POLAND LAW AND PRACTICE Contributed by: Krystyna Szczepanowska-Kozłowska, Marcin Ziarkowski, Krzysztof Popławski and Kacper Sobolewski, A&O Shearman, A. Pedzich Sp. k .
then the party requesting information shall com - mence the infringement proceedings within the time limit set by the court, not longer than one month from the date of the decision on provid - ing information. If such proceedings have not been initiated, the required party has a claim for damages. This claim also applies in cases where the lawsuit was dismissed, withdrawn or discontinued. Request for Disclosure or Delivery of Evidence A request for disclosure or delivery of evidence is possible only during ongoing infringement proceedings and can be made if the plaintiff has substantiated their claim. The requesting party must specify the evidence they seek to disclose or deliver and provide reasons for such a request. In particular, they must show that the defendant holds the evidence in question. Polish civil procedure does not address the use of evidence or information obtained in proceed - ings conducted abroad. Therefore, there is no formal prohibition on using such information. However, when using such information, one should avoid disclosing the defendant’s trade secrets in another jurisdiction. This means that the disclosure of information obtained abroad would be possible in practice only if the pro - ceedings in both Poland and abroad involved the same parties. 1.8 Search and Seizure Orders Evidence can be secured before the proceed - ings start or at any point until the trial ends in the first instance. The application for securing evidence should be examined within one week from the date of its submission. Both before the initiation of the proceedings for infringement and during their course, the entitled party must demonstrate the claims and show the existence
of a legal interest in securing evidence. A legal interest exists when: • not securing evidence would make it impos - sible or severely hamper the presentation or proof of facts relevant for reaching the deci - sion; • there is a risk of evidence being destroyed; • a delay in obtaining evidence could hinder the achievement of the goal of the evidentiary proceedings; or • there is a need to ascertain the existing state of affairs for other reasons. The court decides on the application without the parties’ participation. If it rules before the initiation of the proceedings, it sets a deadline for filing an infringement lawsuit within a period of not less than two weeks and not more than one month from the date when the decision becomes final. The court only sends its decision on securing evidence to the entitled party. The other party gets this decision from the court bailiff, who executes it. The execution of this decision, at the request of the obliged party or the defend - ant, may take place with the participation of a court expert. A complaint against the decision on securing evidence is admissible. Polish civil procedure is silent on the use of evidence or information obtained in proceed - ings conducted abroad. Therefore, there is no formal barrier to using such information. How - ever, when using such information, one should avoid disclosing the defendant’s trade secrets in another jurisdiction. This means that the disclo - sure of information obtained abroad would be possible only if the same parties were involved in the proceedings in both Poland and abroad.
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