The Act on Copyright and Related Rights applies to such manifestations of human activity as literary creation, journalism, science, music, IT and many others. Contrary to industrial property law, copyright does not provide for any registration requirements. However, the rules for granting licenses, transferring rights, the permitted scope of using copyright and many other issues have been regulated in detail.

The proprietary copyrights are vested in the creator, ensuring the exclusive right to use the work and dispose of it in all fields of use, and to remuneration for the use of the work.

Personal copyrights protect the creator's relationship with the work unlimited in time and not subject to waiver or sale, in particular the right to:

• authorship of the song,
• label the work with your name or pseudonym or to share it anonymously,
• inviolability of the content and form of the work and its reliable use,
• decide on the first release of the work to the public,
• supervision over the way the work is used.

Pursuant to Polish law, industrial property may be protected by the following instruments:

1. patents granted for inventions;
2. protection rights for utility models;
3. registration rights for industrial designs;
4. protection rights for trademarks;
5. registration rights for geographical indications;
6. combating unfair competition.

Among the above-mentioned instruments for the protection of industrial property, the first four are the most popular and therefore we will focus on their presentation.

Patents are granted - regardless of the field of technology - for inventions that are new, have an inventive step and are suitable for industrial application. The invention is considered new as long as it does not form part of the state of the art. By prior art, on the other hand, is meant anything that, prior to the patent priority date, has been made available to the general public in the form of a written or oral description, by use, display or otherwise disclosed. From this point of view, it is extremely important that the inventor, before submitting the application to the Patent Office, does not disclose any details of the invention on terms other than in the circle of the most trusted people, not to mention presenting the details in publications, at conferences, exhibitions or by marketing.

As a rule, protection of an invention begins with the submission of an application to the Patent Office, however, it is conditional until a patent is granted. A patent may be granted for a maximum of 20 years.

The equivalent of the Polish patent at the European level is the so-called European patent that can be granted by the European Patent Office (EPO) based in Munich. The EPO is a body of the European Patent Organization, which brings together almost 40 Member States, and therefore also outside the European Union. The European patent is effective in the territory of those countries that have been designated by the applicant himself as a place of protection and in which he has validated it.

There is also an international procedure before the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, which allows the protection of this industrial property right to be extended in the countries designated by the right holder himself in an international application filed for this purpose.

A utility model is a new and useful solution of a technical nature concerning the shape or combination of an object with a permanent form. A utility model is considered to be a new and useful solution if it produces effects that are practical in the production or use of products. A utility model is similar to a patent, however it has less strict registration conditions and when a patent cannot be obtained, it is very often possible to register a utility model. However, one should bear in mind the rules concerning the "novelty" of the utility model, mentioned above in relation to the patent.

In principle, utility model protection begins with the submission of the application for registration, however, it is conditional until registration. Utility model protection may be obtained for a maximum of 10 years.

An industrial design is a new and individual form of a product or its part, given to it in particular by the features of lines, contours, shapes, colors, structure or material of the product and by its ornamentation.

As a rule, the legal protection of industrial designs begins with the submission of an application for registration and depends on effective registration, confirmed by a certificate of protection issued by the Patent Office. The right to register an industrial design lasts a maximum of 25 years from the date of filing and is divided into 5 protection periods for which appropriate fees must be paid. It is worth noting that the procedure for industrial designs is relatively quick so that registration can take place within 2-3 months.

The equivalent of the Polish industrial design at the European level is the so-called Community design that can be registered from Poland at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in Alicante, Spain. The Community design provides protection in all countries of the European Union.

There is also an international procedure before the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, which allows the protection of this industrial property right to be extended in the countries designated by the right holder himself in an international application filed for this purpose.

A trademark can be: a word, advertising slogan, sound, melody, drawing, a combination of words and graphic elements, colors, holograms, spatial characters, as well as any other sign that will distinguish the goods or services of one enterprise from the goods or services of another enterprise.

In general, a trade mark is protected from the moment an application for registration is filed, however, final protection is conditional upon successful registration. The period of trademark protection is 10 years and may be extended for subsequent ten-year periods, practically indefinitely.

Polish patent attorneys can register trademarks both in Poland and in the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in Alicante. In the case of registration with EUIPO, the trademark is protected in all countries of the European Union.

There is also an international procedure before the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, which allows the protection of this industrial property right to be extended in the countries designated by the right holder himself in an international application filed for this purpose.

Before taking steps to submit an application to ensure protection, it is worth analyzing all possible ways of protection. Depending on factors such as the market strategy for a given product, the desired term of protection or the budget for the protection of rights, all available legal protection measures should be taken into account in order to choose the best one. It is often the case that it is possible to use various rights, the subject of protection of which is overlapping. Such a situation occurs in the case of a logotype (label), which can be protected both as an industrial design and as a trademark. In the case of the first of these rights, protection is granted for a maximum of 25 years, and in the case of a trademark - for 10-year protection periods, with no maximum time limit. Another good example of this issue can be the choice of protection for a table with a system of foldable elements that can be submitted as a utility model, and at the same time a specific design can be protected by an industrial design.

An act that may be qualified as an unlawful encroachment on someone else's exclusive right may be considered an infringement of industrial property rights. The most frequently mentioned methods of violation include: imitation and counterfeiting of markings, unauthorized copying or reproduction of works, as well as unlawful removal of someone else's markings. The basic type of protection is civil law protection, but in some cases the entitled person also has administrative and penal measures at his disposal.

In the event that the infringer does not react or reacts negatively to the so-called a warning letter, we have at our disposal an extensive catalog of both monetary and non-pecuniary claims. The primary claim is a failure to act, the purpose of which is to force the infringer to cease unlawful activity - this claim may be brought before a court and then enforced against any court rulings. From the point of view of speed of action, it is important to be able to obtain temporary security for claims, e.g. by seizing goods placed on the market in violation of someone else's rights and by obtaining a ban on further marketing of these goods. In addition, the entitled person may pursue further pecuniary claims from the infringer, e.g. he may demand the release of unjustified benefits and compensation for the damage.

The costs of obtaining rights from registration in the field of industrial property include the costs of registration, translation (if necessary) and the fees of the patent attorney. Registration costs depend on the scope of protection. Translation costs are incurred when necessary. As for the amount of lawyers' fees, they vary depending on the country in which the patent attorney works. Polish patent attorneys generally charge 50-60% lower fees compared to attorneys working in Western Europe. It is worth noting that they can perform activities in the field of registration of intellectual property rights not only in Poland, but also before the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva and at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in Alicante (which is competent for registration of Community designs and EU marks).