On September 2008, the Polish Patent Office (PPO) refused to grant a patent for an invention entitled “method and device for access to the telecommunications network and for accounting telecommunications services”. The PPO held that this invention is not a technical solution. The applicant filed a complaint to the administrative court. The Voivodeship Administrative Court (VAC) in Warsaw, in a judgment of 25 February 2010, case file VI SA/Wa 1525/09 annulled the decision, however, the VAC did not agree with applicant’s arguments that the PPO had to take under the consideration earlier decision of the EPO on the grant of the patent for the questioned invention. The Court held that the Polish Patent Office is not obliged to take into account in its assessment that was made from the perspective of the f the Polish Act of 30 June 2000 on Industrial Property Law – IPL – (in Polish: ustawa Prawo własności przemysłowej) of 30 June 2000, published in Journal of Laws (Dziennik Ustaw) of 2001 No. 49, item 508, consolidated text on 13 June 2003, Journal of Laws (Dziennik Ustaw) No. 119, item 1117, with later amendments, the assessment that was carried out by the European Patent Office and its interpretation of the applicable law.

Categories: Art. 37 IPL | European Patent Convention | European Patent Office | patentable subject matter | Voivodeship Administrative Court.