TRADEMARKS

WHAT IS A TRADEMARK?
Trademark is an exclusive right, granted in Poland by Polish Patent Office on marks used to identify goods and services as coming from certain undertaking. A trademark can have almost any form. It can be represented by a word, graphics, a sound, move or a video. The right for a trademark is granted for 10 years with the right to prolong it for another 10-year-long protection periods. It i salso important to remind that trademarks are granted for specific list of goods and services which were included in an application form. Goods and services listed in a application form must comply with those goods and services for which trademark will be genuinely used.

WHAT TRADEMARK THE PROTECTION CAN BE GRANTED?
Registration of a trademark and obtaining the exclusive right to it is loaded with many specific requirements. The basic premise is that it must be possible to put the trademark into registry and present it to others in a way in which there will be no doubts on the scope of the protection. Above-mentioned premise is the reason why it is currently not possible to protect a taste or a smell.
In the Industrial Property Rights act there is a list of marks which because of their character or content, are excluded from protection. In particular following trademarks cannot be protected:
• trademarks which lack distinciveness for goods and services applied for;
• trademarks which have descriptive character;
• trademarks who are commonly used by other participants of the market;
• trademarks for which applicant filed for in bad faith;
• trademarks which are contrary to public policy or contrary to good practice;
• trademark which include national symbols;
• a trademark which has misleading character.
It i salso important to remember that after a trademark is filed for protection other persons can file an opposition if they believe that a trademark violates their personal rights or is identical or similar to an earlier mark owned by them. After an opposition is filed it is still possible to obtain the right, however an applicant must actively participate in opposition proceeding, especially file a reply to an opposition with all the legal and factual reasoning.

HOW MUCH DOES A TRADEMARK COST?
Applying for a trademark in Poland requires paying for a basic, application fee which is 400 zloty (in case of filing for a trademark in more than 1 nice claffication class an additional payment of 120 zloty per each class must be made) and a payment of first 10-year-long protection period, amount of which depends on the number of classes for which trademark is registered. The full list of office fees is available on the website of Polish Patent Office: https://uprp.gov.pl/pl/przedmioty-ochrony/znaki-towarowe/procedura-krajowa-/oplaty-zgloszeniowe.
The remunaration paid to the patent attorney is in each case determined by parties individually, therefore we encourage You to contact us via e-mail or a phone to get a brief estimation of that cost.

WHO SHOULD REGISTER A TRADEMARK?
A trademark is a basic right which should be owned by every enterpreneur who is creating their own brand. Applying for a trademark we especially recommend to those who offer their products under labels different than their company name. Registering a trademark and obtaining an exlusive right allows to react to any acts of dishonest competitors in a efficent way. If a dishonest participant of a market starts marketing his product under other company’s name, he could also face lawsuit on the base of Combating Unfair Competition Act, however registering a trademark makes the whole proces easier.

WHAT IS AN EUROPEAN AND INTERNATIONAL TRADEMARK?
In the case of registration of a trademark in the Polish Patent Office, the protection of the trademark covers only the territory of Poland. Therefore, entrepreneurs who conduct business activities abroad should consider registering an EU or international mark, which is granted respectively by EUIPO and WIPO.
In the case of an EU mark, it is not necessary to register the mark separately in Poland beforehand. You can immediately use the EU procedure and obtain a trademark for the entire territory of the European Union. In the case of an international procedure administered by WIPO, it is necessary to obtain a prior right on the basis of which the international registration procedure will originate. Such an earlier right may be both a national application at the PPO and an EU application at the EUIPO.

HOW TO CHECK IF A TRADEMARK CAN BE REGISTERED?
Many entrepreneurs, in order to minimize the risk of losing funds due to failing in registering a trademark, consult an attorney at law or a patent attorney before filing a trademark application. The report will contain information on the trademarks of other entrepreneurs that could constitute the basis for an objection to a trademark application and possible scenarios of litigation before the Patent Office. Our law office also offers legal opinions on registrability of a trademark, which includes information on possible existing obstacles to obtaining the right, such as descriptive character or contradiction to public order.

WHAT SERVICES DOES THE ATTORNEY AT LAW AND PATENT ATTORNEY PROVIDE?
Our law firm priovides following services in matters of trademarks:
• preparing the documentation to apply for a trademark;
• represenation before the patent offices;
• preparing the response to oppositions;
• preparing oppositions;
• preparing revocation applications;
• preparing lawsuits;
• preparing trademark clearance reports;
• preparing registrability reports;
• preparing written legal advice;
• drafting licence agreements;
• drafting transfer of rights agreements;
• represenation before courts;
• negotiating agreements on behalf of a client.