REKEL PATENT / Guide to IP matters
From the first idea to protection and disputes
How to organise matters involving a brand, invention, product appearance or technology. Understand what needs checking before filing, which documents matter and which authority decides a particular issue.
Rekel Patent is an information website published by Vadym Rekel. Its materials explain intellectual-property procedures and the work of qualified patent attorneys. Sources verified on 16 October 2026. Current legislation, documents, service dates and applicable procedural instructions matter in an individual case.
01 / Types of matters
Types of matters
Trade marks: names, logos and commercial identifiers
A trade mark distinguishes the goods or services of one undertaking. A matter may concern a product name, service brand, logo or another eligible sign. A qualified patent attorney can assess conflicts, prepare an application and handle correspondence during proceedings. Registering a business name, domain or social-media profile does not replace checking trade mark rights.
Inventions and utility models: translating technology into legal protection
Protecting a technical solution requires more than describing its commercial advantages. The technical problem, essential features, available prior art and entitlement to apply must be identified. In these matters a patent attorney combines legal analysis with technical drafting. A patent and a utility-model protection right have distinct eligibility requirements; they are not interchangeable names for the same right.
Industrial designs: protecting a product’s appearance
A design concerns the appearance of a product or part of it, including features such as lines, contours, colours, shape, texture and ornamentation. Protection of technical functionality and protection of appearance have different purposes. A design matter requires organising product versions, authorship, earlier disclosures and the illustrations intended for filing. Design protection may coexist with other rights, but it requires its own assessment.
Opposition, invalidity and loss of protection
A conflict can arise during examination of somebody else’s application or after a right has been granted. Opposing a trade mark application, opposing a granted patent, seeking invalidity and seeking a declaration of loss of protection serve different purposes. The appropriate procedure depends on the right, dates and legal ground. A general belief that a competitor should not hold a registration is insufficient.
Infringement and unfair-competition disputes
A similar product or a brand owner’s objection is not enough to establish a claim. The analysis identifies a valid right, the entitled party, specific conduct and the territory concerned. A qualified Polish patent attorney may represent parties in civil intellectual-property matters, including the statutory scope of copyright and unfair-competition cases. That is not a general entitlement across every field of law or in criminal proceedings.
Agreements, licensing and technology transfer
Industrial-property matters also include organising rights between designers, contractors, business partners, universities and customers. A licence grants a defined permission to use an asset, while an assignment changes its owner. The document should reflect what is actually being transferred: a patent, application, trade mark, documentation, know-how or several assets together.
Office refusals and administrative-court review
An adverse UPRP decision is different from losing an infringement action. Administrative-court review concerns the lawfulness of the authority’s action. Assessment begins with the complete decision, case file and procedural instructions. The route cannot be reduced to an automatic sequence of reconsideration, WSA and NSA: the type of act and proceedings determine the available remedies.
Protection abroad: separate routes for different rights
Expansion requires choosing territories and tools appropriate to the brand, technology and product appearance. No single application provides every type of protection worldwide. Within their qualifications, patent attorneys may plan overseas strategy and coordinate with representatives qualified in other jurisdictions. Each system has its own representation rules.
02 / Procedure map
Six stages that support an informed decision
A well-prepared matter starts with identifying the asset and the purpose of protection. Completing a form is one step within a wider process.
- 01
Asset and ownership
Identify what needs protection: a name, logo, technical solution, product appearance, documentation or confidential know-how. Establish who created it, who acquired the rights and which agreements document ownership.
- 02
Disclosure and dates
Organise the dates of publications, presentations, sales, filings and service of documents. This identifies novelty risks, possible priority claims and urgent procedural steps.
- 03
Searches and territory
Search the relevant registers and technical literature, then select the markets where protection is needed. Assessing whether protection is obtainable and assessing freedom to operate answer different questions.
- 04
Documents and authority
Prepare the appropriate application or dispute documents: a goods and services specification, claims, illustrations, an evidence schedule or an agreement. Identify the competent authority and the representative’s actual authority to act.
- 05
Proceedings and responses
Review communications from the office and other parties, address deficiencies and submit arguments and evidence. Settlement, narrowing the scope and changing strategy may each be separate, informed decisions.
- 06
Maintenance and enforcement
A decision may be followed by fees, renewals, recordals, monitoring and arrangements for using the right. A refusal or dispute requires a separate assessment of available remedies, legal grounds and time limits.
03 / FAQ
Questions & answers
What matters does a qualified Polish patent attorney handle?
Legal and technical assistance in industrial-property matters includes applications, prior-art searches, protection-scope analysis, agreements and disputes. Patent attorneys may also represent parties in civil intellectual-property cases within the statutory scope. The applicable rules and the individual representative’s qualifications must be checked for the particular procedure.
Does the website accept individual cases?
No. Rekel Patent publishes general information about rights and procedures. Its guides help readers understand a topic and prepare questions; they do not establish an instruction to handle a particular case.
Does a Kraków business always bring its case in Kraków?
No. Jurisdiction depends on the matter and applicable rules, including special IP provisions. For example, the technical categories and computer programs listed in Article 479⁹⁰ § 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure fall exclusively within Warsaw Regional Court’s jurisdiction.
Can every Polish patent attorney act before EPO and UPC?
Not automatically. EPO applies Articles 133–134 EPC. UPC applies Article 48 of its Agreement and separate qualification rules. National qualifications, entry on the EPO list and entitlement to represent before UPC must be considered separately.
Does a PCT application provide a worldwide patent?
No. PCT facilitates an international filing route. Further proceedings and grant decisions remain with the selected national or regional offices, subject to their requirements.
Is reconsideration always required before challenging a UPRP decision in court?
No. The remedy’s availability depends on the procedure. Article 52 § 3 of the Administrative Courts Procedure Act generally permits a court complaint without first using an available reconsideration request. Particular orders and contentious-proceeding decisions need separate analysis. Always check the actual act, applicable rules and time limit.