On October 5 President of the Republic of Poland, Mr. Andrzej Duda signed the Act amending the Industrial Property Law. The amendment was adopted by the Sejm on September 11, 2015. The changes had been long expected by the exhibition industry. For many months Polish Chamber of Exhibition Industry and associations of entrepreneurs, with the support of experts and MPs, had been attempting to reinstate the so-called exhibition priority certificate, abolished in 2007. Polish Chamber of Exhibition Industry was satisfied to learn about the approval of the amendment to the IPL by the Members of Parliament, Senators and the President. Being aware of the importance of the exhibition priority certificate for Polish companies, PCEI have been attempting to reinstate it for quite a long time. The adoption of the amended Law crowns many months of engagement of PCEI, which is the only national organization which associates companies of the exhibition industry in Poland. The bill amending the Industrial Property Law, initiated by Marek Niedbała MP, was signed by a few dozen of other Members of Parliament. After that, during the commission works, the majority of Members of Parliament decided to support the proposed changes. Senators were also unanimous in their support for the implementation of protection of utility models and industrial designs at domestic exhibitions. The amended Act was ultimately adopted by the Sejm unanimously during the meeting on September 11. The works on the Act have been finalized by the signature of the President of Poland, Mr. Andrzej Duda. Necessary change So far the authors of utility models and industrial designs presented at public exhibitions in Poland, in order to guarantee the protection of industrial property rights, were forced to register the model in the Patent Office or in the Office for the Harmonization in the Internal Market before the presentation at the exhibition. This situation has existed since 2007, when the provision guaranteeing such protection was repealed while amending the Industrial Property Law. Failing to fulfil the obligation of registration actually deprived the exhibitors of protection. When the amendment comes into force, the protective mechanism will be the exhibition priority certificate issued by the exhibition organizer where the presentation took place. The exhibition priority certificate is used on many exhibition markets, including on the largest European market in Germany. According to exhibition experts, the amended Act, while protecting against unfair competition and theft of ideas, will have a positive influence on the number of innovative designs presented during exhibitions in Poland. This in turn will translate into the growing competitiveness of the Polish exhibition market. The new regulations will come into force after 6 months from their announcement in the Journal of Laws. Source: Polish Chamber of Exhibition Industry.