The Council of Ministers' list of legislative and programmatic works has published the assumptions of the draft act – Industrial Property Law – project number: UC81. The draft proposes significant changes, in particular those aligning Polish regulations with EU requirements. The drafter identifies the goal of this regulation as supporting innovative activity, which should be supported by an effective and optimal protection system. There is no doubt that innovative activity can truly thrive if the developed inventions can count on effective patent protection, at least for example. Trademarks and industrial designs also play a role in protecting emerging brands and building their reputation.
According to the project's assumptions, better protection of industrial property is to be achieved by proposing new solutions enabling the protection of exclusive rights, simplifying and shortening proceedings, including shortening the time to grant protection. The issue of accommodating the demands of users of the industrial property protection system, i.e., entrepreneurs, representatives of business environment institutions, and the scientific community, was also raised.
The project also implements Directive 98/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) of 13 October 1998 on the legal protection of designs, and takes into account the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2023/2411 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 October 2023 on the protection of geographical indications of craft and industrial products and amending Regulations (EU) 2017/1001 and (EU) 2019/1753 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 2023/2411, 27.10.2023).
In the area of utility models, the change is primarily intended to accelerate the processing of applications. It is planned to replace the current examination system with a registry system, which will accelerate the process from an average of 24 months to approximately 12 months. The decision to grant a utility model registration right will be issued after verifying whether the application meets formal requirements.
In the field of industrial designs, EU regulations are being implemented, significantly modifying the principles of protection for industrial designs. A definition of an industrial design and conditions of protection have been proposed to ensure that national solutions are fully harmonized with EU standards. It is worth recalling the new definition of an industrial design introduced in Directive 2024/2823 of 23 October 2024, according to which "industrial design" means the appearance of a whole product or part of a product resulting from the characteristics, in particular the lines, contours, colors, shape, texture, or materials of the product itself or its decoration, including movement, transition, or any other type of animation of these characteristics.
Regarding geographical indications, solutions have been introduced to align national regulations with Regulation 2023/2411. The proposed regulations aim to define the procedure for examining applications for registration and identify the authorities and institutions responsible for assessing these applications. In the area of trademarks, the draft law introduces a clear division between substantive and procedural provisions. The draft law envisages the introduction of a preliminary invention filing system, which will enable the advance protection of inventors' rights.
The proposed bill offers hope for the adoption of significant and justifiable solutions in industrial property law. Therefore, it is necessary to await the full draft of the act and then analyze the detailed provisions contained therein.
This alert is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Legal status as of January 23, 2025
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