Trademark registration is considered one of the most important aspects of ensuring brand protection and effective business development. This article covers some issues of TM regulation in Poland, since this jurisdiction is characterized by favorable conditions for entrepreneurship. Also, this jurisdiction is a convenient starting point for expanding business in the EU countries. If your plans are to expand and conquer new markets, then taking care of protecting your brand is of the utmost importance.
Territorial protection
Protection of rights for a trademark has a territorial effect, so that outside the registered country or region, the protection will not apply. Thus, a TM registered in Poland will not have legal force in other EU countries if the rights to a registered product or service are violated.
Thus, you will need to have a TM registration both in Poland and in another European country where you have a business interest.
To do this, you can register a trademark both in the country of interest in accordance with the national registration procedure, and use the registration under the Madrid procedure.
But even for registration under the Madrid procedure, an application in the original country is required. Therefore, TM registration in Poland is necessary in any case.
What benefits you get if you register a brand in Poland:
- exclusive right to use TM in the country;
- power to fight against violators through various legal procedures;
- point of difference from competitors.
Polish TM registration procedure
Anything that distinguishes the goods of one producer from the goods of another one and can be included in the register, can be registered as Polish trademark.
The registration procedure is a relatively long and resource-intensive process. Therefore, it is recommended to choose the right strategy in advance.
Thus, the following steps are required to register TM in Europe:
- Apply to the services of professionals specializing in TM registration in Europe. By the way, the specialists of our company have significant experience in this area and are always ready to provide qualified assistance in registering a trademark in Poland and any other European country;
- Choose national and/or Madrid procedure (the latter is more expensive);
- Choose the type of TM (if it does not exist yet) - verbal, pictorial, combined; and color - black and white, or color. For those interested in registering original non-standard TMs in Poland (holographic TMs, smells, tastes etc), it is important to consider that although they are allowed,you might face some practical difficulties in including these TMs in the register and the whoe procedure may last longer.
- Select the class and list of goods and services required to protect TM;
Important! TM protection will apply exclusively to the selected positions. - Optional: select the search procedure for similar names in open and closed databases;
- Select the type of procedure: standard or expedited.
Those planning to start a business in Poland should take into account that the IP Office only examines the absolute grounds for refusal (for example, distinctive character) and does not check potential conflicts with other TMs (third parties may file objections).
Filing an appeal on a rejected application
If for some reason your application has been rejected you should take the following steps:
- Request for reconsideration within two months from the rejection notice;
- If the request for review is unsuccessful, appeal right away to the Administrative Court and subsequently to the Supreme Administrative Court.
Advice on TMs regulation in Poland and beyond
If you want to register a TM in the EU, we recommend that you contact IQ Decision UK for advice. Experienced professionals will help you understand the requirements of the jurisdiction you are interested in and provide comprehensive legal assistance in resolving a TM dispute in Poland in case you encounter such an issue.
