Exhibition priority right in Polish patent applications

In Polish patent applications, patent applicants can obtain priority by exhibiting their products at exhibitions. However, obtaining exhibition priority requires certain conditions, and it is not obtained naturally. To obtain exhibition priority, patent applicants need to provide the following materials to the Polish Patent Office:

• The certificate of priority resulting from the invention/utility model exhibition consists of a certificate from the exhibition manager that the invention/utility model was exhibited at a specific exhibition. The certificate should include the first and last name or names of the exhibitor, the name of the city, the exhibition period, the date of the exhibition of the invention/utility model, and a declaration of the identity of the exhibited project with a description and drawings of the project. If the exhibition is held abroad, the certificate should also include a document stating that the exhibition has the nature of an international official or officially recognized exhibition.
• Poland has been able to request exhibition priority since 2000. Requirements for obtaining exhibition priority:
  • The exhibition has been held for at least 5 years
  • The exhibition is held at least every two years
  • The number of exhibitors must not be less than 50
• In the case of inventions, it is possible to claim the exhibition priority right only if the invention was exhibited at an official or officially recognized international exhibition within the meaning of the Convention on International Exhibitions of November 22, 1928.
• If the priority document resulting from the earlier application is drawn up in a language other than Polish, English, French, German or Russian, it must be accompanied by a translation into one of these languages, signed by the translator.

The purpose of this priority is to encourage inventors to show their innovations to the public and prevent their innovations from being misappropriated by others. In some countries, such as EU member states and the United States, applicants can claim exclusive rights to their technological innovations based on the exhibition priority date.