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At-a-glance: Patent Office of the Republic of Poland Al. Niepodległości 188/192 00-950, Warsaw, PO Box 203 Tel: +48 22 579 01 40 Fax: +48 22 579 00 01 Email: informacja@uprp.pl Website: www.uprp.pl In Poland, the reform and increasing awareness... [more]

In Poland, the reform and increasing awareness of intellectual property has been consistent over the past few years. But while fundamental matters of law have long been resolved, the market has entered a difficult phase. "It's a good thing because it's a sign of a certain maturity, but it's less exciting," one partner says. "I got used to the breathtaking speed at which the market changed but this is no longer the case. Intellectual property is trickier than we thought or at least 15 years ago what I thought. It takes a while for the market to understand the value of IP."

A further challenge for the market has been the unitary patent, which continues to cause anxiety. Most recently, Poland declined to sign the agreement on a Unified Patent Court that was signed on February 19 2013 by 24 states. "The downside for Polish enterprise is that only 30 European patents were filed last year and 20,000 patents were filed in Germany," one partner says. "We're far far away. Poland's economy will not benefit from the new system." Despite this, while national filing continues to dwindle, Polish companies are becoming increasingly innovative and filing more European trade marks.

In patent litigation, pharmaceuticals continued to lead other industries. There were a number of mechanical cases and not too many electronic disputes. "The market is narrow in Poland and there are no more than 40-50 cases a year," one partner says. "In terms of numbers, there are more mechanical cases but in terms of importance and big litigation, pharma is the leader." Recently there has been an increase in trade mark litigation, and anti-counterfeiting work is an everyday business. In fact, there are more counterfeiting cases between Polish companies than with foreign companies, and this wasn't the case as recently as five years ago. "There's no spectacular change but there is a process," one partner says. "You'll find that the future belongs to contentious issues that are becoming more complicated and sophisticated."

The legal market in Poland is interesting, with a number of different types of firm. It includes large independent firms, international firms, IP boutiques and both historical and newer prosecution practices. "There are the boutiques and then the big law firms with big IP departments, and others who are focused on prosecution," one partner says. "With litigation fluctuating as it does, you can't run a litigation boutique. It needs to be coupled with a prosecution practice."