the effects of international registration of industrial designs on the basis of the Geneva Act adopted on July 2, 1999.
The amendments aim to assure the compliance between Polish legislation and European regulations and international agreements in the field of the intellectual property.
To get an actual quote for IP protection in Poland considering mentioned changes please visit our quotation system.
You are also welcome to review our brief applicant’s guide for registration of the IP rights in Poland:
Author: Lynda Miller