POLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Krystyna Szczepanowska-Kozłowska, Marcin Ziarkowski, Krzysztof Popławski and Kacper Sobolewski, A&O Shearman
8. Other Relevant Forums/Procedures 8.1 The UPC or Other Forums There are no other relevant forums or procedures with respect to life sciences and pharma IP litigation in Poland. 9. Alternative Dispute Resolution 9.1 ADR Options In Poland, patent litigation continues to be the stand ‑ ard method of resolving disputes. ADR in life sciences disputes in Poland is rare and faces several obstacles. These are particularly attributable to the following fac ‑ tors: • the lack of awareness of ADR options; • the preference for court litigation (specialised courts); • the bifurcated patent litigation system that prevents the arbitrability of patent disputes concerning pat ‑ ent validity; and • the invalidity of settlements concerning patent validity. Regardless of the above, the following ADR options are available in Poland. Arbitration Life sciences disputes are rarely resolved in arbitration proceedings. This results largely from the necessity of concluding an arbitration clause by the parties to the dispute (and some disputes concern infringement of rights by entities with whom no contract was con ‑ cluded) and the lack of the arbitrability of disputes concerning patent validity. A decision by an arbitral tribunal on the validity of a patent would be invalid – this is a competence reserved exclusively for the PPO. Nevertheless, it is possible to conclude an arbitra ‑ tion agreement between the parties for the remaining scope and resolve the dispute, for example, on patent infringement. Mediation Depending on the type of proceedings, whether in court or before the PPO, there are instruments designed to encourage the parties to reach a settle ‑
7.2 Appeal Court(s) Arbiter Patent Infringement Cases
An appeal against a court judgment or a PI decision is examined by one judge specialising in intellectual property matters. Patent Invalidation Proceedings Typically, the panel of the Voivodeship Administra ‑ tive Court that reviews the PPO’s decision consists of three judges who may (but do not have to) special ‑ ise in patent law, depending on their availability and allocation. 7.3 Special Provisions A separate procedure for IP cases was introduced in 2020 to ensure high-quality judgments and facilitate evidence gathering for claimants to pursue claims for infringement of intellectual property rights. IP cases are examined by intellectual property divi ‑ sions within the Regional Courts, where judges spe ‑ cialising in intellectual property adjudicate. Particularly complex cases, such as those concerning computer programs, inventions and utility models, are adjudi ‑ cated exclusively by the Regional Court in Warsaw, 22nd Intellectual Property Division. The vast majority of IP cases in Poland that have been handled under a separate IP procedure concern copy ‑ right protection, with a significant number also involv ‑ ing trade mark protection. As for patent disputes, only a small number of new cases are registered each year. In IP cases, in principle, it is mandatory for the parties to be represented by a professional attorney (an advo ‑ cate, an attorney-at-law or a patent attorney). The IP procedure introduced a wide range of possibili ‑ ties, such as securing evidence, requesting disclosure of evidence and requesting information from the other party (see 1.7 Pre-action Discovery/Disclosure and 1.8 Search and Seizure Orders for more details).
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