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  • Services · Technology protection

    Protection of inventions and technical solutions

    Do you have a new technical solution, design or plant variety? We will help you choose the form of protection that fits your product and market plans – and handle the matter from the first assessment to the office decision, in Poland and abroad.

    Talk to a patent attorney Patent or utility model?

20

patent attorneys in our technical teams

15

European patent attorneys

50+ years

of practice in industrial property protection

Forms of protection

What we can protect for you

Invention

Patent · up to 20 years

A new technical solution: a device, a manufacturing process, a substance, an electronic circuit. A patent gives you the exclusive right to use the invention.

Best when

the solution is a technical breakthrough rather than just an improvement, and is meant to secure your advantage for years.

Invention protection

Utility model

Protection right · up to 10 years

A practical improvement to the shape, construction or combination of an object: a tool, a machine part, an accessory. Lower requirements than for a patent.

Best when

the change is useful but does not meet the inventive step requirement.

Utility models

New plant variety

Exclusive right · usually 25 years

A bred variety of crop or ornamental plants. The exclusive right protects the seed and propagating material of your variety.

Best when

you are a breeder and want to control who propagates and sells your variety.

Plant variety protection

Comparison

Patent or utility model?

Both forms protect technical solutions, but they differ in requirements, term of protection and cost. The choice is often not obvious – which is why we start by assessing the solution.

Patent for an invention

Utility model

What it protects

A new technical solution in any field: a device, a process, a substance

The shape, construction or combination of an object with a permanent form

Main requirements

Novelty, inventive step, industrial applicability

Novelty and usefulness, no inventive step required

Maximum term of protection

20 years

10 years

Proceedings before the Polish Patent Office

[to be confirmed]

Usually shorter [to be confirmed]

Costs

Higher

Lower

Protection abroad

Broad: EPO, PCT, national offices

Limited: not all countries have utility models

Typical use

Technology that gives the company its competitive edge

A product improvement that competitors could easily copy

Not sure which form fits? It is often worth considering both – for example a utility model for quick protection of a simple element and a patent for the key solution. We will assess your solution and recommend the way forward.

Book a consultation

Client situations

Why clients come to us

01

You are showing your product at a trade fair next month

File your solution before the first presentation. Public disclosure can destroy its novelty and close the door to protection.

Patent application

02

An investor asks what protects your technology

We will prepare an IP review and protection plan you can present in funding talks.

Protection strategy

03

You are entering foreign markets

We will choose the countries and filing route – European, PCT or national – so that your budget goes where you sell.

Protection abroad

04

You want to launch a product but are not sure whether it infringes someone else’s patents

Before you invest in production, we will check freedom to operate in the countries where you plan to sell.

Patent searches

Before you show your solution to the world

Novelty decides about protection. As a rule, a solution disclosed publicly before filing – at a trade fair, in a publication, in an offer, on social media – loses its chance of a patent or utility model. Before you start talks with partners, sign a non-disclosure agreement and consult the filing date.

Not sure whether your solution is new? Start with a prior art search – you will know your chances before you invest in an application.

Patent searches Book a consultation

Territory of protection

Where you can obtain protection

A patent only applies in the countries where you obtain it. We will help you match the territory to your markets and budget.

UPRP

Poland

A national application at the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland. Often the first step, which secures the priority date.

EPO

Europe

A single European application, followed by validation in selected countries once the patent is granted.

PCT

Worldwide

A single international application that postpones the choice of countries by up to 30 months from the priority date.

Validations

European patents in Poland

Translation and validation in Poland for owners of European patents – on time and with no risk of losing rights.

You have 12 months from the first filing to extend protection abroad while keeping priority – it is worth planning this from the start.

How we work together

01

Initial consultation

You tell us about your solution and plans. The conversation is confidential.

02

Assessment and search

We check the prior art and the chances of protection.

03

Recommendation and quote

We propose the form of protection, territory and timeline, with a transparent cost estimate.

04

Filing and prosecution

We prepare the documents and handle the proceedings before the offices.

05

Maintaining protection

We keep track of deadlines and fees throughout the term of protection.

We reply to enquiries within [X] working days.

Patent attorneys who know your technical field

Your matter is handled by an attorney trained in your field – an engineer, chemist or biotechnologist. We understand the technology before we start describing it.

Area coordinator

–

[Name and surname]

Polish and European patent attorney · [technical field]

[e-mail]
[phone]

Mechanics and mechanical engineering

Devices, structures, production technologies, transport and energy.

Chemistry, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, electronics

Substances, processes, medicines, electronic circuits and IT solutions.

[X]

patent attorneys

[X]

European patent attorneys

[X]

PhDs in engineering and sciences

Meet the patent team

Trademark Team

PW

Paweł Wac

Coordinator of the Trademark and Legal Team

SM

Sławomir Mazur

Deputy Coordinator of the Trademark and Legal Team

AS

Anna Stopińska-Ślefarska

President of the Management Board, patent attorney

BK

Bartosz Krakowiak

Member of the Management Board, patent attorney

Awards and recognition

Recognised in patent practice

International IP firm rankings – IAM Patent 1000, WTR 1000, IP STARS – have recommended POLSERVICE for invention and trademark protection for years.

Protecting several solutions or planning to expand?

Instead of filing solutions one by one, make a plan: what to protect, in what form, in which countries and in what order. We will help you spend your budget where protection pays off most.

Plan your protection strategy

Are you a small or medium-sized business?

Under the SME Fund programme you can recover part of the cost of protecting your intellectual property. We will help you apply and plan your filings.

Check the terms

Frequently asked questions

No. Protection covers a specific technical solution, described so that a specialist can reproduce it. Business ideas, methods of doing business or scientific discoveries are not inventions as such.

Most reliably through a prior art search. A patent attorney will compare your solution with earlier publications and applications and assess the chances of a patent or utility model.

Computer programs as such are excluded from patent protection. However, if a program solves a technical problem – for example by controlling a device – protection may be possible. Each case requires individual assessment.

Contact us as soon as possible. We will assess whether the disclosure rules out protection and whether there are other ways to secure your position.

No. A patent only applies in the country where it was granted. You can obtain protection abroad through a European, international (PCT) or national application in selected countries.

The cost depends on the form of protection, the complexity of the solution and the number of countries. After the initial consultation we will prepare a cost estimate broken down into stages. Small and medium-sized businesses can use SME Fund support.

Let’s talk about your solution

Briefly describe what you want to protect. A patent attorney from your field will call you back and suggest the first step. Everything you share with us remains confidential.

Direct contact

[Area coordinator]

[phone] · [e-mail]

Please do not include technical details – we will discuss them during the consultation.