Polish industrial property law

Abstract

In recent years, entrepreneurs have become increasingly aware of the legal means to protect intangible goods, but to ensure proper protection it is necessary to possess certain knowledge of the ways how to do it efficiently. The article is intended to explain the basic issues of Polish industrial property law. The systematics of Polish law including the issues concerning inventions, utility models, industrial designs, trademarks and geographical indication have been presented. However, currently it is not enough to be familiar with the national laws of each member states of the EU. It is also necessary to know EU law which affects strongly the law of individual member states. Therefore Polish industrial property law cannot be interpreted without taking into account EU law. At the same time, it is difficult to accurately delineate the boundaries of EU law. For example, there is the concept of a “European patent”, which will be granted by the European Patent Office in Munich. The “European Patent” is based on the European Patent Convention of 5 October 1973. It must be noted that the European patent is not an EU instrument and the Convention itself is not part of the EU acquis communautaire. Nevertheless, it is an important instrument signed by 38 countries, including all EU Member States. The European patent is often referred to as a “bundle of national patents”, and patent protection may differ from country to country. On the other hand, the law of EU Member States has only been harmonised to some extent. Thus, there is a need for further harmonisation as well as uniform interpretation of the existing provisions by the national courts and by the Court of Justice of the European Union. Thus, in the coming years, also Polish industrial property law may be expected to have been amended accordingly.