New specialized IP courts in Poland – will it be easier to protect intellectual property rights?
At the beginning of July 2020, specialized intellectual property courts will start operating in Poland. These will be separate units of Polish common courts. The "coronavirus" crisis has shown us that the most required innovations on the market are those that have to be properly protected. Will such new courts help entrepreneurs face this challenge?
What cases will the new courts deal with?
Such specialized courts will deal not only with cases of infringements of copyright or industrial property rights, but also with the issues of combating and preventing unfair competition as well as selected cases related to the protection of personal rights, e.g. the ones related to advertising or promotion of goods and services or scientific and inventive activities.
Where will the new courts be located?
In the first instance, intellectual property cases will be considered by the District Courts in Warsaw, Lublin, Gdańsk, Poznań and probably in Katowice, and in the second instance, they will be examined by the Courts of Appeal in Poznań and in Warsaw.
Will it be faster and cheaper?
A serious problem that the Polish judicial system struggles with is the length of proceedings. However, judges to adjudicate in the newly established courts will have specialized training. At the same time, parties to proceedings will be obliged to have a professional representative - a patent attorney or attorney at law (whenever the value of the case exceeds PLN 20,000). Hopefully, this will have a positive impact on the quality and speed of the adjudication process.
New means of asserting your rights
Also, new legal instruments will be allowed in proceedings before the new courts to help companies defend themselves effectively against allegations of violation of other people's intellectual property rights. These will include a counterclaim for invalidity of a trade mark or industrial design and an action to establish that no infringement of industrial property rights has been committed. The latter will allow entrepreneurs putting a new brand or product on the market to request the court to check whether the business or marketing activities planned will not violate the rights of other companies or persons.
Will the newly established specialized courts afford better intellectual property protection in Poland? It remains to be seen.
Originally published by JWP Patent &Trademark Attorneys, June 2020
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