The following can constitute a trademark: a word, a catchphrase, a sound, a tune, a drawing, a combination of words and graphical elements, colours, holograms, distinguishing elements of Internet addresses, spatial forms (3D) as well as any marking which can distinguish goods and services of one company from goods and services of the other company.

A trademark is a guarantee of a correct identification of a good or a service with a producer or a contractor. A proper security of legal interests in relation to a trademark provides an ability to use a monopoly on its usage in economic relations. It also has an advertising function and guarantees quality of the goods and services on which it is placed. Protective rights for trademarks are granted by central authorities competent in the cases of industrial property in a given country upon a verification of absolute and relative prerequisites of their registrability defined in normative acts. In Poland the trademarks are registered in Polish Patent Office. In the case of the countries being members of European Community registration is kept by Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (Trademarks and Designs) in Spain. Registration of trademarks in international system is obtained in World Intellectual Property Organization in Switzerland.

The Office provides the services of registrability research in relation to indications in national, European and international databases according to the criteria specified in national, European and international normative acts being in force. Such research helps to estimate a potential risk of registration refusal and to select a form of a trademark to register in an appropriate way.

Having done the research upon a client’s request, next we file an application for trademarks in order to obtain their registration in a chosen legal system. We prepare application documentation and we provide advice as it comes to classification of goods and services. We also draw up the rules for the usage of common trademarks and common guarantee trademarks.

After the registration we are responsible for the supervision of maintaining protection of the granted exclusive rights in subsequent 10-year durations of protection. We remind our clients of the dates of making official fees or upon their order we make them ourselves.

In the cases of exclusive rights infringements, we initiate or take part in administrative proceedings concerning invalidation or expiration of protective rights for trademarks.

In the name of a client we prepare warning documents for potential trademarks violators. We carry out mediations in the case of conflicts of rights aiming at concluding an arrangement between the parties. Moreover, we perform tasks of an intermediary while concluding license agreements to use the trademark and assignment of exclusive rights for the trademarks between the parties, as well as before competent administrative authorities.