Legal basis
Act of 11 April 2001 on patent attorneys
OJ of 2016 item 221, Wording as of February 23, 2016
Chapter 2 Rights and obligations of a patent attorney
Art. 8. 1. A patent attorney provides legal and technical assistance.
2.Legal assistance consists in particular in providing legal advice and consultations, preparing legal opinions, examining the legal status of industrial property objects, legal and procedural representation.
3.Technical assistance consists in particular in developing technical descriptions of applications for the protection of objects of creative activity intended for industrial use, examining the scope of their protection, and conducting searches regarding the state of the art.
Article 9. 1. A patent attorney acts as a representative in proceedings before the Patent Office, courts and bodies adjudicating on industrial property matters, with the exception of acting as a representative in criminal proceedings and penal fiscal proceedings..
3.The patent attorney has the right to certify copies of documents as consistent with the originals presented to the extent specified in separate regulations. The certificate should include the signature of the patent attorney, the date and place of its preparation, and, upon request, also the time of the action. If the document contains special features (additions, corrections or damages), the patent attorney states this in the certificate.
Judgments
Art. 10. 1. A patent attorney may refuse to provide assistance in industrial property matters or terminate the power of attorney only for important reasons, of which he informs the interested party.
2. When terminating a power of attorney or an employment contract, a patent attorney is obliged to perform all necessary activities so that this circumstance does not have a negative impact on the further course of the cases handled by him. In the event of termination of the power of attorney, he should continue to perform all necessary activities for two months, unless the case has been taken over by another patent attorney or revoked by the person who granted the power of attorney.
3. A patent attorney is obliged to immediately notify the Patent Office and the National Council of Patent Attorneys about taking up the profession and the place and form of practicing it, about retirement or pension, as well as about any change in this information.
4. In the event of suspension of the right to practice the profession or removal of a patent attorney from the list of patent attorneys, the National Council of Patent Attorneys shall appoint, if necessary, a temporary replacement. The National Council of Patent Attorneys may also appoint a temporary deputy for a patent attorney who is temporarily unable to practice the profession and has not appointed a deputy himself.
5. In the event of an event resulting in the permanent loss of the patent office’s ability to provide assistance in industrial property matters, the National Council of Patent Attorneys appoints a temporary administrator of the office. Until the persons dealing with matters in this law firm appoint new proxies, the temporary administrator is obliged to ensure the performance of current, necessary activities.
Article 11. 1. When performing professional activities, a patent attorney shall exercise freedom of speech and writing within the limits specified by law and material need.
2. Abuse of freedom referred to in section 1, constituting an insult or defamation of a party or its representative, witness, expert or translator prosecuted by private prosecution, shall be subject only to disciplinary liability.
3. During and in connection with the performance of professional activities, a patent attorney shall enjoy the legal protection afforded to a lawyer.
4. A patent attorney cannot be bound by an official order as to the content of the opinion or advice issued.
Article 12. A patent attorney may not accept representation or provide assistance if he represented the opposing party or provided assistance to him in the same or related matter; he cannot also accept representation or provide assistance in a matter in which he has participated or is participating under the authorization of government or local government administration bodies.
Art. 13. 1. Fees for the activities of patent attorneys practicing in patent offices and employed under a civil law contract are set out in the contract with the client.
2. The Minister of Justice, after seeking the opinion of the President of the Patent Office and the National Council of Patent Attorneys, shall determine, by way of a regulation, the amount of fees for the activities of patent attorneys before judicial authorities and the Patent Office operating in the course of contentious proceedings, constituting the basis for determining the costs of representation, which may be awarded by a court or adjudicated by the Patent Office, bearing in mind that setting a fee higher than the minimum rate referred to in paragraph 3, but not exceeding six times this rate, may be justified by the type and complexity of the case and the necessary workload of the patent attorney.
3. The Minister of Justice, after seeking the opinion of the President of the Patent Office and the National Council of Patent Attorneys, will determine, by way of a regulation, the minimum rates for the activities of patent attorneys referred to in paragraph. 1, taking into account the type and complexity of the case and the required workload of the patent attorney.
Implementing acts
Art. 13a. 1. The costs of legal assistance provided by a patent attorney ex officio shall be borne by the State Treasury.
2. The Minister of Justice, after seeking the opinion of the President of the Patent Office and the National Council of Patent Attorneys, will determine, by way of a regulation, detailed rules for incurring the costs referred to in paragraph. 1, taking into account the method of determining these costs, the expenses constituting the basis for their determination and the maximum amount of fees for the assistance provided.
Implementing acts
Art. 14. 1. A patent attorney is obliged to keep secret all information obtained in connection with the performance of professional activities. A patent attorney cannot be released from the obligation to maintain professional secrecy regarding facts he learned about while providing assistance in industrial property matters.
2. The obligation of professional secrecy does not apply to information made available under the provisions of the Act of 16 November 2000 on counteracting money laundering and terrorism financing (Journal of Laws of 2014, item 455 and of 2015, item 1223) – within the scope specified in these regulations.
Art. 14a. 1. A patent attorney is obliged to undergo professional development.
2. The National Council of Patent Attorneys shall determine, by way of a resolution, the manner of fulfilling the obligation referred to in section 1, in particular the frequency, scope and forms of professional development.
Article 15. 1. A patent attorney is obliged to pay, under the conditions specified in the Act, a contribution to the local government, the amount of which is determined annually by the National Council of Patent Attorneys.
2. Patent attorneys in relation to whom, in accordance with Art. 23a section 3, a resolution has been adopted to suspend the right to practice the profession, they pay a contribution for the needs of the local government in the amount of 30% of the contribution referred to in section 1.
Art. 15a. The National Congress of Patent Attorneys defines, by way of a resolution, detailed rules for advertising by patent attorneys, taking into account the specific nature of the profession and the need to maintain independence and professional secrecy.
2. Fulfillment of the obligation referred to in section 1, is also the conclusion of an insurance contract with an insurer from a Member State other than the Republic of Poland, provided that the territorial scope of this insurance covers the territory of the Republic of Poland and it is equivalent to national insurance.
2a. The National Council of Patent Attorneys is authorized to audit the fulfillment of the obligation referred to in section 1 and 2, including the assessment of the equivalence of insurance resulting from a contract concluded with an insurer from a Member State other than the Republic of Poland, with national insurance.
3. The minister responsible for financial institutions, in consultation with the minister responsible for economy, after seeking the opinion of the Polish Chamber of Insurance, will determine, by way of a regulation, the detailed scope of compulsory insurance referred to in section. 1, the date when the insurance obligation arises and the minimum guarantee sum, taking into account in particular the specificity of the profession performed and the scope of tasks performed.
Implementing acts
Art. 17. 1. The provisions of Art. 11-15 shall apply accordingly to applicants, subject to section 2.
2.The contribution paid by the trainee for the needs of the local government is 50% of the contribution referred to in Art. 15 section 1.
Art. 17a. 1. Data for creating an electronic signature for the purposes of electronic writ proceedings are provided to patent attorneys after submitting an appropriate application through the appropriate district assembly of patent attorneys.
2.It is also allowed for a patent attorney to communicate with the court in electronic writ proceedings using a secure electronic signature verified by means of a valid qualified certificate.
3. Requests by patent attorneys to provide the data indicated in section 1 submitted to the relevant regional assembly of patent attorneys will be sent to the competent court along with confirmation of the participation of the attorney (association) in the relevant assembly. Persons intending to communicate with the court in the manner indicated in section 2 shall notify the court about this through the relevant district assembly of patent attorneys, providing data for verification of the electronic signature.
4. Information referred to in section 3, the competent district assembly of patent attorneys shall send it to the court within 14 days from the date of submission of the application.
