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Kancelaria Adwokacka adw. dr Joanna Kaźmierczak​

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Kancelaria Adwokacka

adw. dr Joanna Kaźmierczak​

Intellectual property law

Intellectual property law

Legal assistance includes the preparation of drafts and opinions of copyright transfer agreements, the creation of reports and audits relating to these agreements, as well as the negotiation of the terms of conclusion or execution of these agreements and representation during proceedings before state authorities related to copyright transfer agreements.

Only economic copyrights may be the subject of a copyright transfer agreement. Personal copyrights are not transferable. However, it is permissible for the author to undertake not to exercise moral rights.

Pursuant to Article 41(1) of the Act of 4.02.1994 on Copyright and Related Rights, unless otherwise provided by law:

  • Copyright may pass to others by inheritance or by contract;
  • The acquirer of the author’s economic rights may transfer them to other persons, unless the agreement provides otherwise.

According to Article 41(2) of the aforementioned Act, a contract for the transfer of author’s economic rights covers the fields of exploitation expressly mentioned therein.

Pursuant to Article 41(3) of the aforementioned Act, a contract is invalid in the part concerning all works or all works of a certain type by the same author to be created in the future.

Pursuant to Article 41(4) of the aforementioned Act, a contract may only concern fields of exploitation that are known at the time of its conclusion.

Pursuant to Article 41(5) of the aforementioned Act, the author of a work used in or incorporated into an audiovisual work and a work forming part of a collective work, once new ways of exploiting the works have been created, may not, without a valid reason, refuse to authorise the use of that work within an audiovisual work or collective work in fields of exploitation unknown at the time of the conclusion of the agreement.

Pursuant to Article 43 of the aforementioned Act, if it does not follow from the contract that the transfer of the author’s economic rights was free of charge, the author is entitled to remuneration. If the contract does not specify the amount of the author’s remuneration, the amount of remuneration shall be determined taking into account the scope of the right granted and the benefits resulting from the use of the work. Pursuant to Article 44 of the aforementioned Act, in the case of a gross disproportion between the remuneration of the author and the benefits of the acquirer of the author’s economic rights, the author may demand an appropriate increase of the remuneration by the court. In addition, pursuant to Article 45 of the aforementioned Act, unless the contract provides otherwise, the author is entitled to separate remuneration for the use of the work in each separate field of exploitation.

Pursuant to Article 46 of the aforementioned Act, unless the contract provides otherwise, the author retains the exclusive right to authorise the exercise of the dependent copyright, even though the contract provides for the transfer of the entire copyright.

Article 50 of the aforementioned Act lists examples of fields of exploitation, which are:

  • in terms of recording and multiplication of the work – production of copies of the work using a specific technique, including printing, reprography, magnetic recording and digital technique;
  • within the scope of trading in the original or copies on which the work has been fixed – marketing, lending or leasing the original or copies;
  • within the scope of dissemination of a work in a manner other than specified in point 2 – public performance, exhibition, display, reproduction, broadcasting and re-broadcasting, as well as making a work available to the public in such a way that everyone can have access to it at a place and time chosen by themselves.

The legislator introduces in Article 53 of the above-mentioned Act the requirement of written form under pain of nullity for the agreement on the transfer of author’s economic rights.

A contract for the transfer of copyrights is a contract with the so-called double effect (the conclusion of a contract with binding effect entails the simultaneous disposition of a right). Pursuant to Article 64 of the above-mentioned Act, a contract obliging the transfer of author’s economic rights transfers to the acquirer, upon acceptance of the work, the right to exclusive use of the work in the field of exploitation specified in the contract, unless otherwise stipulated therein.

Legal assistance includes the drafting and review of agreements for the use of a work (licence or sub-licence), the creation of reports and audits relating to licence or sub-licence agreements, as well as the negotiation of the terms of conclusion or execution of these agreements and representation in proceedings before state authorities relating to disputes arising therefrom.

Most of the provisions on copyright transfer agreements apply directly to licence agreements.

Furthermore, according to Article 65 of the Act of 4.02.1994 on Copyright and Related Rights, in the absence of an express provision on the transfer of the right, the author is deemed to have granted a licence.

According to Article 66(1) of the aforementioned Act, a licence agreement entitles to use the work for a period of five years in the territory of the country where the licensee has its registered office, unless otherwise provided in the agreement. In turn, according to Article 66(2) of the aforementioned Act, after the expiry of the period referred to in paragraph 1, the right obtained under the licence agreement expires.

Article 67(1) of the aforementioned Act provides that the author may grant authorisation to use the work in the fields of exploitation listed in the agreement, specifying the scope, place and time of such use. The legislator further distinguishes between the different types of licences. According to Article 67(2) of the above-mentioned Act, if the agreement does not reserve the exclusive use of the work in a specific manner (exclusive licence), the granting of the licence does not limit the authorising of other persons to use the work in the same field of exploitation (non-exclusive licence). The legislator also introduced a dispositive ban on granting sublicences without the author’s consent. Indeed, according to Article 67(3) of the aforementioned Act, unless the agreement provides otherwise, the licensee may not authorise another person to use the work within the scope of the obtained licence.

The exclusive licence constitutes the basis for acquiring specific rights. Pursuant to Article 67(4) of the aforementioned Act, if an agreement does not provide otherwise, the holder of an exclusive licence may pursue claims for infringement of author’s economic rights, within the scope covered by the licence agreement. Due to the far-reaching legal consequences of concluding an exclusive licence agreement, Article 67(5) of the aforementioned Act requires that it be drawn up in writing under pain of invalidity.

The legislator also establishes specific rules concerning the termination of a licence agreement. Pursuant to Article 68(1) of the aforementioned Act, if the agreement does not provide otherwise, and the licence has been granted for an indefinite period of time, the author may terminate it in accordance with the contractual terms, or, in the absence thereof, one year in advance, at the end of the calendar year. In turn, according to Article 68(2) of the aforementioned Act, a licence granted for a period of more than five years shall, upon expiry of that period, be deemed to have been granted for an indefinite period.

Legal assistance includes the creation, analysis and opinion of contracts between co-authors of a work, as well as legal advice and representation in disputes arising between them over the conclusion, validity, effectiveness and performance of these contracts.

A co-authorship agreement refers to joint works that are created when two or more persons co-author a work in agreement. Joint works may be separable or inseparable. In disjunctive works, the parts that constitute creative contributions from different creators can be clearly separated. In inseparable works, no such separation can be made.

Pursuant to Article 9(1)-(5) of the Act of 4.02.1994 on Copyright and Related Rights, co-authors are entitled to copyright jointly. The sizes of shares are presumed to be equal. Each of the co-authors may request the court to determine the size of the shares on the basis of the contributions of creative work. Each co-author may exercise copyright in his or her part of the work having independent significance without prejudice to the rights of the other co-authors. The consent of all co-authors is required to exercise copyright in the entire work. In the absence of such consent, any of the co-authors may request a decision by a court, which shall rule taking into account the interests of all co-authors. Each co-author may claim infringement of the copyright in the work as a whole. The benefit obtained shall accrue to all co-authors according to the size of their shares. To the author’s economic rights vested in co-authors to the extent not regulated in the Act of 4.02.1994 on Copyright and Related Rights, the provisions of the Civil Code on joint ownership in fractional parts shall apply accordingly.

Legal assistance includes advice, analysis and opinion on the subject of the creator’s liability for the non-performance or improper performance of the creation contract or for defects in the work.

The legislator regulates in part the manner of performance of the contract and liability for defects in the work in the Act of 4.02.1994 on Copyright and Related Rights, and in part the provisions on the work contract in the Act of 23 April 1964 Civil Code can be applied in this respect.

Of the more relevant specific regulations, one can point to Article 54 of the Act of 4.02.1994 on Copyright and Related Rights. Pursuant to the cited provision, the author is obliged to deliver the work within the deadline specified in the contract, and if the deadline is not specified, immediately after the work is completed. If the author fails to deliver the work within the stipulated deadline, the ordering party may set an appropriate additional deadline for the author with the threat of withdrawal from the contract, and upon the ineffective expiry of the deadline, the author may withdraw from the contract.

Liability for defects and faults in a work, on the other hand, is regulated by Article 55 of the aforementioned Act. According to the aforementioned provision, if the ordered work has defects, the ordering party may set an appropriate time limit for the author to remove them, and upon the ineffective lapse of the time limit, the ordering party may withdraw from the agreement or demand an appropriate reduction of the agreed remuneration, unless the defects are the result of circumstances for which the author is not responsible. These claims expire upon acceptance of the work. The creator shall in any case retain the right to the part of the remuneration received, not exceeding 25% of the contractual remuneration. If the work has legal defects, the commissioning party may withdraw from the contract and claim compensation for the damage suffered. At the level of the law, a time limit is set after which the work is deemed to have been accepted without comment. If the commissioning party does not notify the author within six months of the delivery of the work of its acceptance, non-acceptance or making acceptance conditional on certain modifications being made within a reasonable period set for this purpose, the work shall be deemed to have been accepted without reservation. The parties may specify a different time limit.

The effect of withdrawal from or termination of a contract is, in the absence of an agreement to the contrary in accordance with Article 59 of the aforementioned Act, the right to demand from the other party the return of all that the latter has received under the contract.

The author is entitled to specific rights under copyright supervision, as specified in Article 60 of the aforementioned Act. Pursuant to it, the user of a work is obliged to enable the author to carry out author’s supervision before the work is distributed. If the changes made to the work in connection with the supervision are necessary and result from circumstances beyond the author’s control, the costs of their introduction shall be borne by the acquirer of the author’s economic rights or the licensee. If the author does not carry out the author’s supervision within an appropriate period of time, he shall be deemed to have consented to the distribution of the work. Unless otherwise provided by law or contract, the author shall not be entitled to separate remuneration for the performance of the author’s supervision. The author of a plastic work shall be entitled to exercise author’s supervision against payment. The exercise of author’s supervision over architectural and architectural-urban works shall be governed by separate provisions.

Legal assistance includes advice, analysis, opinion and representation in cases of establishing the right to a work. An action to establish the right to a work is brought when there is a dispute as to its authorship.

Pursuant to Article 1(1) of the Act of 4.02.1994 on copyright and related rights, the object of copyright is any manifestation of creative activity of an individual character, established in any form, regardless of value, purpose and manner of expression (work). According to Article 1(2) of the aforementioned Act, works are in particular:

  • expressed in words, mathematical symbols, graphic signs (literary, journalistic, scientific, cartographic and computer programmes);
  • plastic;
  • photographic;
  • lute-making;
  • industrial design;
  • architectural, architectural and urban planning;
  • musical and spoken-word performances;
  • stage, stage-music, choreography and pantomime;
  • audiovisual (including film).

According to Article 1(2)1 of the aforementioned Act, only the manner of expression can be protected; discoveries, ideas, procedures, methods and principles of operation and mathematical concepts are not protected.

Under Article 1(3) of the aforementioned Act, a work is subject to copyright from the moment of its determination, even if it is in an unfinished form.

Pursuant to Article 1(4) of the aforementioned Act, protection shall be granted to the author irrespective of the fulfilment of any formalities.

Pursuant to Article 8(1) of the aforementioned Act, copyright is vested in the author, unless otherwise provided by law. Article 8(2) of the aforementioned Act introduces a presumption that the author is the person whose name in that capacity is indicated on copies of the work or whose authorship is made public in any other way in connection with the distribution of the work. In turn, pursuant to Article 1(3) of the aforementioned Act, as long as the author has not disclosed his/her authorship, he/she shall be replaced in the exercise of the copyright by the producer or publisher or, in the absence thereof, by the competent collective management organisation.

Legal assistance includes advice, opinions, pre-court negotiations and representation in liability proceedings for copyright infringement. The legislator has enumerated the author’s rights in the event of infringement of rights to a work in Articles 78 et seq. Act of 4.02.1994 on Copyright and Related Rights. The legal remedies depend on the type of copyright infringed, i.e. whether there has been an infringement of personal or property rights.

Pursuant to Article 78, paragraph 1 of the above-mentioned Act, an author whose moral rights have been infringed by someone else’s action may demand that this action be discontinued. In the case of an infringement, he may also demand that the person who committed the infringement perform the actions necessary to remove its effects, in particular to make a public statement of appropriate content and form. If the infringement was culpable, the court may award the author an appropriate sum of money as compensation for the harm suffered or, at the request of the author, oblige the perpetrator to pay an appropriate sum of money to a social cause indicated by the author.

The person entitled to pursue remedies in the event of infringement of moral rights is the author. However, pursuant to Article 78(2) of the aforementioned Act, if the author has not expressed a different will, after his/her death, an action for the protection of the deceased’s moral rights may be brought by the spouse, and in the absence of the spouse, in turn: descendants, parents, siblings, descendants of siblings. Unless the author has expressed a different will, these persons are entitled in the same order to exercise the moral rights of the deceased author. On the other hand, according to Article 78, paragraph 4 of the aforementioned Act, if the author has not expressed a different will, the action referred to in paragraph 2 may also be brought by the association of authors competent with regard to the type of creativity or the collective management organisation for copyright or related rights which managed the copyright of the deceased author.

Pursuant to Article 79(1) of the above-mentioned Act, the right holder whose author’s economic rights have been infringed may demand that the person who infringed those rights:

1) to desist from infringement;

2) remove the effects of the infringement;

3) to make good the damage caused:

  1. (a) on a general basis, or
  2. (b) by payment of a sum of money equivalent to twice, and where the infringement is culpable, three times, the appropriate remuneration that would have been payable at the time of its assertion by virtue of the authorisation granted by the rightholder for the use of the work;

4) surrender the benefits obtained.

Pursuant to Article 79(2) of the aforementioned Act, irrespective of the claims referred to in paragraph 1, the entitled person may demand that a statement of appropriate content and form be published once or more in the press or that part or all of the court decision issued in the case under consideration be made public in the manner and to the extent specified by the court.

According to Article 79(3) of the above-mentioned Act, the court may order the person who has infringed the author’s economic rights, at his/her request and with the consent of the right holder, in the case where the infringement is not culpable, to pay an appropriate sum of money to the right holder if the abandonment of the infringement or the elimination of the consequences of the infringement would be disproportionately severe for the infringer.

Pursuant to Article 79(4) of the above-mentioned Act, the court, when deciding on the infringement of the right, may, at the request of the right holder, rule on the unlawfully produced objects and the means and materials used to produce them, and in particular may rule on their withdrawal from the market, awarding the right holder due compensation or destruction. When ruling, the court shall take into account the gravity of the infringement and the interests of third parties.

Legal assistance includes advice, opinions, negotiations and representation in cases of payment of remuneration for the use of a work. The remuneration due to an author for the use of a work may arise from a licence or sub-licence agreement or from a copyright transfer agreement.

Pursuant to Article 43, paragraph 1 of the Act of 4.02.1994 on copyright and related rights, if it does not follow from the agreement that the transfer of author’s economic rights or granting a licence was free of charge, the author is entitled to remuneration. Pursuant to Article 43, paragraph 2 of the above-mentioned Act, if the amount of remuneration is not specified in the agreement, the amount of remuneration shall be determined taking into account the scope of the right granted and benefits resulting from the use of the work.

Thus, if the parties have not specified the remuneration for the use of the work, but at the same time have not excluded the author’s right to demand remuneration, the author may pursue a claim for remuneration. In such a situation, in the absence of an agreement on the amount of remuneration, it is assumed that it should be calculated according to the scope of the right granted and the benefits resulting from the use of the work. The legal basis for the claim is then Article 43 of the aforementioned Act.

If, on the other hand, remuneration has been stipulated in the contract and the copyright purchaser or licensee is in arrears, then the legal basis for the right to claim remuneration is the contractual provision regulating the issue.

Legal assistance includes advice, opinion, negotiation and representation in cases of image protection, addressee of correspondence and confidentiality of information sources.

Pursuant to Article 81(1) of the Act of 4.02.1994 on Copyright and Related Rights, the dissemination of an image requires the permission of the person depicted therein. In the absence of an express stipulation, permission is not required if the person has received the agreed payment for posing.

Pursuant to Article 81(2) of the aforementioned Act, permission is not required for the dissemination of the image:

  • a well-known person if the image has been taken in connection with the exercise of public functions, in particular political, social, professional functions;
  • a person representing only a detail of a whole such as a gathering, a landscape, a public event.

In turn, the protection of the addressee of the correspondence is regulated by Article 82 of the aforementioned law. Pursuant to this provision, if the person to whom the correspondence is addressed has not expressed a different will, the dissemination of the correspondence, for a period of twenty years after his or her death, requires the permission of the spouse and, in his or her absence, successively of descendants, parents or siblings.

Pursuant to Article 83 of the aforementioned Act, the provision of Article 78(1) shall apply mutatis mutandis to claims in the event of the dissemination of the image of the person depicted therein and the dissemination of correspondence without the requisite permission of the person to whom it was addressed; such claims may not be asserted more than twenty years after the death of such persons.

Pursuant to Article 84 of the aforementioned Act, the author, and the publisher or producer at the request of the author, shall be obliged to keep secret the sources of information used in the work and not to disclose the related documents. Disclosure of the secret is permitted with the consent of the person who entrusted the secret or by order of a competent court.

Legal assistance includes representation in criminal cases involving acts under Articles 115-119 of the Act of 4.02.1994 on Copyright and Related Rights.

According to Article 115 of the aforementioned Act:

  1. Whoever appropriates the authorship or misrepresents the authorship of the whole or part of another’s work or artistic performance shall be subject to a fine, the penalty of restriction of liberty or the penalty of deprivation of liberty for up to 3 years.
  2. The same penalty shall be imposed on anyone who distributes, without indicating the name or pseudonym of the author, another person’s work in the original version or in the form of an adaptation, an artistic performance, or publicly distorts such work, artistic performance, phonogram, videogram or broadcast.
  3. Whoever, in order to obtain financial gain in a manner other than that specified in subsection 1 or 2, infringes another person’s copyright or related rights referred to in Article 16, Article 17, Article 18, Article 19(1), Article 191, Article 86, Article 94(4) or Article 97, or fails to perform the obligations specified in Article 193(2) or Article 20(1)-(4), shall be subject to a fine, the penalty of restriction of liberty or the penalty of deprivation of liberty for up to one year.

In accordance with Article 116 of the aforementioned Act:

  1. Whoever, without authorisation or contrary to its terms, distributes another’s work in the original version or in the form of a development, artistic performance, phonogram, videogram or broadcast shall be subject to a fine, the penalty of restriction of liberty or the penalty of deprivation of liberty for up to 2 years.
  2. If the perpetrator commits the act referred to in paragraph (1) for the purpose of financial gain, he shall be punished by imprisonment of up to 3 years.
  3. If the perpetrator has made a regular source of income from the commission of the offence referred to in paragraph (1) or organises or directs the criminal activity referred to in paragraph (1), he shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of six months to five years.
  4. If the perpetrator of an act referred to in paragraph (1) acts unintentionally, he shall be liable to a fine, a restriction of liberty or imprisonment of up to one year.

Pursuant to Article 117 of the aforementioned Act:

  1. Whoever, without authorisation or in violation of the terms thereof, for the purpose of distribution, fixes or reproduces another’s work in the original version or in the form of a development, artistic performance, phonogram, videogram or broadcast,

shall be liable to a fine, a restriction of liberty or imprisonment of up to 2 years.

  1. If the perpetrator has made a regular source of income out of the commission of the offence referred to in paragraph (1) or organises or directs the criminal activity referred to in paragraph (1), he shall be punished by imprisonment of up to 3 years.

According to Article 118 of the aforementioned Act:

  1. Whoever, for the purpose of deriving a pecuniary benefit, acquires or assists in disposing of, or accepts or assists in concealing, an object constituting a carrier of a work, artistic performance, phonogram or videogram distributed or reproduced without authorisation or in violation of its terms, shall be subject to the penalty of deprivation of liberty for a term of between 3 months and 5 years.
  2. If the perpetrator has made a regular source of income out of the commission of the offence referred to in paragraph (1) or organises or directs the criminal activity referred to in paragraph (1), he shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of one to five years.
  3. If, on the basis of the surrounding circumstances, the perpetrator of an offence referred to in paragraph (1) or (2) should and is in a position to believe that the object has been obtained by means of a prohibited act, he shall be liable to a fine, a restriction of liberty or imprisonment of up to 2 years.

According to Article 1181 of the aforementioned law:

  1. Whoever manufactures devices or their components intended for the unauthorised removal or circumvention of effective technical protections against the reproduction, recording or reproduction of works or objects of related rights, or trades in such devices or their components, or advertises them for sale or hire, shall be liable to a fine, a restriction of freedom or imprisonment for up to 3 years.
  2. Whoever possesses, stores or uses the devices or their components referred to in paragraph (1) shall be liable to a fine, a restriction of liberty or imprisonment of up to one year.

According to Article 119 of the aforementioned Act, whoever prevents or obstructs the exercise of the right to control the use of a work, artistic performance, phonogram or videogram or refuses to provide the information provided for in Article 47, shall be liable to a fine, a restriction of freedom or imprisonment of up to one year.

Pursuant to Article 122 of the aforementioned Act, the prosecution of the offences specified in Article 116(1), (2) and (4), Article 117(1), Article 118(1), Article 1181 and Article 119 shall be carried out at the request of the victim.

Legal assistance includes advice, opinions and representation in proceedings for the registration of industrial property rights, i.e. patents, supplementary protection rights for inventions, protection rights for utility models and trademarks, registration rights for industrial designs, geographical indications and topographies of integrated circuits to the Patent Office.

Pursuant to art. 10 par. 1 of the Act of 30.06.2000 Industrial Property Law, the decision to grant a patent for an invention and the right of protection for a utility model shall be issued after the Patent Office has verified, within the prescribed scope, whether the conditions required to obtain the patent or the right of protection are fulfilled. According to Article 10(2) of the aforementioned Act, the issuance of a decision to grant the right of protection for an industrial design shall take place after the Patent Office has verified the correctness of the application for that design.

According to Article 13(1) of the aforementioned Act, priority to obtain a patent, a protection right or a right in registration shall be determined, subject to Articles 14 and 151, according to the date of filing an application for an invention, a utility model or an industrial design with the Patent Office.

Pursuant to Article 14 of the above-mentioned Act, priority to obtain a patent, a right of protection or a right in registration shall be granted in the Republic of Poland, in accordance with the principles specified in international agreements, according to the date of the first correct application for an invention, utility model or industrial design in the indicated country, if from that date an application is filed with the Patent Office within a period of time:

1) 12 months – for applications for inventions and utility models;

2) 6 months – for applications for industrial designs.

Pursuant to art. 151 par. 1 of the aforementioned Act, priority to obtain a patent, right of protection or right in registration shall be marked, under the rules specified in international agreements, according to the date of exhibiting the invention, utility model or industrial design in the Republic of Poland or abroad, at an official or officially recognised international exhibition, if an application for that invention, utility model or industrial design is filed with the Patent Office within 6 months from that date. Pursuant to art. 151 par. 2 of the aforementioned Act, the priority to obtain in the Republic of Poland the right of protection for a utility model or the right in registration of an industrial design shall also be determined according to the date of exhibiting the utility model or industrial design at an exhibition other than specified in par. 1 exhibition in the Republic of Poland, specified by the President of the Patent Office by way of a notice in the Official Journal of the Republic of Poland “Monitor Polski”, if an application for that utility model or industrial design is filed with the Patent Office within 6 months from that date. However, such an exhibition must give a guarantee of its credibility, in particular have an established reputation and long-standing tradition. The initiative for its designation shall be taken by the competent minister, voivode or entity professionally organising the exhibitions referred to in par. 2.

Legal assistance includes advice, analysis and representation in industrial property rights litigation.

Pursuant to Article 283 of the Act of 30.06.2000 Industrial Property Law, cases concerning civil law claims for the protection of industrial property shall be resolved in intellectual property proceedings, unless the competence of another authority or another procedure is provided for.

According to Article 284 of the aforementioned Act, intellectual property proceedings shall, in particular, deal with:

1) establishing authorship of the inventive design;

2) the determination of the right to a patent, a protection right or a registered right;

3) remuneration for the use of the inventive design;

4) remuneration for the use of an invention, utility model or topography for state purposes;

5) compensation for the transfer to the State Treasury of the right to a patent or the right of protection for a secret invention or a secret utility model, respectively;

6) infringement of a patent, a supplementary protection right, a protective right or a registered right;

7) declaration of the right to use the invention, utility model or industrial design in the cases referred to in Articles 71 and 75;

8) a declaration of the right to use, in the context of a local activity, a sign registered as a trade mark in favour of another person;

9) asserting the right to use the geographical indication;

10) a declaration of loss of the right to use a geographical indication;

11) the transfer of a patent, a right of protection for a utility model or the right to register an industrial design or topography, obtained by an unauthorised person;

12) the transfer of the right of protection for a trade mark in the case referred to in Article 161.

Legal assistance includes representation in criminal cases involving acts under Articles 303-308 of the Industrial Property Law of 30.06.2000.

In accordance with Article 303 of the aforementioned Act:

  1. Whoever attributes authorship to himself or misleads another person as to the authorship of another person’s invention project or otherwise infringes the rights of the author of the invention project shall be liable to a fine, a restriction of liberty or imprisonment of up to one year.
  2. If the perpetrator commits the act referred to in paragraph (1) for the purpose of financial or personal gain, he shall be liable to a fine, to restriction of freedom or to imprisonment for up to 2 years.

According to Article 304 of the aforementioned Act:

  1. Whoever, without being entitled to obtain a patent, a right of protection or a right in registration, applies for another person’s invention, utility model, industrial design or another person’s integrated circuit topography in order to obtain a patent, a right of protection or a right in registration, shall be subject to a fine, the penalty of restriction of liberty or imprisonment for up to 2 years.
  2. The same punishment shall be imposed on anyone who discloses information obtained about another person’s invention, utility model, industrial design or another person’s integrated circuit topography or otherwise prevents the obtaining of a patent, protection right or right in registration.
  3. If the perpetrator of the act referred to in paragraph (2) acts unintentionally while being obliged to keep the information obtained secret, he shall be liable to a fine.

Article 305 of the aforementioned Act:

  1. Whoever, with a view to marketing, marks goods with a counterfeit trade mark, including a counterfeit European Union trade mark, a registered trade mark or a European Union trade mark which he is not authorised to use, or markets goods bearing such marks, shall be subject to a fine, the penalty of restriction of liberty or imprisonment for up to 2 years.
  2. In cases of minor weight, the perpetrator of the offence referred to in paragraph 1 shall be liable to a fine.
  3. If the perpetrator has made a regular source of income from committing the offence referred to in paragraph (1) or commits this offence in relation to goods of significant value, he shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of 6 months to 5 years.

According to Article 306 of the aforementioned Act:

  1. If a person is convicted of an offence referred to in Article 305(3), the court shall pronounce forfeiture to the State Treasury of materials and tools, as well as technical means which were used or intended for the commission of the offence; if such materials, tools or technical means were not the property of the offender, the court may pronounce their forfeiture to the State Treasury.
  2. If a person is convicted of an offence under Article 305 (1) and (2), the court may order the forfeiture to the State Treasury of materials and tools, as well as technical means which served or were intended for the commission of the offence, even if they are not the property of the offender.
  3. Where the forfeiture referred to in paragraph (1) or (2) is ordered, Article 195 of the Criminal Executive Code shall apply mutatis mutandis regardless of the value of the goods forfeited.

Pursuant to Article 307 of the aforementioned Act:

  1. Whoever, with a view to marketing, marks objects not protected by a patent, a supplementary protection right, a utility model protection right or the right to register an industrial design, a topography of an integrated circuit or a registration of a geographical indication with inscriptions or drawings intended to create a misleading impression that such objects enjoy such protection, shall be punished by a fine or arrest.
  2. The same penalty shall be imposed on anyone who, knowing that the objects referred to in subsection (1) are falsely designated, places on the market, or, for the purpose of marketing, prepares or stores them, or gives information in announcements, notices or otherwise in such a manner as to give the impression that these objects enjoy legal protection.

Pursuant to Article 308 of the above-mentioned Act, whoever places on the market goods bearing a trade mark with a distinctive feature intended to create a misleading impression that the items enjoy such protection shall be liable to a fine.

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