This is our brand!

If you have already started supplying products or services, or you are now planning to do so in the future, under a particular brand and you wish the public to recognise that product or those services as yours alone and prevent others from using that mark in relation to their products or services you can do so by registering your mark in the countries in which you need protection.

What is a trade mark for?

A trade mark assures consumers that the product or service you’re selling is in fact yours: it raises awareness and enables brand extension into other products or markets. It identifies your goods and differentiates them from others. It avoids confusion and stops others copying your product.

What can be a trade mark?

There is an extraordinary range of trade marks which can be registered including words, logos, jingles, colours, smells, shapes, sounds, combinations of letters, numbers, forms of packaging and personal names.

The more you use your mark to identify your goods and services, the stronger and more valuable it becomes. Sample trade marks:

Why register?

But until it is registered, a mark might not belong to you. If someone else gets the mark registered first, you may have to withdraw all your products, redesign all your packaging, draw up a new publicity campaign, pay compensation and/or buy a license from the registered owners. It is therefore crucial to register and use your mark correctly, so that it can become a key intellectual property asset.

How to register?

The best way to ensure protection for your trade mark is to register it before a national, regional or international trade mark registration office.

national route:

When seeking protection only in Poland you may try to register it before the Polish Patent Office. For other national offices go here.

European route:

If you need to sell or market your products in some of the European Union member states it can be achieved through the “European” route by filing of the application with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUPIO) in Alicante.

international route:

If you need to have esclusive rights to use your trade mark in any non-European country as well than it would be necessary to either file the application directly with the national patent office or through so called international route by filing your application with the International Bureau of World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in Geneva.

How long can a trade mark be protected?

Protection of a trade mark in most routes (national – before the Polish Patent Office, European – before EUIPO and international – before WIPO) lasts 10 years and can be renewed indefinitely for next 10-year periods of protection.

OUR SERVICES:

We represent our clients directly at the Polish Patent Office, EUPIO and WIPO. We are experienced in representing clients before these bodies in opposition and appeal proceedings including the administratice and common courts.

As registered and experienced patent & trade mark attorneys we provide a comprehensive range of services including:

• preparation and filing of a trade mark application to the following offices: Polish Patent Office, Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (EUIPO), World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO);
• supporting clients in seeking protection for their trade marks in other national offices worldwide by contacting associated foreign patent and trade mark attorneys, negotiating fees, monitoring procedures, forwarding instructions from clients and reporting to clients on the proceedings developments
• providing advice on the selection of the most suitable area of protection and route (national, international, European
• the initial clearance search to establish freedom to use a mark;
• regular watching of databases for new applications filed by competitors;
• regular watching of databases for new applications of any trade marks similar or identical to our client’s trade marks;
• enforcement of our clients’ rights before a patent office, common and administrative courts;
• representing clients in opposition/cancellation/revocation proceedings
• alternative dispute resolution;
• negotiating assignment of license agreements with third parties;
• renewals of trade marks for subsequent 10-year protection periods;
• monitoring timely payments of renewal fees;

IMPORTANT: Any persons not having their domicile or seat in Poland, in proceedings before the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland in matters relating to the filing and processing of applications and maintenance of the protection (including fee payments) of inventions, utility models, industrial designs, trademarks, geographical indications and topographies of integrated circuits may only act when represented by a patent attorney entered in the Patent Attorneys’ Register kept by the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland whose address for services is in Poland (Article: 236 of the Industrial Property Law).

A comprehensive list of registered attorneys is available on the website of Polish Chamber of Patent Attorneys.