Patents of Invention

– Industrial Property Law of June 30, 2000 (uniform text of June 22, 2023).
– Act of March 14, 2003 on filing of European patent applications and the effects of European patents in the Republic of Poland (uniform text of 2016).
– Regulation of the Prime Minister of September 17, 2001 on filing and processing patent and utility model applications, 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.
– Regulation (EC) No. 469/2009 of the European Parliament and the Council of May 6, 2009.

Membership in International Conventions

– Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Stockholm Act.
– Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), since March 23, 1975.
– Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), since December 25, 1990.
– Budapest Treaty on the Deposit of Microorganisms, since September 22, 1993.
– WTO’s TRIPS Agreement, since July 1, 1995.
– Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification, since December 4, 1997.
– European Patent Convention, since March 1, 2004.
– The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille), since August 14, 2005.

Filing

Applicant: the inventor or joint inventors or his/their legal successors (individuals), collaborating individuals, legal entities, firms, companies, corporations or state enterprises.

Foreigners and nationals not living in the country: any person not domiciled in Poland must appoint a representative.

Protection of foreigners: subjects of foreign States enjoy the same rights as nationals on the basis of international agreements or reciprocity.

Naming of inventor(s): the author must be named in the application and his right concerning the invention stated.

Novelty: a solution shall be considered as new if it does not consist of the prior art, understood as every disclosure in writing or by oral description, by use, or exposition, or in any other way, before the date determining the priority for obtaining the patent, including information contained in the patent and utility model applications of earlier priority not available to the public, on the condition of their publication in the way foreseen by the Industrial Property Law.

Exceptions to protection: (1) scientific discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods, as such; (2) products of only aesthetic character, as such; (3) schemes, rules and methods for performing mental acts, playing games or doing business, as such; (4) products or methods the applicability of which may not be proved or the use of which will not give expected results in the light of commonly approved principles of science; (5) computer programs, presenting information, as such; (6) the human body, at the various stages of its formation and development, and a simple discovery of one of its elements, including the sequence or partial sequence of gene. 

Patents are also not granted for: (1) inventions, the use of which would be against public order or good custom, especially processes for cloning human beings, processes for modifying the germ line genetic identity of human beings, uses of human embryos for industrial or commercial purposes, processes for modifying the genetic identity of animals causing them unnecessary suffering without substantial medical benefit to man or animal as well as animals resulting from such processes; (2) plant or animal varieties or essentially biological methods of growing plants or animals, as well as products obtained by such processes; this provision shall not apply to microbiological methods or other technical methods or products obtained by such methods if they are not plant or animal varieties; (3) surgical or therapeutic methods for treatment of humans and animals as well as diagnostic methods applied to humans and animals, this provision shall not apply to the products, and especially substances and mixtures used in diagnostics or treatment. 

Process claims: products obtained directly by means of a process are covered by a patent granted for the process.

Kinds of protection: (1) patents; (2) patents of addition; (3) secret patents under State control.

Confirmation patents: none.

Secret patents: under State control.

Microorganisms: methods for obtaining or using microorganisms are patentable, also microorganisms isolated from their natural environment or produced by means of a technical process even if they previously occurred in nature. The Polish Patent Office accepts references to new strains defined by a registration number of any recognized international collection. The deposition must be made before filing the application. A deposition certificate has to be filed within six months from the application date.

Priority: priority must be claimed when filing the application, mentioning at least the date and country of the prior application. It must be fully supported by the priority document, which has to be filed not later than three months after the date of application. A translation of the priority document is required into English, French, German, Russian or Polish, if the priority document is not issued in one of these languages. The application may be based on several priority dates.

Classification: applications and patents are classified according to the International Classification.

Territory covered: Poland.

Filing requirements for an application (to be sent to resident agent):
1. Power of attorney (not legalized);
2. Specification and abstract in Polish, English, French, German or Russian;
3. Drawings: size 297 x 210 mm (1 set);
4. Priority document, if not issued in English, French, German or Russian, together with authenticated translation into one of these languages;
5. Statement concerning the priority rights if the applicant in Poland is not the applicant mentioned in the priority document. Such a statement may be signed by the Polish agent based on the information provided;
6. 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). Such a statement may be signed by the resident agent based on the information provided;
7. Certificate of deposition of a microorganism in a recognized international collection.

Note: no legalization of any of the documents is required.

Filing without one or more requirements: possible; the application, under the terms of the Convention, may be lodged without any document other than the applicant’s name, title of the invention, name of the inventor, specification in Polish and informal drawings. In the case of a Convention application, the filing date and the country of the basic application are required. Power of attorney, priority document and the suitable statements can be lodged subsequently. The priority document(s) and the assignment of priority right, as well as statements on allocation of priority dates to each claim in case of multiple or partial priority must be filed not later than three months after filing the application. This term cannot be extended nor reinstated. Other documents are filed upon request of the Patent Office. The specified term can be extended only once for two months maximum.

National phase of a PCT application: no priority document has to be filed, unless requested by the Patent Office. Other documents needed – see “Filing requirements” above. Time limit for entering national phase under both Chapter I and Chapter II: 30 months.

For a change of name or address: any official document that proves the change e.g. an extract from the Commercial Register (original or a notarized copy).

Examination

Amendment of application: the patent specification may be corrected if it does not properly concern the basic nature of the patented invention.

Alterations: the applicant is allowed to add to and improve the technical description and enclosures, provided that he does not alter the basic nature of the invention or cause the priority of the application to be changed. Changes of the patent claims in the application broadening the scope of the required protection may be made only before publication of the application, however they have to be within the scope of the disclosure in the specification on the date of filing the application.

Right of prior user: any person who at the date determining the priority for the grant of a patent has used the invention in Poland in good faith, may continue to use it in his business.

Disputes about ownership: the ownership of an invention and the exclusive right to its use are attested by the grant of the patent. Disputes concerning the authorship as well as the right to a patent are decided in civil law procedure in accordance with general principles of law.

Novelty: a patent may only be obtained for a new invention.

Publication: the Patent Office publishes the application in the Patent Office Bulletin “Biuletyn Urzedu Patentowego” (name of the applicant, name of the inventor(s), an abstract of the description of the invention and other particulars) within eighteen months from the priority date.

Examination: as to form, novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability. For each application, the Patent Office prepares a prior art report pointing out publications, which will be taken into account in the course of the examination and provides it to the applicant. Within six months starting from the date of publication any person may submit to the Patent Office remarks regarding the existence of possible obstacles to the granting of a patent, which are taken into account in the course of examination. Before taking a decision, the Patent Office summons the applicant by the official letter to take a position towards the objections. The Patent Office may also request the applicant by the official action to amend the specification. The term in which to reply to the official letter, or to the official action in the case of foreign applications, is two months and may be extended only once for the next two months. The applicant may request, within one month, reconsideration of the official action, and in case of sustaining the official action, lodge within thirty days a complaint to the Vojevodship Administrative Court in Warsaw. After examination the Patent Office issues a decision to grant a patent or to refuse to grant a patent. Within two months, the applicant may file a request to the Patent Office to reconsider the case. If the grant of a patent has been refused, an appeal can be made to the Vojevodship Administrative Court in Warsaw within sixty days. The applicant may request that the invention be examined as a utility model, if it is proved that it cannot be patented as an invention.

Division: division of inventions is allowed only to reach uniformity of an application.

Application kept secret: yes.

Opposition to application filed: not possible.

Provisional registrations: not possible.

Registration: registration is confirmed by the delivery of the Letters Patent.

Corrections: corrections of patent description (after granting) may relate only to misprints and other obvious mistakes and are decided by the Patent Office.

Second publication: notice of the granting of the patent is published in the Official Patent Journal "Wiadomosci Urzedu Patentowego"; the description of the invention and the drawings are printed and placed on the Polish Patent Office's Publication Server

Granting

Delivery of document: usually one year after granting. The certificate of grant is issued in paper or electronic format.

Beginning of protection: from the date of application.

Duration – extension: twenty years from the date of application with no possibility of extension (with the exception of patents for medicinal and plant protection products – see Section 7. Supplementary Protection Certificates for pharmaceutical and plant protection products).

Annuities – latest term for payment: the accrued annuities are payable during the three months following the date of issue of a decision to grant a patent; subsequent annuities are payable before the anniversary date of the application; extension of latest term for payment of the annual fees: six months with a surcharge of 30%; this does not apply to the first annuities due after issue of a decision to grant a patent.

Marking of patented goods: no specific marking required, though “Patent NR …” is often used.

Assignment: in written form and subject to inscription in the Patent Register of the Patent Office.

License for exploitation: the patent owner may, by a licensing agreement in written form, authorize another person to use his invention; sub-licenses are allowed as well as licenses for partial use of inventions. Licenses may be registered in the Patent Register.

Working: not required, however the owner of a patent cannot abuse his exclusive right, especially by monopolistic practice.

Modification of Protection after Granting

Amendment of issued patents: the Patent Office decides whether and to what extent the patent description is to be reprinted and whether and to what extent the patent owner is responsible for payment of the costs of reprinting of the patent description.

Revocation: is permitted and is published in the Official Patent Journal.

Right of prior user: anyone who, before the date determining the priority to grant the patent, used the invention in good faith in Poland, or prepared substantial facilities to use the invention, may continue using it in the same manner. On the request of the interested person, this right can be entered in the Patent Register.

Opposition to granted patents: possible within six months from the date of publication of the granting of the patent. Such oppositions are considered by the Patent Office in litigation proceeding. The proprietor of the patent may request for limitation of the patent until a hearing on the opposition.

Limitation: upon request of the patentee, the patent may be limited by amendment of patent claims.

Compulsory licenses: if the exclusive right is abused, or if it is established that the patent holder prevents, by refusing to conclude a license contract, the meeting of home market demands through exploitation of the dependent patent, the Patent Office may decide, in litigation proceedings, to grant a compulsory license when it is necessary to prevent or remove a national state of emergency, in particular in the field of defense, public order, protection of human health and life, as well as the protection of the natural environment. In this case the owner of the earlier patent may demand an authorization to exploit the dependent patent (cross-license). The person working the invention under a compulsory license must pay appropriate royalties to the beneficiary. When a compulsory license is granted, the Patent Office will indicate the scope and duration of the license in question, the detailed conditions for working the invention, the amount of the royalty and the method of payment.

Expropriation: not foreseen by law.

Nullification: a patent may be nullified at the request of anyone, in its entirety or in part, if it was obtained by an unauthorized person or if the necessary statutory conditions for the granting of the patent were lacking. Legal action may be brought by the Attorney General in the public interest. The proprietor of the patent may request for limitation of the patent until a hearing on the nullification.

Validation of invalidated patents: not possible. It is possible to validate a patent abandoned by not paying annuities on a justified request, but the term for filing such request is restricted to six months from the failed time limit and two months from the date, at which the reason for failure to observe the time limit ceased to exist.

Infringement: decided by civil courts. A person whose right to the exclusive use of an invention has been infringed upon, may demand cessation of infringement, removal of its consequences, surrender of the profits obtained as well as compensation for damages and publication of the judgment. Claims in respect of infringement are limited to three years. The use of an invention for state purposes does not comprise an act of infringement.

Supplementary Protection Certificates for Medicinal Products and Plant Protection Products

Since the accession date of Poland to the European Union (May 1, 2004) it is possible to apply for Supplementary Protection Certificates for medicinal products pursuant to the provisions of Council Regulation No. 469/2009 of May 6, 2009, and for plant protection products pursuant to the provisions of Regulation No. 1610/96 of the European Parliament and of the Council of July 23, 1996.

Application: the application for supplementary protection rights shall be lodged within six months of the date on which the authorization to place the product on the market was granted. When such authorization is granted before the basic patent is granted, the application for supplementary protection rights shall be lodged within six months of the date on which the patent is granted.

Extent of protection: the protection conferred shall extend only to the product covered by the authorization to place the product on the market and for any use of the product as a medicinal product that has been authorized before expiry of the certificate.

The official fee is required at the beginning of each year on which supplementary protection right was granted.

Duration: the supplementary protection rights shall take effect at the end of the lawful term of the basic patent for a period equal to the period which elapsed between the date on which the application for a basic patent was lodged and the date of the first authorization to place the product on the market in the Community; reduced by a period of five years. The protection by Supplementary Protection Certificate cannot exceed five years. The granted SPC is entered in the separate Register for SPCs. 

Paediatric extension: available.

Validation of European Patents

European patents filed after March 1, 2004 may be validated in Poland. Within three months from the date on which the mention of the grant of the European patent is published in the European Patent Bulletin, a translation of the full specification, claims and inscription on drawings into the Polish language have to be filed. Prolongation of this term or its reinstation is not possible. Authorization of the local agent (power of attorney) is required. Renewal fees are due every year at the anniversary of the filing date of the European patent application, however, according to Art. 141(2) EPC, a two-month grace period from the date of publishing the mention on the grant of the European patent applies. The next fees may also be paid, with fine, within six months of the due date.