Intellectual property registered in Poland can serve as collateral in financing structures and acquisition transactions. The question a foreign buyer or lender must answer first is not what the IP is worth in the abstract — it is what already encumbers it, who actually owns it on the register, and whether the registered owner matches the entity offering the security. Those three questions are answerable from official Polish sources. The ceiling of what those sources allow is stated below, before any engagement.
- What the registers show
- Registered trademarks, patents and industrial designs held by a Polish entity, plus pledges (zastawy rejestrowe) over those rights. Source: Urząd Patentowy RP · Rejestr Zastawów (Ministry of Justice) · verified June 2026.
- Cost of a pledge search
- DW-1 certificate per pledgor: 20 PLN. DW-2 certificate per subject matter: 20 PLN. Certified extract DW-4: 15 PLN. Source: Rejestr Zastawów, Centralna Informacja · verified June 2026.
- Tax-lien search
- Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych (Ministry of Finance): free search by subject; wypis or zaświadczenie costs 50 PLN through e-Urząd Skarbowy. Source: Ministerstwo Finansów · verified June 2026.
- Company register
- KRS entry including share of IP ownership declared in corporate documents: free. Certified extract: approximately 30–60 PLN. Source: Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy · verified June 2026.
- Insolvency check
- KRZ (krz.ms.gov.pl): public, free, no login. Covers proceedings opened after 1 December 2021 only. Source: Ministerstwo Sprawiedliwości · verified June 2026.
What the collateral check covers
A pledge over intellectual property in Poland can be constituted as a registered pledge (zastaw rejestrowy) under the 1996 Act. That pledge is entered in the Rejestr Zastawów held by the Ministry of Justice. A separate fiscal pledge (zastaw skarbowy) may be imposed by tax authorities and is recorded in the Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych held by the Ministry of Finance. Both registers must be queried. A search of only one produces an incomplete picture of encumbrances.
The Urząd Patentowy RP (Polish Patent Office) maintains registers of patents, utility models, trademarks and industrial designs. Each register shows the current registered owner, the filing and grant dates, the renewal status and any recorded assignments or licences. Licences are recorded at the proprietor's request — an unrecorded licence may exist but will not appear.
| Register | Held by | What it shows | Access cost | What it does not show |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rejestr Zastawów | Ministry of Justice | Registered pledges over movable assets including IP rights; pledgor, creditor, amount, expiry | DW-1 per pledgor: 20 PLN; DW-2 per subject: 20 PLN; DW-4 extract: 15 PLN | Fiscal pledges; contractual security not constituted as zastaw rejestrowy |
| Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych | Ministry of Finance | Fiscal pledges imposed by tax authorities over assets of tax debtors | Free search; wypis/zaświadczenie: 50 PLN | Private pledges; judgments; contractual liens |
| Urząd Patentowy RP registers | Polish Patent Office | Ownership, status, renewals, recorded assignments and licences for patents, trademarks, designs | Online search free; certified extracts: per-item tariff | Unrecorded licences; economic value; quality of title chain prior to first Polish registration |
| KRS (Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy) | Ministry of Justice | Corporate identity, share structure, representation, filed financial statements | Free (online); certified extract: approx. 30–60 PLN | IP ownership directly; pledge details |
| KRZ (Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych) | Ministry of Justice | Insolvency and restructuring proceedings from 1 December 2021 | Free; no login required | Proceedings opened before 1 December 2021; foreign insolvency proceedings |
| CRBR (Central Register of Beneficial Owners) | Ministry of Finance | Declared beneficial owners of Polish legal entities | Free; no login required | Accuracy of declarations not independently verified; trusts not covered |
The two-pledge-register problem
Polish law creates two independent pledge registers. The Rejestr Zastawów records private pledges constituted by contract. The Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych records fiscal pledges imposed by the tax administration. Neither register cross-references the other. A lender taking security over a trademark must query both registers by the subject matter — the specific IP right — and by the pledgor entity. A clean certificate from one register says nothing about the other.
The Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych search by subject matter is free. A formal wypis or zaświadczenie costs 50 PLN and is issued through e-Urząd Skarbowy. The Rejestr Zastawów issues DW-1 (by pledgor) and DW-2 (by subject) certificates at 20 PLN each, and a certified extract DW-4 at 15 PLN. For a collateral opinion, both certificate types from both registers are required.
Ownership chain and corporate identity
The Urząd Patentowy RP register shows the entity recorded as the current owner. KRS shows the corporate details of that entity — legal form, registered address, representation, and filed financial statements available free through the Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych. These two registers do not automatically cross-reference. A change of company name or a cross-border merger may leave the patent register showing a legacy name. Reconciling the patent register entry against the current KRS entry is a manual step.
CRBR (Centralny Rejestr Beneficjentów Rzeczywistych) is public and free. It shows the declared beneficial owner of the Polish entity. The register does not independently verify the accuracy of declarations. Where the declared UBO differs from the economic reality apparent from shareholding documents, the register records what was declared — not what was verified.
Insolvency and restructuring status
KRZ (krz.ms.gov.pl) is the current public register of insolvency and restructuring proceedings in Poland. It is free and requires no login. Search is by PESEL, NIP, KRS number or case signature. The register covers proceedings opened from 1 December 2021. Proceedings opened before that date were published in the Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy (MSiG). The MSiG search system at wyszukiwarka-msig.ms.gov.pl is free; archives run from 1996. Both must be checked. A clean KRZ result does not exclude an earlier proceeding recorded only in MSiG.
VAT and tax status of the IP owner
The Biała lista (White List of VAT taxpayers) at podatki.gov.pl is maintained by the Head of the National Revenue Administration. It is free and requires no login. It shows current VAT registration status, the entity's declared bank accounts, and the history of deregistration and re-registration with dates. Status can be checked for any past date. A payment made to a bank account not on the White List at the time of payment creates joint VAT liability for the payer. This is relevant where IP licensing royalties or purchase consideration will be transferred.
The limit of what the sources allow
The registers establish what is recorded — not what is true. An unrecorded licence over a patent does not appear in the Urząd Patentowy RP register; it may still be enforceable under the underlying contract. A pledge constituted but not yet registered in the Rejestr Zastawów will not appear in a certificate; the registration process takes time. The Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych shows fiscal pledges imposed by Polish tax authorities; foreign tax claims do not appear.
KRZ covers insolvency from 1 December 2021. For an entity incorporated before that date, a proceeding opened and closed before December 2021 will not appear in KRZ. It may appear in MSiG if it was published there. CRBR records declared beneficial ownership; the accuracy of the declaration is not verified by the register authority. Where the declared UBO and the actual economic owner differ, the register shows the declaration.
The Urząd Patentowy RP registers cover rights registered in Poland and rights with effect in Poland through the European Patent Office or EUIPO. Rights registered only in other jurisdictions do not appear. A portfolio described as "global" requires parallel searches in each relevant jurisdiction. This report covers the Polish layer only.
Where the sources disagree
The most common discrepancy is between the registered owner on the Urząd Patentowy RP register and the entity shown in KRS. This occurs after corporate restructurings, cross-border mergers and name changes where the IP register was not updated. The second common discrepancy is between the pledge search result and the contractual security documentation: a pledge may have expired in the register but the underlying loan may still be outstanding, or vice versa. Where discrepancies appear, the report documents each source's position separately — it does not reconcile them into a single conclusion.
What is included at each tier
| Tier | Price (EUR) | Included | Not included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signal | €590 |
KRS extract and verification of corporate identity of the IP owner. Search of Rejestr Zastawów (DW-1 and DW-2 certificates) for the subject entity and identified IP rights. Search of Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych for the same entity and rights. KRZ insolvency check. MSiG archive search for pre-2021 proceedings. VAT status via Biała lista on the report date. Written summary in English stating what each search returned. |
Urząd Patentowy RP register extracts for individual rights. CRBR beneficial ownership check. Financial statement analysis. Licence status review. Cross-jurisdictional IP searches. |
| Standard | €990 |
Everything in Signal. Urząd Patentowy RP register extracts for up to ten identified IP rights, showing ownership, renewal status and recorded licences. CRBR beneficial ownership report. Reconciliation of patent register entries against current KRS data. Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych: three most recent filed financial statements retrieved and summarised. Identification of any discrepancies between registers, documented per source. |
IP rights beyond ten items. Legal opinion on enforceability of any pledge or licence. Cross-jurisdictional IP searches. Valuation of IP rights. Review of underlying pledge or licence agreements. |
| Extended | €2,200 |
Everything in Standard. Urząd Patentowy RP register extracts for the full identified portfolio (no item cap). MSiG and KRZ narrative review: all published insolvency and restructuring notices for the entity and its direct subsidiaries shown in KRS. Biała lista historical status check for up to three prior dates specified by the client. Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych formal zaświadczenie (50 PLN official fee included). Structured data table of all identified encumbrances, cross-referenced by right and by register. Executive summary in English, formatted for lender or transaction committee use. |
Legal qualification of findings. Valuation or market assessment of IP rights. Cross-jurisdictional IP portfolio searches. Review of contractual documents not in public registers. Representation in any proceeding. |
Frequently asked questions
Does a clean Rejestr Zastawów certificate mean the IP is unencumbered?
No. A clean Rejestr Zastawów certificate covers only private registered pledges. Fiscal pledges in the Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych are a separate register and require a separate search. An unrecorded contractual security interest — one not constituted as a zastaw rejestrowy — will not appear in either register.
Can a foreign lender access these registers directly?
KRS, KRZ, MSiG, CRBR and the Biała lista are accessible online without registration. The Rejestr Zastawów and the Urząd Patentowy RP registers require the correct entity identifiers — NIP, REGON or KRS number — and, for formal certificates, submission of a request form in Polish. The Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych formal zaświadczenie requires an e-Urząd Skarbowy account. Navigating these steps without a Polish-language interface and a national identifier for the entity is the practical barrier — not a legal restriction on foreign access.
How current is the Urząd Patentowy RP register?
The register reflects entries as processed. There is a gap between the date a transaction is submitted for registration and the date it appears in the register. A recently assigned patent may still show the prior owner. The report documents the register state on the date of extraction. It does not attest to transactions submitted but not yet processed.
What if the IP portfolio includes EU trademarks or European patents?
EU trademarks are registered with EUIPO in Alicante; European patents are granted by the EPO and validated in each member state. These rights do not appear in the Urząd Patentowy RP register. Pledges over EU trademarks are governed by EU Trademark Regulation provisions and are recorded with EUIPO. A Polish collateral report covers only rights registered at national level in Poland. Cross-register coverage of EU-level rights is outside the scope of this report.
Does the report include a legal opinion on the validity of any pledge?
No. The report is a factual compilation from official registers. It states what each register shows. It does not qualify the legal enforceability of any recorded pledge, the validity of any assignment, or the priority of competing security interests. Those questions require legal advice, which is a separate engagement.
Disclaimer: This report is a factual compilation from official registers and public sources. It is provided for informational purposes only, does not constitute legal advice, and contains no legal qualification of the facts established. KORDECKI & Partners assumes no liability for actions taken or not taken based on this material. For advice regarding your particular situation, please contact info@kordeckipartners.com.