E-filing for trademark applications introduced

The ordinance of the prime minister on the electronic filing and processing of applications for the registration of IP rights has come into force. 

 

The ordinance was issued on May 15 2008 and was published in the Journal of Laws 89 on May 23 2008. It had been notified to the European Commission on January 14 2008 in Document 2008/0017/PL. The ordinance sets forth detailed technical requirements for the electronic filing of applications for the registration of inventions, medical products, plant protection products, utility models, industrial designs, trademarks, geographical indications and topographies of integrated circuits. Under the ordinance, all correspondence necessary to obtain and maintain IP rights protection must be exchanged in electronic form.

 

Applications must be filed using a form available through the website of the Polish Patent Office. Applicants must attach all relevant material in electronic form.

 

Electronic applications, together with the relevant material and correspondence, must be:

Technical documentation may be attached in its original format, provided that such format has been approved by the office.

 

Printed versions of electronic applications must subsequently be provided. The printed application must specify: 

Should an electronic document require a signature, the applicant must affix an electronic signature verified by means of a valid qualified certificate within the meaning of the Law on Electronic Signatures (published with amendments in the Journal of Laws 130).