Utility model protection in Poland is available for technical solutions and may be useful where protection is needed without the inventive step requirement applicable to inventions.
Utility model applications in Poland are filed and prosecuted before the Polish Patent Office, Urząd Patentowy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej (UPRP).
Foreign applicants who do not have residence in Poland must act through a registered Polish patent attorney.
Important: Under Polish utility model practice, inventive step is not required. A solution may therefore be protected as a utility model if it is new, technical and industrially applicable.
A utility model application in Poland may be filed as a direct national application or as a PCT application entering the Polish national phase.
The standard registration procedure usually takes approximately 24 months.
Formal examination is conducted shortly after filing to verify compliance with filing requirements and the presence of all required elements. This stage usually takes approximately 1 to 6 months.
Substantive examination concerns novelty and industrial applicability.
The application is published after 18 months from the filing date or priority date, where priority is claimed.
If the decision is positive, the applicant receives notification, pays the required fees and the utility model is entered in the register. A certificate of registration is then issued.
Important: Polish law allows conversion of an invention application into a utility model application where the solution does not meet the inventive step requirement but may be qualified as a new and useful technical solution.
The application must be filed in Polish. If filed in a foreign language, a Polish translation must be submitted within the term set by the Office.
A utility model registration in Poland is valid for 10 years from the filing date.
Maintenance fees are paid for five-year periods.
A 6-month grace period is available for late payment with payment of an additional fee equal to 30% of the overdue amount.
Useful where a technical solution is new and practical but may not satisfy the inventive step standard for inventions.
Suitable for technical subject matter where national utility model protection is available.
May provide a fallback route where an invention application faces inventive step objections.