Polish IP law – new definition of trademark and trademark renewal procedure

Polish IP law – new definition of trademark and trademark renewal procedure. On 17th January, 2019 the Polish Parliament passed an amendment to the Intellectual Property Law Act. It was necessary to adapt the said law to the requirements presented by the EU directive 2015/2436, which aimed at approximating the legislation of the Member States concerning trademarks.
In view of the current technological developments and the creativity of entrepreneurs, the definition of the trademark was amended. The trademark may still be ‘a word, including a name, a drawing, a letter, a number, a colour, a spatial form, including the shape of an item or a packaging’, and now also sound.
Entrepreneurs will also benefit from the changes concerning the procedure for the renewal of trademark protection rights. Procedure will be less formal and faster. It will be sufficient to pay the fee within a specified period of time, which will have to be notified by the Polish Patent Office.