Opposition to a Final Decision on the Granting of a Patent or other Exclusive Rights After Changes in Industrial Property Law

The aim of this article is primarily to analyse the norms of the opposition procedure to a final decision on granting a patent, a utility-model protection right or a registration right, contained in Art. 246–247 of the Industrial Property Law (IPL), taking into account both the provisions of substantive and procedural law as well as legal effects resulting from the adopted normative solutions regarding Art. 247 of the IPL in the amendment to the IPL of 16 October 2019. The model of opposition procedure adopted in Poland with the objection procedure in force in the Munich Convention is assessed. The presentation of the regulation of the opposition in the Munich Convention allows for a comparative legal analysis of the solutions contained therein with the relatively modest regulation provided for in Art. 246–247 of the IPL. The legal nature of the opposition, its subject and substantive legal grounds, as well as the inconsistently defined nature of the opposition period, are addressed. The controversial nature of the opposition proceedings is also discussed. The considerations made allowed for the formulation of de lege lata and de lege ferenda conclusions.