The Chair

With effect from 1st of October 2012, The Intellectual Property Law Institute was moved from the Faculty of Management and Social Communication to the Faculty of Law and Administration of the Jagiellonian University as the newly established Intellectual Property Law Chair. Thus, the Intellectual Property Law Chair is a new form of the Institute, which for decades has been Poland's largest specialist research center dealing with issues of  widely understood intellectual property law and the direct successor to the heritage and tradition of this very research unit. Primarily, The Chair’s activity centers on conducting extensive research in the field of intellectual property. The Chair also conducts teaching, publishing, consultative and legislative work and takes part in research cooperation with other units.

From the turn of the 20th century, the Jagiellonian University has held a prominent position in the field of intellectual property protection research ever since professors F. Zoll (junior), St. L. Jaworski, S. Wroblewski and S. Gołab. began their  teaching and research . A special role was played by F. Zoll - co-author of the 1924 Law on the protection of inventions, trademarks and designs, the 1926 Law on Unfair Competition  and the 1926 Copyright Act, which in those days was considered one of the most cutting edge in Europe. Continuators of this work were Professor F. Zoll. Grzybowski and prof. S. Ritterman. In the sixties, this group was joined by professors A. Kopff, J. Serda and J Szwaja.

Research

The Chair (formerly Institute) conducts research in the field of Polish, foreign and international intellectual property law. Research includes: patent law (including protection of utility models and design, trademark Law and designations of origin, the right to protection of know-how, copyright and related rights, press law (including radio and television), protection of personal rights, the right to information law, antitrust law, unfair competition law, economic law (commercial) , legal aspects of marketing and advertising and the protection of personal data.

An important part of the Chair’s current research are research projects financed by public institutions (e.g. The National Science Centre).

Consultations and participation in the legislative work

The Chair, as was the case with the Institute, takes part in a wide range of legislative work and consultation on draft legal acts.

An important part of the Chair’s activity is also preparing legal opinions and expertise at the request of (amongst others) the courts, the prosecutor's office, Parliament, the Senate, the Cabinet Office, the Legislative Council, the ministries, the Patent Office, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, the Committee for Scientific Research, universities, businesses and cultural institutions. Expert opinions relate to (amongst others) the state of law and practice in Poland and other countries, draft contracts, risk assessment and the initiation of litigation, proceedings before the Patent Office and the possibility of amicable settlement of disputes.

Academic journal

Prace z Prawa Własności Intelektualnej (ZNUJ PPWI) is a periodical published as part of Zeszyty Naukowe Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego journal and continues Prace z Wynalazczości i Ochrony Własności Intelektualnej (ZNUJ PWiOWI), published since 1973. Since mid-2008 the periodical has been published as a quarterly by Wolters Kluwer Polska. It is published regularly towards the end of the last month of each quarter.

Teaching

The Chair runs both undergraduate studies and postgraduate courses. In addition, employees of the Chair teach classes in the fields of intellectual property law, civil law, economic  and commercial law, media law and press law at the Faculty of Management and Social Communication at the Jagiellonian University, Faculty of Law and Administration at the Jagiellonian University and at other universities in Kraków.

Partnerships and research exchange

Amongst the state offices, institutions and associations who work in co-operation with the Chair the following are of particular note: The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, The Polish Patent Office, The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection and The Jagiellonian University PhD students’ society. The Chair also cooperates internationally in research projects . This is done through scholarships and direct research exchange. In recent years, employees of the Institute have undertaken scholarships at the ‘Universita Degli Studi’ in Pavia and ‘The Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches Patent- und internationales, Urheber- und Wettbewerbsrecht’ in Munich. The Institute also cooperates with the International Association for the Advancement of Teaching and Research in Intellectual Property (ATRIP).

The institute (now the Chair) owes much to the Max Planck Institute in Munich, without whose help and cooperation, the institute would not have been able to achieve its current position. The Institute is particularly grateful for scholarship opportunities, assistance in establishing academic contacts and publishing research abroad, research suggestions and, quite simply, for the personal kindness of the people employed there.