ORGANIZACION MUNDIAL 
DEL COMERCIO 
Consejo de los Aspectos de los Derechos de Propiedad 
Intelectual relacionados con el Comercio IP/NI1/POL/PI 1 
16 de abril de 1996 
(96-1373) 
Original: ingles 
PRINCIPALES LEYES Y REGLAMENTOS DEDICADOS A LA PROPIEDAD 
INTELECTUAL NOTIFICADOS EN VIRTUD DEL pARRAFO 2 DEL 
ARTICULO 63 DEL ACUERDO 
Polonia 
En el presente documento se reproducenl las leyes y reglamentos siguientes, notificados por 
Polonia en virtud de 10 dispuesto en el parrafo 2 del articulo 63 del Acuerdo (vease el documento 
IP/N/1/POL/1): 
Ley de Actividades Inventivas, de 19 de octubre de 1972, modificada 
por la Ley de 16 de abril de 1993 1 
Ley de la Oficina de Patentes de la Republica de Polonia, de 31 de 
mayo de 1962, en su version modificada (texto refundido de 17 de 
marzo de 1993) 21 
Ley de Agentes de Patentes de 9 de enero de 1993 23 
lEn ingles solamente. IP/N/lIPOL/P/l 
. Page 2 
. Law 
on Inventive Activity 
o/October 19, 1972, as amended on ApriL 16, 1993 
(Dziennik Ustaw 1993, No 26 item 117) 
Part I 
General Provisions 
1. (I) This Law regulates the legal relationships in the field of inventions, 
utility models and rationalization projects. 
(2) In this Law, the tenn "inventive projects" includes inventions, utility 
models and rationalization projects. 
2. deleted 
3. The provisions. of this Law shall not prejudice the provisions of in­
ternational agreements. 
4. Foreign nationals and foreign legal entities shall enjoy the rights relating 
to inventive matters on a basis of international agreements to which the Republic 
of Poland is party or on the principle of reciprocity. -
5. deLeted 
6. deleted 
7. deleted 
8. (l) Under the conditions set out in this Law, the creator of an inventive 
project shall be entitled to obtain a patent, a right of protection, as well as a right 
to remuneration. 
(2) The creator of an inventive project shall be entitled to be mentioned 
as such in descriptions: reg.isters and other documents and publications. 
(3) A person who has merely assisted in making an inventive project shall 
not be considered a joint inventor. 
(4) In this Law, "the creator of an inventive project" includes also joint 
inventors. 
9. (I) Social organizations whose activities include the encouragement of 
inventive activity, and also autonomous organs operating within the economic 
subjects, shall provide assistance to the creators of inventive projects in accord­
ance with their statutes and regulations and with the provisions of this Law. 
(2) The organizations referred to in subsection (1) shall represent the 
interests of the creators of inventi ve projects before the economic subjects, 
governmental bodies and local governmental agencies in the matters relating to 
inventive projects. IP IN I l/POL/PI 1 
Page 3 
(3) Subject to section 32(7), representatives of the organizations referred 
to in subsection (1) may act as attorneys for the creators of inventive projects 
in matters relating to inventive activity before the courts and in proceedings 
before the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland, hereinafter referred to as the 
"Patent Office", and before the Board of Appeals with the Patent Office. 
Part 11 
Inventions and Patents 
I. Patent 
10. Any new solution of a technical character which does not obviously 
result from the prior art and which is capable of practical application shall be a 
patentable invention. 
11. A sol ution shall be considered as new if, before the date determining 
the priority for obtaining the patent, it has not been made available to the public 
-in particular, by publication, public implementation or display at a public 
exhibition -in such a way as to give an expert sufficient data for its application. 
12. Patents shall not be granted for: 
(1) new plant varieties and animal breeds as well as biological processes 
for the cultivation of plants or breeding of animals; 
(2) methods for treatment of diseases in the field of medicine and 
veterinary and in plant protection; 
(3) inventions whose exploitation would be contrary to la\v or public 
policy; this shall not apply were only the sale of a patented product or of a 
product obtained by means of a patented process is limited by law; 
(4) computer programs; 
(5) products obtained by nuclear transformation; 
(6) scientific theories and discoveries. 
13. deleted 
14. deleted 
15. (1) The competent authority for the grant of patents and the issue of 
letters patent shall be the Patent Office. 
(2) Grants of patents shall be entered in the Register of Patents. 
16. (1) A patent shall confer the exclusive right to exploit the invention for 
deriving profits therefrom or for professional purposes throughout the territory 
of the State. 
(2) The term of a patent shall be twenty years, starting from the date at 
which the appl ication of invention was filed with the Patent Office. 
(3) The scope of protection shall be determined by the claims contained 
in the patent specification. IP/NI1 IPOL/PI1 
Page 4 
(4) A patent granted for a process of manufacture shall also cover 
products directly obtained by means of that process. 
(5) The exploitation of an invention concerning means of transport, or 
their parts or accessories, temporarily located on the territory of the State, or 
concerning articles which are in transit through the territory of the State, shall 
not be considered an infringement of the patent. 
(6) The exploitation of an invention for the national purpuses, to the 
necessary extent and without detriment to the justified economic interest of a 
patentee, where it has been found indispensable to prevent or eliminate the state 
of emergency relating to security or public order, shall not be considered an 
infringement of the patent. 
(7) The accidental preparation of a medicine in a pharmacy under a 
physician's prescription shall not be considered an infringement of the patent 
relating to pharmaceuticals. 
(8) The use of an invention for scientific purposes shall not be consi­
dered an infringement of the patent. 
17. (1) A patentee may obtain a patent of addition for improvements or 
adCiitions to the invention where such improvements or additions have the 
characteristics of an invention but cannot be applied separately. A patent of 
addition may also be obtained for a patent of addition already granted. 
(2) A patent of addition shall lapse together with the principal patent. 
However, where the principal patent lapses for a reason not affecting the 
invention covered by the patent of addition, the first patent of addition shall 
become independent and renlain in force for the period for which the principal 
patent was granted. 
(3) deleted 
18. (1) An invention whose exploitation would encroach upon the exploi­
tation of an invention for which a patent having priority (earlier patent) is already 
in existence may be the subject of a dependent patent. 
(2) The dependent patent shall become independent in the event of 
lapsing of the earlier patent. 
(3) Subsections (1) and (2) shall apply, mutatis nlutandis, to a patent for 
an invention whose exlpoitation would encroach upon the right of protection of 
a utility model having priority. 
19. Any person having a legal interest therein may apply to the Patent Office 
for the ascertainment that a specified production is not covered by a particular 
patent. 
11. Right to Obtain a Patent 
20. (1) The right to obtain a patent for an invention (the right to a patent) 
shall belong to the inventor. In case where the invention has. been made by 
several persons, the right to a patent shall belong to them jointly. IP/NII/POL/PI 1 
Page 5 
(2) Where an invention has been made by a creator in course of the 
performance of his employee's duties or in the execution of another contract, 
the right to a patent shall belong to the employer or commissioner, unless 
otherwise has been agreed by the parties concerned. 
(3) In case where an invention has been made by a creator with the 
assistance of an economic subject, the latter shall enjoy the right to exploit the 
invention in its own field of activity.. In the agreement on providing assistance, 
the parties may settle that the right to obtain a patent for such invention shall 
belong in whole or in part to the economic subject. 
(4) Agreements concluded between econonlic subjects may designate a 
subject to which the right to a patent shall belong, in the case where an invention 
is made in connection with the execution of such agreements. 
21. deleted 
22. deleted 
23. Subject to the exceptions provided for in sections 24 and 25, priority for 
the grant of a patent shall be determined according to the date at which the 
application was filed with the Patent Office. 
24. (1) Priority for obtaining a patent shall be detennined according to the 
date at which the invention was displayed at a public exhibition within the 
territory of Poland or abroad, provided that the application is filed with the 
Patent Office within six months of that date. 
(2) The President of the Patent Office shall, by an order issued at the 
request of the competent Minister or with his consent, indicate the public 
exhibitions and determine conditions for the display of the invention that nlust 
be fulfilled to enable the invention to enjoy the priority referred to in subse­
ction (1). 
25. Foreign nationals and foreign legal entities of member countries of the 
International Union for the Protection of Industrial Property, as well as nationals 
and legal entities of other countries, provided that they have their domicile or 
seat or a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment in one of the 
member cuuntries of that Union, shall, in accordance with the principles 
established in the international agreements, enjoy priority, for the purpose of 
obtaining a patent in the Republic of Poland based on the date of the first regular 
application for protection in one of those countries, provided that the application 
is filed with the Patent Office within 12 months of such date. 
Ill. Filing of Patent Applications with the Patent Office 
26. (I) Applications for patents shall take the form of a petition filed with 
the Patent Office together with a description of the invention disclosing its 
nature, cIaitns, an abstract of the description and, where necessary, drawings. 
(2) deleted 
(3) deleted IP/N/I/POL/P/l 
Page 6 
(4) An application for a patent shall be deemed to have been filed at the 
time when it is submitted to the Patent Office or posted at a Polish post office 
for dispatch to the Patent Office. 
(5) Where an invention which was filed together with another invention 
has, at the invitation of the Patent Office, subsequently been filed in a separate 
application within the time fixed by the Office, such application shall be deemed 
to have been filed at the date of the first filing, provided that the basic nature of 
the invention has not been altered. 
27. (l) Where the applicant is not the inventor, he must name the inventor 
in his petition and state the grounds of his right to a patent. 
(2) The President of the Patent Office shall specify the special requi­
rements to be fu I fi lIed by paten t appl ications. 
28. The applicant shall declare in his petition whether he wishes to exercise 
the right of priority deriving from the display of the invention at a public 
exhibition or from an application filed abroad. 
29. (I) During the examination of a patent application, the Patent Office may 
is~ue directions inviting the applicant to complete the application within a given 
time limit or to remedy any specified omissions or major defects. Those 
directions shall be subject to complaint. Where a complaint is rejected, the time 
limit shall start to run again. 
(2) Where the directions referred to in subsection (I) are not complied 
with in time, the application shall be deemed withdrawn and the proceedings 
shall be discontinued. 
(3) Where failure to comply with the time limit by the applicant occurs 
during the examination of the application, the Patent Office shall restore the 
time limit at the applicant's request if the latter is able to prove that, in all 
probability, failure to comply was without fault on his part. 
(4) The request referred to in subsection (3) shall he addressed to the 
Patent Office within two months of the date when the cause of the failure to 
comply with the time I inlit ceased to exist, but not later than one year of the date 
when the time limit expired. At the same tilne as filing his request, the applicant 
shall perform the act in respect of which the time limit was fixed. 
(5) The time limit for submitting the request referred to in subsection 
(4) shall not be restored. 
(6) Where it is decided to discontinue the proceedings on the grounds 
referred to in subsection (2), failure to comply with the time limit may be 
disregarded if the applicant, in his appeal, is able to prove that, in all probability, 
failure to comply with was without fault on his part, whilst at the same time 
perfornling the act in respect of which the time limit was fixed. 
30. Up to the tinle a decision is taken on the grant of a patent, the applicant 
rnay rnake arncndrnents and corrections in his application, provided that such 
amendnlents and corrections neither alter the basic nature of the invention nor 
justify a change in the priority for obtaining the patent. IP 1Nl 1 IPOL/P /1 
Page 7 
31. In his petition or during the examination of the patent application, or 
within two months froln the date when a decision to refuse a patent takes effect, 
the applicant may apply for utility model protection. The utility model applica­
-tion shall be deemed to have been filed at the filing date of the orginal 
application. 
32. (1) The applicant filing the invention shall be a party to the proceedings 
before the Patent Office for the grant of a patent. 
(2) deleted 
(3) deleted 
(4) deleted 
(5) delted 
(6) deleted 
(7) In the proceedings before the Patent Office in matters relating to the 
filing, examination of the applications and maintenance of the patent protection, 
only a patent agent may act as representative. Foreign persons may only act 
when represented by a patent agent who is a pennanent resident in Poland. 
IV. Examination of the Application 
33. During the procedure precedi ng the publication of the application for an 
invention referred to in section 34( 1), the files relating to the application may 
not, without the applicant's consent, be disclosed or made available to unaut­
horized persons. Where in the petition Inentioned in section 26( 1) the applicant 
gives his consent, the Patent Office n1ay make available to third persons 
infonnation about the filing of this application, disclosing t~e number,filing 
date, ritle of the application and the applicant's name. During the examination 
of the patent application the Patent Office may seek necessary opinions. Anyone 
taking part in the preparations and the issuance of these opinions shall be 
required not to disclose data concerning the application. 
34. (1) The Patent Office shall publish the patent application immediately 
after a lapse of eighteen months from the date of filing the application for an 
invention, or from the date of priority to obtain a patent, whichever time limit 
expires earlier. However, the applicant may, either in the petition or within 
twelve months from the priority date, request publication at an earlier date. 
(2) deleted 
(3) From the date of publication, referred to in subsection (1), third 
persons may get acquainted with the description of the invention, patent claims 
and drawings. Such persons n1ay, during six months from the day of publication, 
submit to the Patent Office their possible remarks as to the existence of obstacles 
to the grant of a patent. 
(4) deleted 
35. From th~ date of publication of the application, the invention shall enjoy 
provisional protection as from the day the application is filed with the Patent IP IN 11 IPOL/P 11 
Page 8 
Office, unless the patent application has been withdrawn or the Patent Office 
has refused to grant the patent. 
36. deleted 
37. (1) Where the Patent Office does not find the lack of statutory conditions 
required for granting a patent, it shall take a decision on such grant. A decision 
on refusal of granting a patent may be taken by the Patent Office also before the 
publication of the application. 
(2) The Patent Office shall grant a patent provided that the applicant has 
paid a fee for the first period of protection. Where the fee is not paid in the 
prescribed time-limit, the Patent Office shall decide on the expiration of the 
decision on granting the patent. 
38. (1) The grant of a patent shall be evidenced by the issuance of letters 
patent. 
(2) deleted 
(3) The description of the invention together with the patent claims and 
drawings (patent specification) shall constitute an integral part of the letters 
patent. The patent specification shall be published. 
(4) The applicant shall bear the cost of publication of the patent spe­
cification. 
(5) The President of the Patent Office shall specify special guidelines 
for the examination of a patent application as well as the manner of and time 
limits for payment of the fee for the publication of the patent specification. 
39. (1) Any rectification of the patent specification may only relate to 
misprints and other obvious mistakes. 
(2) The Patent Office shall decide on the rectification, determining at 
the same time whether and to what extent a new publication of the patent 
specification is to be made and whether and to what extent the patentee should 
bear cost of republishing of the patent specification. This decision may be 
subject to a complaint. 
40. (1) Where after the grant of a patent for an invention, an application 
having priority is filed for the same invention, the patentee should make a 
statement on the validity of the new application within the time limit laid down 
by the Patent Office. 
(2) Where the patentee contests the validity of the new patent applica­
tion, the matter shall be settled in a litigation procedure. 
(3) Where the patentee fails to make the statement on the validity of the 
new patent application, the decision to grant the patent to him shall be revoked. 
41. The official gazette (Wiadomosci Urz~du Patentowego) of the Patent 
Office shall publish notices concerning the grant of a patent and, where the 
patent application has been published, notices concerning the withdrawal of an 
application, the refusal of a patent, the revocation of a decision to grant a patent 
and the rectification of a patent specification. IP IN I lIPOL/P 11 
Page 9 
v. Rights and Obligations Arising from a Patent 
42. (1) The patentee or the licensee may not abuse his right, in particular, by 
applying prohibited monopolistic practices. 
(2) The Patent Office may request from the patentee or licencee any 
explanations as to the extent of the exploitation of the invention, in order to 
detennine how the exclusive right is used. 
43. (1) Any person, who, at the date detennining the priority for the grant of 
a patent, has exploited the invention on the territory of the State in good faith, 
may continue to exploit it in his enterprise free of payment to the extent to which 
he had previously exploited the invention. This right shall also be vested in a 
person who at the same date had already made substantial preparations for the 
exploitation of the invention. 
(2) The right referred to in subsection (1) shall, at the request of the 
person concerned, be recorded in the Register of Patents. The right may be 
transferred to another person, but only together with the enterprise. 
44. (1) The right to a patent and a patent may be assigned and be subject to 
succeSSIon. 
(2) The transfer contract shall be in writing under the pain of invalidity. 
(3) The transfer of a patent shall be binding on third parties as from the 
date of its entry in the Register of Patents. 
(4) deleted 
45. (1) A joint owner of a patent may, without the consent of the other joint 
owner$, exploit the invention by himself and assert his claims in case of 
infringement of the patent. 
(2) Where he makes a profit from the exploitation of the invention, a 
joint owner of the invention shall be required to transfer to each of the other 
joint owners a part, proportional to their participation, of one half of the profits 
obtained after deduction of the relevant expenditure. 
(3) In cases not covered by subsections (1) and (2), the appropriate 
provisions of the Code of Civil Law pertaining to co-ownership in fractional 
parts shall apply accordingly. 
(4) The contract on co-ownership of the patent may otherwise specify 
rights and obligations of the joint owners of the patent. 
(5) The provisions of subsections (1) to (4) shall apply, mutatis mutan­
dis, to the joint right to the patent. 
46. (I) A patentee may authorize (license) by contract another person to 
exploit his invention (license contract). 
(2) The license contract shall be in writing under the pain of invalidity. 
(3) The license shall, at the request of the parties, be recorded in the 
Register of Patents. The holder of an exclusive license entered in the Register IP IN 11 IPOL/P 11 
Page 10 
of Patent"s may, to the same extent as the patentee, assert his claims in case of 
infringement, unless the license contract provides otherwise. 
(4) Unless otherwise agreed in the license contract, the grant of a license 
shall not preclude the grant of a further license to exploit the invention and not 
prevent the patentee from exploiting the invention at the same time (non-exc­
lusive license). 
(5) Unless otherwise agreed in the license contract, the licensee shall 
have the right to exploit the invention to the same extent as the licensor (full 
license). 
(6) The licensee authorized to exploit the invention may grant a subli­
cense only with the consent of the owner of the patent; the grant of further 
sublicenses shall be illicit. 
(7) Unless otherwise agreed in the license contract, the licensor shall be 
required to transfer to the licensee all the technical know-how necessary to 
exploit the invention that is available to him at the time of concluding the 
contract. 
(8) Where a licensed patent is transferred, the license contract shall be 
effective in relation to the successor in title. 
47. deleted 
48. Unless otherwise agreed between the parties, the provisions on license 
contracts shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to contracts for the exploitation of an 
invention filed with the Patent Office and for which no patent has as yet been 
granted, and to contracts for offering a non-protected invention that is secret. 
49. (1) The Patent Office may, in litigation proceedings, grant authorization 
(a compulsory license) to exploit an invention being the subject of a patent of 
another person, where: 
I) it is necessary to prevent or eliminate a state of national emergency, 
2) it has been found that the exclusive right has been abused in the 
meaning of section 42, in particular where: 
i) the patentee, without any justified reasons, does not offer, or impedes 
the offering of, the products manufactured from the invention on tenns meeting 
the social demand, or 
ii) the patentee, refusing to conclude a license contract, prevents the 
meeting of the social demand through the exploitation of the invention being 
the subject of a dependent patent; in such the case the holder of the original 
patent may demand that an authorization be given to him for the exploitation of 
the invention being the subject of the dependent patent (cross-license). 
(2) In the case referred to in subsection (1 )2)(i), the Patent Office shall 
decide that an application may be made for a compulsory license and publish 
the decision in "Wiadmosci Urz~du Patentowego". Such license, based on the 
insufficient supplying of the market with the products manufactured from the IP IN 11 IPO LIP 11 
Page 11 
invention, may be granted not earlier than after three years from the date of 
granting the patent. 
(3) The person exploiting the invention under a compulsory license shall 
be required to pay a royalty in favor of the patentee, in an amount corresponding 
to the market value of the license. 
(4) The decision regarding the grant of a compulsory license shall 
specify, in particular, the scope and duration of the license, the detailed condi­
tions for its exercise, the amount of the royalty and the manner and term of its 
payment. 
(5) Section 46(5) and (6) shall apply to compulsory licenses. 
(6) A compulsory license may only be transferred by the licensee 
together with the enterprise in which it is worked. 
(7) A compulsory license may not give the licensee an exclusive right 
to exploit the invention. 
50. In the cases referred to in Section 49( I ),a compulsory license may also 
be granted for the rights deriving from license contracts (compulsory sublicen­
se). Section 49(6) shall apply mutatis mutandis. 
51. The provisions in a decision to grant a compulsory license or sublicense 
which relate to the tenns of the license or sublicense or to the amount of the 
royalty for the license (sublicense) may be amended after two years, at the 
request of the interested party or ex officio, if this should prove necessary for 
reasons of equity owing to substantial changes in circumstances. 
52. (1) A patentee may file with the Patent Office a declaration of his 
willingness to grant a license for exploitation of the invention without payment 
or against appropriate payment (open license). That declaration may not be 
revoked. 
(2) The declaration of the patentee shall be entered in the Register of 
Patents and published in Wiadomosci Urz~du Patentowego. . 
(3) On filing a declaration of willingness to grant a license, the patentee 
shall pay one half of the renewal fees due for patent protection. 
(4) An open I icense shall be a non-exclusive and full license and the 
royalties may not exceed 10 percent of the profits obtained by the licensee in 
each year of exploiting the invention. 
(5) A license shall be concluded at the time the parties reach agreement 
on the substantial provisions of the contract or at the time the licensee starts 
exploiting the invention and notices the licensor of that fact within the time limit 
laid down in subsection (6). 
(6) A licensee who starts the exploitation of the invention before 
initiating or concluding negotiations shall be required to notice the licensor of 
that fact in writing within one month of the date of starting to exploit the 
invention. The 1 icensee shall pay the maximum payment laid down in subsection 
(4), unless the licensor's offer contains lower payments. Payment shall be made IP IN I lIPOL/P 11 
Page 12 
within one month of the end of each calendar year in which the licensee has 
exploited the invention, unless otherwise agreed between the parties. 
(7) The license contract may be tenninated by the licensee at the end of 
the calendar year during which its three-year term of validity is completed, 
subject to 12 months' notice; any provisions in the contract that are less favorable 
to the licensee shall be null and void. 
(8) The provisions of subsections (1) to (7) shall apply, mutatis mutan­
dis, from the date of publication of the patent application by the Patent Office. 
53. (1) Where the person carrying on a contract for research and develo­
pment works transfers the results of such works containing an invention to the 
orderer, he shall be deemed to have granted a license for exploiting the invention 
to the orderer (implied license). 
(2) Unless otherwise agreed between the parties, in the case referred to 
in subsection (1) the person carrying on the works has the right to additional 
remuneration amounting to five percent of the profits derived from the exploi­
tation of the invention during the first five years of the exploitation. 
54. deleted 
55. Where an application of invention has been filed or a patent has been 
obtained by a person not entitled thereto, the entitled person may require that 
the application be refused or the patent be declared invalid. He may also require 
that the patent be granted in his favour nad that the patent already granted be 
transferred to him, against reimbursement of the costs of the application or of 
obtaining the patent. 
56. The person who, not being entitled to do so, filed the application or 
obtained the patent shall, on general principles, surrender the profits derived to 
the entitled person and redress the damage. On demand of the entitled person, 
he shall also be required to publish an appropriate statement in the press and, if 
he had acted intentionally, to pay an adequate amount of money to one of the 
organizations mentioned in section 9( 1), for the purpose of encouraging inven­
tive activity. 
57. (1) A person whose patent has been infringed may, on general principles, 
demand the cessation of the infringement, the redress of its consequences and 
the surrender of any profits derived or the compensation of damages. 
(2) At the request of the entitled person, the person infringing the patent 
shall also be required to publish an appropriate statement in the press and, if he 
had acted intentionally, to pay an adequate amount of money to one of the 
organizations mentioned in section 9( 1), for the purpose of encouraging inven­
tive activity. 
(3) In the case of a patent for a process for the manufacture of a new 
product, any product that can be obtained by meanes of the patented process 
shall be presumed to have in fact been produced by that process. IP IN I l/POL/P 11 
Page 13 
.( 4) At the request of the entitled person, the court may also, in its 
decision on the question of infringement of a patent, decide as to the disposal 
of products manufactured unlawfully and of any means used in their manufac­
ture. 
(5) deleted 
58. Claims of a patent infringement shall become prescribed after three 
years. The period of prescripition shall run, separately for each infringement, 
from the date when the person entitled to claim has learned about the infringe­
ment of the patent. The period of prescription shall be suspended for the time 
between the filing of the application with the Patent Office and the grant of the 
patent. 
VI. Secret Inventions 
59. (1) An invention made by a Polish national shall be deemed to be a secret 
invention if it concerns national defence or security of the State. 
(2) The sphere of national defence shall include inventions concerning, 
in particular, new categories of weapons, military equipment, methods of 
combat or other strictly military matters. 
(3) The Minister for National Defence may specify in detail the kinds 
of inventions which fall within the sphere of national defense. 
(4.) A secret invention shall constitute a State secret. 
(5) Secrecy of an invention in the field of national defence or security 
of the State shall be determined by the Minister for National Defence or Minister 
for the Interior, respectively to their scope of activity. 
60. (1) Works concerning a secret invention, the filing of the relevant patent 
application and the examination procedure may only be carried on with due 
regard to secrecy. 
(2) The obligation of keeping the invention in secret lies with the 
inventor and the persons working on the invention, as well as with a manager 
of the economic subject in which the works on the secret invention are or have 
been carried on. 
61. When filing a secret invention with the Patent Office, the applicant shall 
be required to notify immediately of this invention to the Ministry of National 
Defence or Ministry of the Interior. 
62. (1) The Patent Office shall send to the Ministry of National Defence 
lists of the applications of inventions filed with the Office and also, at the request 
of the Ministry, the descriptions and drawings of inventions filed with the 
Office, which fall within the sphere of national defence. 
(2) Files of the application of a secret invention together with the 
description and drawings, may be made available for an inspection to organs 
duly authorized by the Minister for National Defence or the Minister for the 
Interior. IP IN I lIPOL/P 11 
Page 14 
63. (1) The patent application relating to a secret invention shall not be 
published. 
(2) The Minister responsible may require the postponement, for a 
specified period, of the publication of a patent application if there is a presump­
tion that the invention concerned possesses the characteristics of a secret 
invention. 
64. (1) The right to a patent for a secret invention concerning matters in the 
scope of State defence shall be transferred to the State Treasury represented by 
the Minister for National Defence, and the right to a patent for a secret invention 
concerning matters in the scope of State security shall be transferred to the State 
Treasury represented by the Minister for the Interior. 
(2) The holder of the right to a patent of the secret invention shall be 
entitled to compensation. The provisions of section 98a (2) and (3) and section 
100 shall apply accordingly to determine the amount and the term of payment 
of the compensation. 
65. (1) The patent specification of a secret invention shall not be published. 
(2) The grant of a patent for a secret invention shall be entered in the 
non -accessible part of the Register of Patents. 
(3) deleted 
66. A secret invention may be removed from the category of secret inve­
ntions in accordance with the procedure provided for in section 59(5). 
67. The procedure in cases concerning secret inventions shall be determined 
in detail by regulations to be issued by the Minister for National Defence and 
the Minister for the Interior. 
VII. Annulment and Lapse of Patent 
68. (1) A patent may be declared null and void, in whole or in part, by the 
Patent Office, at the request of any person having a legal interest therein, if the 
statutory requirements for the grant of a patent have not been complied with. 
(2) The General Public Prosecutor of the Republic of Poland may, in 
the public interest, move a request that a patent be declared null and void or 
intervene in an annulment action already pending. 
(3) deleted 
69. Unless otherwise agreed between the parties, in the event of the an­
nulment of a patent, the purchaser, licensee or any other person to whom the 
patentee has disposed the patent against payment shall be entitled to be reim­
bursed for such payment and to require the redress of damage, under the general 
rules. The alienator, however, may deduct any profits obtained by the purchaser 
as a result-of exploitation of the invention prior to annuiment of the patent; where 
the profits exceed the payment and the damages sought, the alienator shall be 
exempted from liability. IP/N/I/POL/P/I 
Page 15 
70.' (I) Any person who in good faith has been granted or has acquired a 
patent which has subsequently been declared null and void for reasons referred 
to in section 40 or transferred to a person entitled to the patent under section 55 
or taken in a license of such patent, may, where he was exploiting the invention 
for at least one year before proceedings were instituted for the annulment of the 
patent or for its transfer or where, during such period, he had made substantial 
preparations for exploitation of the invention, continue to exploit the invention 
in his enterprise to the extent to which he was exploiting it up to the time the 
proceedings were instituted, subject to the obligation on his part to pay an 
appropriate compensation to the patentee. In the absence of agreement between 
the parties, the amount of the compensation shall be settled in litigation proce­
edings. 
(2) The rights to exploit the invention set out in subsection (1), shall be 
recorded in the Register of Patents at the request of an interested party. Those 
rights may be transferred to another person only together with the enrerprise 
concerned. 
71. deleted 
72. (1) The Patent Office shall decide that a patent has lapsed where: 
i) the entitled person, with the consent of any persons having rights in 
the patent, surrenders the patent before the Patent Office, or 
ii) if payment of the fee is overdue by more than six months. 
(2) The Patent Office shall revoke the decision declaring a patent to have 
lapsed for the reason specified in subsection (1) (ii), where the time limit for the 
payment of the overdue fee has been reinstated. 
73. The note concerning the annulment and lapse of a patent shall be 
recorded ex officio in the Register of Patents and published in Wiadomosci 
Urz~du Patentowego. 
74. Any pers'on who has begun to exploit an invention, or has made the 
necessary preparations for exploitation of an invention for which the patent has 
lapsed owing to the delay in payment of the fee, shall be entitled to exploit the 
invention even if the decision regarding lapse od the patent has been revoked, 
subject to the payment to the patentee of an appropriate compensation as from 
the date of the said revocation. Such matters shal1 be decided by the Patent Office 
in litigation proceedings. Section 70(2) shall apply mutatis mutandis. 
VIII. Exercising of Rights Abroad 
75. An invention being a subject of the right to a patent of a Polish economic 
subject or of a Polish citizen having a permanent place of residence in Poland, 
may be filed abroad to obtain protection only after it had been filed with the 
Patent Office. 
76. deleted IP 1Nl lIPOL/P 11 
Page 16 
Part III 
Utility Models and Rights of Protection 
77. Any new and useful solution of a technical nature affecting shape, 
construction or pennanent assembly of an object shall constitute a utility model 
eligible for protection. -
78. (1) The right of protection shall be granted for utility models. 
(2) The grant of a right of protection shall be con finned by the issuance 
of a certificate of protection. 
79. (1) The competent authority for the grant of rights of protection and the 
issuance of certificates of protection for utility models shall be the Patent Office. 
(2) Grants of rights of protection for utility models shall be entered in 
the Register of Rights of Protection. 
80. (1) The grant of a right of protection shall confer the exclusive right to 
exploit the utility model, for deriving profits therefrom or for professional 
purposes, throughout the territory of the State. 
(2) The tenn of the right of protection shall be five years starting from 
the date of filing the application for protection with the Patent Office. At the 
request of the holder of the right of protection, the tenn may be extended for a 
subsequent period of up to five years. 
(3) The scope of the right of protection shall be detennined by the claims 
contained in the description of the utility model. 
81. deleted 
82. The provisions concerning inventions and patents contained in sections 
11, 12, 16(5), (6) and (8), 17 to 20, 23 to 30, 32 to 35, 37 to 46, 48 to 53, 55 do 
70 and 72 to 75 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to utility models and to rights of 
protection. 
Part IV 
Rationalization Projects 
83. Any solution filed by the creator and capable of application may be 
considered by an economic subject as a rationalization project. 
84.-90. deleted 
91. Sections 59(1) to (4), 60 and 67 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to 
rationalization projects. 
Part V 
( deleted) IP/NI 1 IPOL/PI 1 
Page 17 
Part VI 
Remuneration for Invention Projects 
98. (1) The creator of an invention, entitled to the right to a patent may 
transfer this right, against an agreed remuneration, to an economic subject or 
offer the invention for exploitation by this subject. 
(2) In case of transfer of an invention for exploitation under subsection 
(I), the transfer of the right to a patent shaH be effective from the date at which 
this invention is reported to the economic subject, provided that the subject 
accepts it for exploitation within one month from the report date, unless 
otherwise agreed by the parties. 
98a.( 1) The creator of the invention shall be entitled to remuneration for 
exploitation of the invention by an economic subject, when this subject enjoys 
the right to a patent under provisions of section 20(2) or section 98 (2) or the 
right to exploit the invention under section 20(3), unless the agreement stipulates 
otherwise. 
(2) The remuneration referred to in subsection (1) shall be set by the 
economic subject in due proportion to profits derived from the exploitation of 
the invention by that subject, unless the agreement stipulates otherwise. 
(3) Unless the agreement stipulates otherwise the remuneration, referred 
to in subsection (1) shall, respecting the principle laid down in subsection (2), 
be paid as lump sum at the latest within two months after the lapse of a year 
from the date at which the initial profits have been derived from the exploitation 
of the invention or in parts within two months after the lapse of each year in 
which the profits have been derived from the exploitation of the invention. 
98b. Sections 98 and 98a shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the creator of a 
utility model. 
99. The creator of a rationalization project shall be entitled to remuneration 
for exploitation of this project. The provisions of section 98a(2) and (3) shall 
apply mutatis mutandis. 
lOO. The creator of on inventive project may require an appropriate rise in 
the payment or remuneration if it is grossly inadequate to profits derived from 
the exploitation of that project by the economic subject. 
101.-106. deLeted 
107.( 1) Remuneration paid for inventive projects shall not be liable to 
refund. 
(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply where remuneration has been paid to 
a person who has acted in bad faith or as a result of a punishable act. 
108. The provisions of civil law shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the 
remuneration for inventive projects with regard to matters not governed 
by this Law. 
109. deleted IP IN I 1/PO LIP 11 
Page 18 
110.(1) The creator of an inventive project may assert his claim to re­
muneration before the district court (Sqd Wojewodzki). The creator shall not be 
liable to pay court costs. 
(2) The provisions 'of the Code of Civil Procedure governing proce­
edings in relation to employees' claims shall apply, mutatis mutandis, in the 
case referred to in subsection (1). 
111.( I) Any person assisting the creator of an inventive project in the 
accomplishment or elaboration of the project in an economic subject shall be 
entitled to remuneration, as stipulated in the contract. 
(2) Persons who have collaborated in the implementation of an inventive 
project or who have contributed to the acceleration of its exploitation or 
promotion may be awarded. 
(3) deleted 
(4) The provisions of section 110 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the 
remuneration referred to in subsection (1). 
112. deleted 
Part VII 
Proceedings, Registers, Fees 
113. When passing decisions .and directions under this Law, the Patent 
Office, governmental bodies and local governmental agencies shall apply the 
provisions of the Code of Administrative Procedure, and in case of litigation 
proceedings -to the extent as provided for in section 11S(2)(ii). 
114. (1) The Patent Office shall apply the litigation procedure when taking 
a decision on: 
i) the annulment of a patent or of a right of protection for a utility model. 
ii) deLeted 
iii) the transfer of a patent or a right of protection for a utility model 
obtained by a person not entitled thereto; 
iv) the recognition of a patent or of a right of protection for a utility model 
as a dependent patent or a dependent right of protection; 
v) the right to exploit an invention or a utility model in the cases referred 
to in sections 43, 70 and 74; 
vi) the ascertainment that a spcci fied production is not covered by a 
particular patent or a particular right of protection for a utility model; 
vii) deleted 
viii) deleted 
ix) any other matters which, in accordance with the provisions, come under 
the competence of the Patent Office when applying the litigation procedure. 
(2) The Patent Office shall take its decisions, in the matters referred to 
in subsection (1), in boards on which the organizations referred to in section 9 
shall be represented. IP/N/I/POL/P/I 
Page 19 
115;( I) Appeals against decisions of the Patent Office and complaints 
against directions of the Office laid down in section 113 and appeals against 
decisions of the Patent Office and complaints against directions of the Office 
passed when applying the procedure referred to in section 114 shall be heard by 
the Board of Appeals with the Patent Office. The board of Appeals shall reach 
its decisions in hoards on which the organizations referred to in section 9 shall 
be represented. The Inembers of the Board of Appeals cannot be those persons 
who have participated in passing the judgement appealed. 
(2) The Council of Ministers shall, by way of regulation: 
i) set up the Board of Appeals and determine its composition and 
manner of appointrnent as weJl as of remunerating of its members; 
ii) determine the litigation procedure before the Patent Office and the 
principles of the procedure before the Board of Appeals. 
116.(1) In the hearing of matters by the Patent Office in boards in accor­
dance with the procedure referred to in section 114, the chairmen shall be judges 
appointed by the Minister of Justice from among the judges of the district courts, 
having their seat within a territory of the capital city of Warsaw. 
(2) In the hearing of matters by the Board of Appeals with the Patent 
Office in boards, the chainnen shall be judges appointed by the First President 
of the Supreme Court from among the judges of that Court. 
117. The President of the Patent Office, the First President of the Supreme 
Court and the General Public Prosecutor of the Republic of Poland as well as 
the Ombudsman may initiate an extraordinary appeal against any final decision 
of the Patent Office and the Board of Appeals which terminates the proceedings 
and grossly violates the law. The provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure shall 
apply, mutatis mutandis, to such extraordinary appeal. 
118. Cases which do not fall within the provisions of sections 113 to 117 
and which relate to civil law claims concerning inventive matters shall be settled 
in court proceedings. 
119.( 1) The Patent Office shall keep a register of patents and a register of 
rights of protection for utility models in which entries required by this Law shall 
be made. 
(2) Everyone shall be deemed to know the contents of the entries in the 
Registers. 
(3) The President of the Patent Office shall lay down the rules which 
govern the keeping of the Registers, the conditions and manner of making 
entries therein, the inspection of the Registers and obtaining excerpts there­
from. 
120.( 1) The protection of inventions and utility models shal1 be subject to 
single fees and renewal fees payable at prescribed time limits throughout the 
term of protection. 
(2) The Council of Ministers shall, by way of regulation referred to in 
section 115(2), determine the principles governing the payment and the amount IP 1Nl 1/POL/P 11 
Page 20 
of such fees, the time limits for payment and the cases where a total or partial 
exemption from such fees may be granted, as well as the principles under which 
the payment may be deferred and time limits reinstated. 
Part VIII 
Penal Provisions 
121.( 1) Anyone who falsely claims to be the creator of another's inventive 
project shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, 
limitation of freedom or a fine. 
(2) The same penalty shall apply to anyone who infringes in any other 
way the rights of the creator of an inventive project. 
122. (1) Anyone marking articles which do not enjoy patent or utility model 
protection with statements or signs calculated to give the false impression that 
the articles do enjoy such protection shall be liable to penalty of detention for a 
period not exceeding three months,limitation of freedom for a period not 
exceeding three months or to a fine. 
(2) Anyone who puts on the market, or prepares or stocks for that 
purpose the articles mentioned in subsection (1), with the knowledge that they 
are falsely marked, or provides, by advertisments, announcements, communi­
cations or in other way, infonnation calculated to give the impression that the 
articles enjoy legal protection shall be liable to the same penalties. 
123.( 1) Anyone who usurps another's right to patent or to utility model 
protection and who submits another's invention for the purpose to obtain a 
patent or another's utility model for the purpose to obtaining a right of 
protection, shall be liable to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years, 
limitation of freedom or to a fine. 
(2) Anyone infringing in any other way another's right to a patent or to 
a right of protection shall be liable to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 
one year, limitation of freedom or to a fine. 
Part IX 
Transitional Provisions and Final Clauses 
124.( 1) The provisions of the Law relating to economic subjects shall apply 
to legal entites or natural persons, in particular to those dealing in economic 
activity. 
(2) Rights belonging to the State Treasury shall be exercised in its name 
by the agency which represents it. 
125.-128. deleted Law 
on Patent Office 
of the Republic of Poland IP/NI 1 IPOL/PI 1 
Page 21 
of May 31, 1962, as amended on March 17, 1993 
(Dziennik Ustaw 1993, No 26 item 118) 
1. (I). Patent Office of the Republic of Poland shall be a central government 
agency in matters of industrial property. 
(2).Patent Office shall be submitted to the President of Council of Minis­
ters. 
2. (I). Patent Office of the Republic of Poland, hereinafter referred to as the 
"Office" ,shall act in tnatters of industrial property as specified in this Law, in 
other regulations and in international agreements to which the Republic of 
Poland is party. 
(2).The powers of the Office shall include in particular: 
i) receiving and examination of applications relating to subjects of 
industrial property, such as inventions, utility models, ornamental designs, trade 
marks, filed in order to obtain protection, 
ii) deciding in matters concerning granting of the exclusive rights to 
domestic and foreign entities to exploit the subjects of the industrial property 
within the territory of the Republic of Poland, 
iii) keeping of registers of granted rights as public registers, subject to 
restrictions in their accessibility as specified in special regulations, 
iv) issuing the official gazette under the title "Wiadomosci Urz~du 
Patentowego", containing official notices concerning the rights in matters of 
industrial property within the territory of the Republic of Poland, 
v) settlement of disputes in matters of industrial property as specified 
in special regulations, 
vi) participation in the works of international bodies by virtue of membe­
rship of the Republic of Poland to the Paris Convention for the protection of 
industrial property and to other international agreements on industrial property 
protecti on, 
vii) keeping of the central collection of Polish and foreing patent 
specifications. 
(3). When exercising its authority the Office shall act in agreetnent and 
cooperation with the relevant central government agencies, in particular in 
matters relating to international cooperation and elaboration of drafts of legal 
regulations concerning industrial property. IP/NIlIPOL/PI 1 
Page 22 
3. (1). The Office shall be headed by the President of the Office. 
(2). The President of the Office shall be appointed and recalled by the 
President of Council of Ministers. 
(3). Deputies of the President of the Office shall be appointed and recalled 
by the President of Council of Ministers at the request of the President of the 
Office. 
4. (1). Civil officers employed in the Office and authorized in writing by the 
President of the Office shall decide in matters concerning the exclusive rights 
referred to in section 2(2)(ii). 
(2). When taking decisions, the civil officers referred to in section (1), 
shall only be liable to the provisions of law and general instructions and 
guidelines of the President of the Office. 
(3). When preparing documents in individual cases relating to industrial 
property, the Office shall use a round seal with the image of an eagle in a crown 
bearing in the rim the following inscription: "Urzqd Patentowy Rzeczypospoli­
tej Polskiej" (Patent Office of the Republic of Poland). 
5. The Council of Ministers shall, by way of regulation, determine powers 
of the Office, its scope of activity and cooperation with central government 
agencies as well as cooperation between the Office and social organizations as 
well as trade unions in matters covered by the powers of the Office. 
6. (deleted). 
7.The provisions of the Ordinance of March 22, 1928 on protection of 
inventions, designs and trade marks (Journal of Law No 39, item384 with the 
later amendments) concerning: 
i) powers and organisation of the Patent Office, 
ii) procedure before the Patent Office in matters of trade marks, 
shall be repealed. 
8. This Law sha11 come into force on October 1, 1962. Law 
on Patent Agents 
of January 9, 1993 
(Dziennik Ustaw 1993, No 10 item 46) 
Part I 
General provisions IP/N/1/POL/P/l 
Page 23 
1. This Law regulates the principles of the practicing of the patent agent 
profession, rights and obligations of patent agents, rules and procedure for the 
acquirement of the qualifications for the practicing of this profession, as well 
as the rules of activity of the patent agents self-administration. 
2. (1). The objective of the practicing of the patent agent profession is to 
provide assistance in any matters relating to industrial property. 
(2). The patent agent profession may be practiced on a basis of a contract 
of employment or independently, on a patent agent own behalf. 
3. Any reference in this Law to: 
i) the Patent Office -shall mean the Patent Office 'of the Republic of 
Poland, 
ii) industrial property matters -shall mean the acquirement, maintenan­
ce and execution of rights relating to subjects resulting from inventive activity, 
destined for industrial application, as well as to names and marks intended for 
distinguishing goods and services in industrial and commercial activities, and 
to the combat of unfair competition. 
agents. iii) self-administration -shall mean the self-administration of patent 
Part 11 
Qualifications and authorization needed for the practicing 
of the patent agent profession 
4. (1). The patent agent profession may only be practiced by a person 
meeting the requirements prescribed in this Law. 
(2). The employees of the Patent Office shall not be pennitted to practice 
the patent agent profession. 
5 .. (I). The right to practice the profession and make use of the title "patent 
agent" shall be acquired after the taking the oath and upon the entry in the patent 
agent register. IP/NIlIPOL/PI1 
Page 24 
(2). The patent agent register shall be kept by the Patent Office. 
(3). The patent agent register shall be freely accessible for public. 
(4). The entry in the patent agent register shall be made at the request of 
-a person concerned. 
(5). The President of the Patent Office shall lay down the rules for keeping 
the patent agent register. 
6. The patent agent register may be entered in by anyone, who: 
i) is a Polish citizen and has at least three years been permanent 
resident on the territory of the Republic of Poland, 
ii) enjoys full legal capacity and full civic rights, 
iii) has not been punished for an offence committed deliberately and his 
nonnal reputation is of that kind that guarantees his capabilities to practice the 
patent agent profession in proper way, 
iv) is graduated from a university or a high technical school, especially 
from the technical or law faculties, 
v) completed the professional training and was in practice in matters 
relating to industrial property protection, 
vi) passed the professional examination. 
7. (I). The scope of a theoretical and practical training as well as forms and 
the duration of the practice referred to in section 6 (v) shall be determined by 
the President of the Patent Office after having consulted the self-administration 
body. 
(2). The President of the Patent Office may, in reasonable cases, exempt 
a candidate for patent agent from the requirements specified in section 6(v) 
wholly or in part. 
8. (I). The professional examination for candidates for patent agents shall 
be conducted by an Examining Board appointed by the President of the Patent 
Office. 
(2). The President of the Patent Office shall, in consultations with the 
self-administration, indicate the subject matter and the procedure for conducting 
the examination as well as the amount of the examination fee. 
9. (1). The oath fonnula taken by the patent agent shall be as follows: 
"I promise to practice the patent agent profession with conscientiousness 
and due respect to the law, to maintain secrecy about any professional matters, 
behave in proper and honest way and observe the principles of professional 
ethics". 
(2). The oath shall be taken before the President of the Patent Office and 
in presence of a representative of the self-administration body. 
10. (1). The Patent Office shall issue a licence to a patent agent entered in 
the patent agent register, which constitutes the confirmation of the right to 
practice the profession and to make use of the title "patent agent". 
(2). The President of the Patent Office shall determie the form of a patent 
agent licence. IP IN 11 IPO LIP 11 
Page 25 
11. (1). The cancelation of the entry in the patent agent register shall take 
place in the case: 
i) of making a declaration, by a person concerned, on the renouncement 
of his right to practice the profession, 
ii) of loss of the Polish citizenship, 
iii) where a valid sentence for a deliberate offence has been passed or a 
validjudgement delivered on the loss or restriction of legal capacity, the loss of 
civic rights or on the prohibition to practice the patent agent profession, 
iv) of a patent agent death. 
(2). In the case of the cancelation of the entry in the patent agent register, 
re-entering in the register shall, at the request of a person concerned, be made 
after a reason for the cancelation has ceased to exist, when, at the same time, 
taking into account the provisions of sections 6 and 7 and after having taken an 
opinion of the self-administration body. 
12. (I). A decision on the entry or refusal to entry in the patent agent register, 
as well as on the cancelation of the entry in the register, shall be taken by the 
President of the Patent Office. 
(2). The entry in the patent agent register and the cancelation of the entry 
in the register shall be communicated in the official gazette "Wiadomosci 
Urz~du Patentowego". 
Part III 
Rights and obligations of patent agents 
13. (1). A patent agent is obliged to provide assistance in n1atters relating to 
industrial property, particularily in the following: 
i) drawing up applications of patentable subject matter and filing them, 
as well as the participation in granting, litigation and appeal proceedings, 
ii) performing actions relating to the maintenance of exclusive rights 
and counteracting infringement thereof, 
iii) preparation of contracts in industrial property protection matters, 
participation in negotiations with domestic and foreign contractors and coope­
ration in the execution of these contracts. 
(2). The President of the Patent Office shall, in consultations with the 
sel f-adtninistration body, detennine detailed rules for keeping files and dossier 
by patent agents. 
14. (I). A patent agent shall, when having the right to appoint other patent 
agents as representatives, act as a representative in proceedings before the Patent 
Office, the Board of Appeals with the Patent Office, common courts and other 
adjudicative authorities deciding in industrial property protection matters. 
(2). The patent agent who has renounced his power of attorney, shall be 
obliged to continue his duties for a period of additional two months, provided IP IN I lIPO LIP 11 
Page 26 
that t.he case has not earlier been taken over by another patent agent or he has 
not earlier been released by the person who had appointed him as a repre­
sentative. 
(3). In the case of the suspension of a patent agent in practicing his 
profession or of the cancelation of the entry in the patent agent register, the 
self-administration of patent agents shall appoint an acting substitute repre­
sentative. The self-administration may also appoint an acting substitute repre­
sentative for the patent agent who remains in temporary incapability to perform 
his duties and has failed to appoint his substitute. 
15. (I). When practicing his professional duties, patent agents shall enjoy 
legal protection vested in barristers, and freedom of speech and writing to the 
extent prescribed by the provisions on the Bar. 
(2). The patent agent may not be bound, as to the substance of an opinion 
or advice given, by a service order. 
(3). When performing his professional duties, the patent agent shall be 
obliged to maintain secrecy of any information acquired. 
16. The patent agent shall not be allowed to accept the substitution or provide 
assistance if he has acted as a representative of the opposite party or provided 
assistance to this party in the same or relating case; he shal1 neither be a]]owed 
to accept the substitution nor provide assistance in a case, in which he has 
participated by the authorization of the governmental administration or self-ad­
ministration bodies. 
Part IV 
Self-administration of patent agents 
17. (l). Hereby the Polish Chamber of Patent Agents is established, here­
inafter referred to as "self-adnlinistration". 
(2). Membership in the self-administration shall be obligatory and 
beconle effective upon the entry in the patent agent register. 
(3). The Pol ish Chamber of Patent Agents shal1 enjoy the status of legal 
person. 
18. The sel f-adnlinistration shall represent patent agents and protect their 
professional interests, in particular through: 
i) taking measures for securing proper conditions for the practicing of 
the patent agent profession, 
ii) participation in forming and application of the law in the field of 
industrial property protection as wel1 as in the organization and practicing of 
the patent agent profession, 
iii) cooperation with the Patent Office in conducting trainings in indu­
strial property protection matters, 
iv) improvement of professional qualifications of patent agents, way, IP/N/I/POL/P/l 
Page 27 
v) taking care of the practicing of the patent agent profession in proper 
vi) making studies aimed at improving the organisation and thepracti­
cing of the patent agent profession. 
19. (1). The self-administration consists of: National Conference of Patent 
Agents, National Council of Patent Agents, Audit Commission, Appeal Disci­
plinary Commission, Disciplinary Commission ans Disciplinary Prosecutor. 
(2). The tenn of office of the self-administration authorities shall be four 
years. 
20. The organisational structure of the self-administration and a detailed 
procedure of the establishment of its authorities shal1 be determined in the statute 
adopted by the National Conference of Patent Agents. 
21. The National Conference of Patent Agents sha1l, as the supreme self-ad­
ministration authority, be responsible for: 
i) adoption of the statute, 
ii) adoption of the directions of the sel f-administration activity, pri­
nciples of professional ethics and passing other resolutions admitted by the 
Conference as advisable, 
iii) laying down the rules for holding elections to the self-administration 
authorities, fixing the number of members of these authorities and rules of 
recalling and completion of the composition of the Conference, as well as of 
passing resolutions by the sel f-adTninistration authorities, 
iv) adoption of the regulations of activity of the self-administration 
authorities, 
v) determination of the rules of financial activity of the self-adminis­
tration and fixing of the amount of a membership fee, 
vi) election of the Chainnan of the Polish Chmnber of Patent Agents who 
shall also preside the National Council of Patent Agents, as wel1 as of Chairmen 
of the Audit Commission, Appeal Disciplinary Commission, Disciplinary Com­
mission and of the Disciplinary Prosecutor, 
vii) election of members of the National Council of Patent Agents, Audit 
Commission, Appeal Disciplinary Commision and Disciplinary Commission, 
viii) exanlination and adoption of the reports of the National Council of 
Patent Agents, Audit ComTnission, Appeal Disciplinary Commission and Dis­
ciplinary Prosecutor. 
22. The National Council of Patent Agents shall be responsible for: 
i) representation of the self-administration, 
ii) giving opinions to draft legal acts and presentation of proposals 
relating to the legal regulations in the field of industrial property protection and 
patent agents, 
iii) adoption of the budget of the National Council, approval of the 
rcports of its execution and the consideration of motions submitted by the Audit 
C0l11n1ission, IP/N/I/POL/P/l 
Page 28 
. iv) organization of training courses for candidates for patent agents and 
of the itnprovement of professional qualifications of patent agents, 
v) running of the financial activity of the self-administration 
vi) adoption of the directions for fixing the amount of royalties for patent 
agent activities, 
vii) performance of other self-administration's tasks not falling within 
the responsibilities of other self-administration authorities. 
23. The Audit Comlnission shall supervise the organisational and financial 
activities of the National Council of Patent Agents. 
24. (]). The Disciplinary Commission shall be responsible for deciding in 
disciplinary matters concerning patent agents, submitted by the Disciplinary 
Prosecutor, and in complaints against directions given by the Disciplinary 
Prosecutor. 
(2). The Appeal Disciplinary Commission shall examine appeals against 
the decisions taken by the Disciplinary Commission. 
(3). The Disciplinary Prosecutor shall receive or submit requests for the 
institution of a disciplinary proceedings and conduct explanatory proceedings. 
25. The self-administration 's activity shall be financed from: 
i) contributions of patent agents, 
ii) running of economic activity, excluding in matters referred to in 
section 13( I ), 
iii) incomes from other sources, including donations and inheritances. 
26. (I). The Ombudsman, General Public Prosecutor and President of the 
Patent Office may lodge an appeal with the Supreme Court against a resolution 
of the sel f-adtninistration authority on the ground of its inconsistency with the 
law. The Supreme Court shall either dismiss the appeal or repeal the appealed 
resolution and remand the case to the sel f-adnlinistration authority, which shall 
be bound by the Supreme Court's decision. 
(2). The President of the Patent Office may move to the National Council 
of Patent Agents for the adoption of a resolution in a specific case falling within 
the conlpetence of the self-adIninistration authority. The National Council of 
Patent Agents shall consider this motion within a period of one month, 
(3). The National Council of Patent Agents shall submit annually to the 
President of the Patent Office the information on the self-administration's 
activity. 
Part V 
Disciplinary responsibility 
27. (I). Patent agents shall be liable to disciplinary responsibility for acts 
contrary to the oath, in particular for deliberately improper execution of their 
professional duties. 
(2). The acts violating the regulations indicated in the Labour Code, 
concerning the work discipline and order, shall be exenlpted from the di­
sciplinary responsibility. 28. (I). Disciplinary punishments shall be the following: 
i) admonition 
ii) censure and warning IP/NI 1 IPOL/PI 1 
Page 29 
iii) suspention in the right to practice the patent agent profession for a 
period of five years. 
(2).The punishment shall be canceled in the register upon the expiration 
of three years of its execution. 
(3). A copy of the final decision with the sentence to a disciplinary 
punishment shall be added to the personal dossier of the person sentenced. 
29. (1). Disciplinary proceedings relating to the same act shall be conducted 
independently of a penal proceedings or a separate disciplinary proceedings 
resulting from the special provisions to which the defendant is amenable. The 
disciplinary proceedings may be suspended until the penal proceedings is 
concluded. 
(2). In case, where a penal proceedings is instituted against a patent 
agent, the Disciplinary Commission may suspend the right to practice the patent 
agent profession until the pending proceedings is concluded. The suspention in 
the right to practice the profession may also be decided in the case of the 
persistent evasion of the defendant from taking part in the disciplinary proce­
edings. 
(3). The decisions in the matters referred to in subsection (2) shall be 
subject to complaint to the Appeal Disciplinary Commission, which can be 
lodged within a period of one month of the day on which the decision is served 
upon the defendant in writing. 
30. (1). The disciplinary proceedings before the Disciplinary Commission 
shall be instituted at the request of the Disciplinary Prosecutor after the expla­
natory proceedings is carried out. 
(2). The Disciplinary Prosecutor shall institute an explanatory procee­
dings at his own motion or at the motion of the Chainllan of the Pol ish Chamber 
of Patent Agents or the President of the Patent Office. 
(3). Period of limitation of the punishability of the offence shall expire 
after six months of the moment when the Disciplinary Prosecutor is noticed on 
the commission of the offence or upon the expiry of one year of its commission. 
(4). Where, however, the act is recognized as being a criminal offence, 
the limitation in disciplinary cases shall not have effect before the limitation 
provided for in the penal law . 
(5). Period of limitation in disciplinary cases shall be suspended by any 
action taken by the Disciplinary Prosecutor. 
(6). The Disciplinary Prosecutor shall not institute a proceedings and 
shall discontinue the proceedings already instituted, where: 
i) the act has not been committed or the act is recognized as being a 
criminal offence, 
ii) the defendant is dead, 
iii) the act is barred by limitation, IP IN I lIPOL/P /1 
Page 30 
iv) the act is recognized not to be an offence because of the minimal 
degree of danger to the public weal. 
31. The Disciplinary Commission and the Appeal Disciplinary Commission 
shall take decisions at sittings. 
32. (I). When taking decisions, members of disciplinary commissions shall 
be independent and disciplined only by the law. 
(2). The Disciplinary Commission shall decide in three-member boards 
and the Appeal Disciplinary Commission shall decide in five-member boards. 
(3). In course of the proceedings the Disciplinary Commission shall 
order a hearing with the participation of the defendant; where the clarification 
of the case is considered to be satisfactory, the hearing shall be declared closed. 
(4). The Disciplinary Commission may renounce from inflicting a dis­
ciplinary punishment, if it finds the offence to be of minor consequence. 
(5). The decisions of the Disciplinary Commission shall be subject to 
appeals lodged with the Appeal Disciplinary Commission within one month of 
the day on which the decision is served, in writing, upon the parties. 
33. The defendant shall, during the disciplinary proceedings, be entitled to 
appoint a counsel for the defence. 
34. The provisions of the Penal Procedure Code shall apply mutatis mutandis 
to the cases not governed by the provisions of this Part. 
Part VI 
Transitional and Final Provisions 
35. (1). The patent agents entered in the patent agent register by the day of 
the entry of this Law into force, shall be deemed to be patent agents in the 
meaning of this Law. 
(2). The patent agents referred to in subsection (1) shall be required to 
furnish, within a period of three months as from the date of the entry of this Law 
into force, a declaration on the practicing of the patent agent profession. 
36. Any persons who, by the day of the entry of this Law into force, became 
qualified to be entered in the patent agent register under the former Law, may 
apply, within two years as from the entry of this Law into force, for being entered 
in the patent agent register. 
37. Any persons being, at the date of the entry of the Law into force, under 
the training for the patent agent profession and are expected to complete the 
training in due time may, under the former rules, enter the professional exami­
nation and request for being entered in the patent agent register. 
38. (1). The President of the Patent Office shaH, within six months as from 
the entry of this Law intro force, convoke the first National Conference of Patent 
Agents. 
(2). Any patent agents entered in the patent agent register shall be entit­
led to participate in the first National Conference of Patent Agents. IP IN I 1/POL/P 11 
Page 31 
39. In Article 51 of the Law of January 31, t 985 on Trademarks (0.1. No 5 
item 17 and of 1989 No 35 item 192) the expression "of the units authorized by 
the Ministry of Foreign Trade" shall be replaced by the words "of a patent agent 
being the permanent resident in Poland". 
40. The Law on April 21,1966 on patent agents (O.J. No 14,item 86) is 
repealed. 
41. The Law shall become effective upon the expiry of thirty days of its 
promulgation. 