The Voivodeship Administrative Court in Warsaw in its judgment of 4 February 2009 case file VIII SA/Wa 332/08 ruled that not every method of disclousure of an industrial design is relevant, as it provides the opportunity to familiarize with it to persons acting in a professional manner in the same sector. It must be remembered that in accordance with the views of the legal doctrine and commentators, this possibility must be a real, materially relevant, and therefore it has to occur in circumstances that allow to assume the actual knowledge, which is the result of normal proffesional activity, specialized in the given sector. Therefore, it is not about the mere fact of disclosure of a design, but about whether specific people have actually an opportunity to get acquainted with the design.

This case concerned the industrial design “Podstawa słupa” (in English: column base), Rp-6991. See also “Polish regulations on industrial designs” and “Polish case law on industrial designs“.

Categories: Art. 102 IPL | Art. 104 IPL | industrial designs | novelty of an industrial design | Polish Act on Industrial Property Law | Polish courts | Polish law | Polish Patent Office | Voivodeship Administrative Court.