Industrial property law 2200-1W040S

The lecture aims to familiarize students with the principles of protection of industrial property rules in the territory of Poland which follow from the national, EU and international legislation. The lecture starts with a general discussion of the significance of industrial property and basic protection principles which, to a significant extent, follow from implementation of the principles arising from the Paris Convention and the TRIPS Agreement as well as relevant directives. As a result it is necessary to refer to the rulings of the EU Court of Justice issued, as preliminary rulings, comprising a binding interpretation of the provisions of relevant directives. Considering that this case-law is quite extensive, it is necessary to take into account its impact on the practice in Poland and in other European Union countries. The lecture also discusses the impact of the fundamental principles of the functioning of the European Union arising from EU establishing treaties on the shape of the current intellectual property law. In particular, it will discuss the collision between the principle of free flow of goods and the principle of territoriality of exclusive rights.
The next issue is the construction of exclusive rights and their evolution, starting from the Paris Convention, through individual regulations pertaining to patents, trademarks and designs which preceded the industrial property law. In this context the entitlements arising from exclusive rights will be analysed in detail.
The next lectures will be devoted to discussing the function and significance of industrial property rights in practice. Special attention will be paid to the changing functions of industrial property and the resulting scope of protection, including changes associated with technological development (Internet).
The problem of registrability of industrial property rights is a different issue. The analysis will focus on the question which inventions, trademarks and designs can be registered in the European Union and in Poland. Special attention will be devoted to the recent issues broadly discussed in Europe. The practice of the Polish Patent Office will be compared to the practice of the European Patent Office, especially with regard to the so-called computer-implemented inventions and biotechnological inventions.
Designations, protected as trademarks, are not a homogeneous category, either. One may distinguish: ordinary marks, reputed marks and well-known marks. Depending on the type of the mark, the scope of protection differs and, consequently, the scope of exclusivity arising from the trademark protection right is different. The difference between the designations also leads to different requirements that marks have to satisfy to be protected. In this context, terms like confusion, dilution, repute and its breach or taking unfair advantage come into play. The question of well-known trademarks, protected despite lack of registration, is discussed separately.