Intellectual property law encompasses rights in intangible assets, i.e. exclusive rights of a person’s creative work. Business values originality. Undoubtedly, in the 21st century, the skilful use of intellectual potential often determines the success of a business. In a knowledge-based economy, intellectual property and industrial property are sometimes factors that can determine the success of a business in the long term. The products of multinational corporations such as Apple, Samsung and Microsoft are widely known, and these companies are also pioneers of innovation.

It is worth noting that the technology giants indicated above pay an unusually high level of attention to the area of intellectual property rights in their businesses. An example? According to Apple’s website, the company’s registered trademarks, phrases, symbols and graphic forms include nearly 300 items. Another example? There are more than 11 million registered trademarks in the European Union. Some are really interesting – the look of a gas station, the look of a store (that’s Apple again), the red soles of shoes, or the advertising slogan “your liver is in your hands” (pharmaceutical products).

For many years, copyright law in Poland did not have such a momentous status as it does today – but now entrepreneurs are also beginning to take intellectual property and the protection of their products very seriously. We are often approached even by sole proprietors in the creative industry who see their business success in protecting their trademarks or industrial designs. Companies are realizing that in today’s global world it is not only the product itself that is important, but also the way it is made, the logo or the name reserved for the brand. As a copyright law firm, we believe that with the development of technology – this trend will continue to grow.

Intellectual property law – what practical benefits does it bring to the entrepreneur?

Due to its uniqueness and economic significance, the subject of intellectual property law is everything that has been created by man, especially works, inventions, trademarks, computer programs, names and designations of goods, logos, geographical indications, etc. Ownership of intellectual property in a company brings a number of benefits, most notably:

• allows exclusive professional and commercial use of industrial property objects, and therefore excludes free use by others, especially market competitors,
• increases the income of the enterprise, due to the right to license it to others for a fee, under the terms agreed by the parties, or through the sale of the industrial property object,
• enlarges the position and competitive advantage in the market,
• helps to create a positive, credible and modern image of the company,
• generates an opportunity to use marketing tools to promote products protected by copyright,
• allows to build the image and reputation of a particular product, while strengthening the good name and reputation of the company,
• increases the level of innovation of the company, which, in a knowledge-based economy, seems to be one of the key factors,
• allows building an international brand.

Intellectual property law firm – how can we help?

As an intellectual property law firm, we advise entrepreneurs primarily in the following areas.

Copyright law – examples of our law firm’s services in this scope:

• negotiating, drafting and reviewing license agreements , agreements transferring copyrights and any other agreements that are used in the trade of copyrights and related rights,
• negotiating, drafting and reviewing contracts for the creative industry ,
• preparing opinions and legal expertise of the transfer, acquisition and use of copyright and related rights,
• providing opinions on materials in terms of possible violations of the Law on Copyright and Related Rights,
• asserting claims for non-performance and improper performance of the contract transferring author’s economic rights and any other contracts used in the trade of copyright and related rights,
• making legal assessments of copyright infringement situations on the Internet, including social media,
• representing clients before collective management organizations, public administration offices and common courts in all issues related to copyright law,
• copyright law – legal advice, ongoing advice on matters related to copyright and related rights.

Industrial property law  – examples of our law firm’s services in this scope:

• negotiating, drafting and reviewing contracts related to industrial property rights,
• advising on the protection of rights related to industrial designs,
• representation in civil and criminal proceedings related to trademarks, industrial designs, patents,
• advising on the choice of the optimal form of protection of industrial property rights,
• proposing solutions related to protection against actions seeking to deprive the right holder of exclusive rights (protection against cancellation or extinguishment).

Combating unfair competition – examples of our law firm’s services in this scope:

• negotiating, drafting and reviewing non-competition agreements,
• implementation of provisions securing clients’ know-how in civil law contracts, including managerial contacts and employment contracts,
• drafting confidentiality agreements (NDA agreements) and confidentiality clauses in contracts,
• creation of regulations for the protection of confidential information,
• formulation of legal opinions and expert reports to verify and evaluate the compliance of Clients’ actions with the provisions of the Law on Combating Unfair Competition,
• advising on the creation of advertising in compliance with the regulations,
• verifying solutions for sending commercial information via electronic communication means,
• protecting unregistered trademarks in accordance with the Law on Combating Unfair Competition,
• pursuing civil and criminal claims under the Law on Combating Unfair Competition.

Litigation in the field of intellectual property law – examples of the law firm’s services in this area:

• conducting all proceedings, including registration or litigation, before the Patent Office, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the International Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO),
• representation before common courts, including in particular the Competition and Consumer Protection Court in Warsaw and the EU Trademark and Community Design Division of the District Court in Warsaw, the Intellectual Property Division of the District Court in Gdańsk,
• representation in arbitration proceedings, including before the Arbitration Court for Internet Domains at the Polish Chamber of Information Technology and Telecommunications,
• representation in disputes with collective management organizations (including ZAiKS, ZASP, ZPAV, STOART),
• representation in proceedings conducted by the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection,
• representation in application and registration proceedings before the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland and the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market in Alicante (OHIM) and the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva (WIPO),
• representation in litigation before civil and criminal courts, including advertising, protection of signs, product appearance, know-how, trade secrets, disputes over infringement of personal rights.

Capital Legal – IP lawyers

There are many law firms on the market. What sets us apart? Why should you trust us in particular? We may be immodest, but we give below some arguments that (we believe) distinguish us in the market.

A copyright law firm should be specialized. We do not deal with family law. We do not deal with divorce. We help business.

• A copyright lawyer should not only understand the regulations, but above all know the business, its needs and requirements. We can guarantee this. We advise the creative industry, the IP industry, the TSL industry, the food industry, the Internet industry, among others. Entrepreneurs have taught us a lot. We know how business works and what solutions clients expect from us, but of course – we are still learning.
• A good copyright lawyer should provide multi-faceted legal assistance. Drawing up a legal opinion is not enough, and a lawyer cannot focus on the doubts of legal doctrine. We try to recommend practical measures to clients that they can implement in their business from day to day. We look for non-obvious solutions – always to the benefit of clients and their businesses.
• An intellectual property law firm often has access to clients’ business secrets of significant material value. We are discreet. You can be sure that by outsourcing a case to us all information will remain confidential. We pay special attention to this.

Next steps?

Are you interested in our offer? Also, do you think that securing your company’s intellectual property area can be crucial to business success?

If you would like to learn more about the details of our offer or commission us with a specific issue – don’t wait, contact us.  We will get back to you within 24 hours.