Sprigs known before they were filed for protection as a utility model
Act of 30 June 2000 Industrial property law (Dz.U. z 2023 r. poz. 1170)
link to provision: https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU20010490508/U/D20010508Lj.pdf
Article 25 Novelty
1. An invention shall be considered to be new if it does not form part of the state of the art.
2. The state of the art shall be held to comprise everything made available to the public by means of a written or oral description, by use, displaying or disclosure in any other way, before the date according to which priority to obtain a patent is determined.
3. The content of any patent applications or utility model applications which enjoy the earlier priority, not made available to the public, shall also be considered as comprised in the state of the art, provided that they were published in the manner as specified in this Act.
4. The provisions of paragraphs (1) to (3) shall not prevent a patent from being granted for an invention concerning a substance or compositions comprised in the state of the art for the use of such substance or for the use of such substance in a specific manner for the purpose of treatment or diagnostics referred to in Article 29(1)(3), provided that such use does not form part of the state of the art.
5. The provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not prevent a patent for an invention from being granted, provided that it was not disclosed earlier that six months before the filing date and it was due to or in consequence of an evident abuse in relation to the applicant or his legal predecessor.
Article 94 The concept of a utility model
1. An utility model shall be a new and industrially applicable solution of a technical nature, concerning the shape or construction of an object of durable form or of an object composed of functionally connected parts of durable form.
2. The requirement of the form of an object shall also be deemed fulfilled if the product according to the utility model is defined spatially by repetitive elements with a constant proportion of dimensions.
3. The requirement for durable form of an object shall also be met if the utility model product changes its form due to the intended use.
Article 100 Reference
1. , The provisions of Articles: 25, 27-29, 35-37, 39-52, 55-60, 62, 66-75, 76-90 and 92 shall apply accordingly to utility models and rights of protection for utility models.
2. In the case of a utility model, the period provided for in Article 60 shall be ten years.
Thesis of the decision dated 2019-11-28, ref. no. Sp.23.2019 of the Polish Patent Office made by:
- Piotr KALINOWSKI (Chairman of the Arbitral Tribunal),
- Bolesław BIAŁKOWICZ, rapporteur (Examiner Advocate),
- Marek RUDZIŃSKI (Examiner).
Evidence of the lack of novelty of the utility model may be a video posted on the Internet. Evidence effectively undermining the novelty of the utility model “Christmas tree sprig made from plastic” may be a video showing how a Christmas tree containing the disputed sprig is made, as long as the video reveals all the features specified in the independent claim of the disputed utility model. On the other hand, it is not necessary for the video evidence to relate to the stand-alone Christmas tree sprigs.
Thesis of the judgment dated 2020-10-15, ref. no. VI SA/Wa 866/20 of the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Warsaw made by:
- Henryka LEWANDOWSKA-KURASZKIEWICZ (Chairman),
- Jakub LINKOWSKI (Rapporteur),
- Danuta SZYDŁOWSKA.
Evidence of the lack of novelty of the utility model may be a video posted on the Internet. Evidence effectively undermining the novelty of the utility model “Christmas tree sprig made from plastic” may be a video showing how a Christmas tree containing the disputed sprig is made, as long as the video reveals all the features specified in the independent claim of the disputed utility model. On the other hand, it is not necessary for the video evidence to relate to the stand-alone Christmas tree sprigs.
