Intellectual property registered in Poland — patents, trademarks, industrial designs, utility models — appears in official registers maintained by the Polish Patent Office (Urząd Patentowy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, UPRP). A foreign buyer or lender using IP as collateral needs to know what those registers show, what they omit, and where the record ends before any valuation or security agreement is signed.
- What the registers show
- Registered rights by title number, owner of record, filing and grant dates, legal status (active, lapsed, transferred, licensed). Source: UPRP registers · verified 10.07.2026
- What they do not show
- Pledges and assignments recorded outside UPRP, contractual restrictions on transfer, pending opposition or invalidation proceedings not yet entered, actual commercial value.
- Access condition
- UPRP online databases are publicly searchable without registration. Certified extracts require a formal request and payment of an official fee set by UPRP tariff.
- Coverage
- National Polish rights only. EU-level rights (EU trade marks, Community designs, European patents validated in Poland) are held in separate EUIPO and EPO registers, not in UPRP.
What the collateral angle requires
When IP is offered as security, the collateral question is not simply whether the right exists. It requires establishing whether the grantor is the registered owner of record, whether any prior encumbrance — pledge, licence, assignment — already burdens the right, and whether the right is in good standing or approaching lapse for non-payment of renewal fees.
Polish law permits a registered pledge (zastaw rejestrowy) over IP rights. Such a pledge is recorded in the Court Register of Pledges (Rejestr Zastawów), not in the UPRP file. A clean UPRP record does not confirm the absence of a registered pledge. Both registers must be checked in parallel.
National rights versus EU and international coverage
A Polish portfolio routinely combines several layers of protection. Each layer sits in a different register and requires a separate query.
| Right type | Register | Operator | Covers Poland? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polish national trademark | UPRP trademark register | UPRP, Warsaw | Yes — national only |
| EU trade mark (EUTM) | EUIPO register | EUIPO, Alicante | Yes — covers all EU member states |
| Polish national patent / utility model | UPRP patent register | UPRP, Warsaw | Yes — national only |
| European patent validated in Poland | EPO register + UPRP validation record | EPO, Munich; UPRP | Yes — if validated |
| Industrial design (national) | UPRP design register | UPRP, Warsaw | Yes — national only |
| Registered Community design (RCD) | EUIPO design register | EUIPO, Alicante | Yes — covers all EU member states |
| International trademark (Madrid) | WIPO Madrid register | WIPO, Geneva | Yes — if Poland designated |
| Registered pledge over IP | Rejestr Zastawów | Ministry of Justice | Yes — Polish pledges |
Mapping the full portfolio means querying each register separately. A right absent from UPRP may still be active at EUIPO or EPO. A right present at UPRP may have a pledge recorded only in the Rejestr Zastawów.
Ownership and chain of title
UPRP records the current registered owner. It does not reconstruct the full chain of assignments. Where a right has changed hands more than once, earlier assignment agreements are not reproduced in the register extract. The extract shows the current entry; prior transfers appear only as a succession of entries if each was separately recorded.
Unregistered assignments are valid between the parties under Polish law. They are not binding on third parties — including a secured lender — until recorded. A lender taking security must verify that the grantor's title is recorded, not merely asserted.
Renewal status and lapse risk
IP rights are time-limited and require periodic renewal fees. UPRP records show the renewal status as of the last entry. A right shown as active may lapse if the next renewal fee is not paid before expiry of the grace period. The register does not show future lapse risk — only the current recorded status.
For collateral purposes, the remaining protection term and the next renewal date are material facts. These can be derived from the filing date, grant date, and applicable statutory term. The calculation is straightforward for national rights; for European patents and international marks it requires cross-referencing the relevant international register.
Licences and contractual encumbrances
An exclusive licence over a Polish IP right may be recorded at UPRP. Recording is optional under Polish law, not mandatory. An unrecorded exclusive licence may still bind the owner contractually. UPRP does not show licences that were not submitted for recording. A clean UPRP record does not confirm the absence of a binding exclusive licence.
Non-exclusive licences are almost never recorded. Their existence, scope, and duration are established only from the underlying contract. Register review alone cannot confirm whether the right is free of licence obligations.
The limit of what the sources allow
The UPRP register shows what has been submitted and recorded. It does not show what has not been filed: unrecorded assignments, unrecorded licences, pending oppositions not yet entered, or the commercial value of the right. The Rejestr Zastawów shows registered pledges; it does not show contractual security arrangements that were not formalised as registered pledges. EUIPO and EPO registers are each authoritative only for their own register — neither shows the Polish national position in full, and neither shows the Polish pledge register.
The ceiling of what the sources allow is stated before payment. No register combination produces a complete encumbrance picture without also reviewing the underlying contracts. That review falls outside the scope of a factual register report and requires legal analysis.
Where register data conflicts — for example, an owner of record at UPRP differs from the owner shown in a recent assignment agreement provided by the grantor — that discrepancy is itself a material finding. It is reported as a discrepancy, not resolved by the report.
Where the sources disagree
Common discrepancies encountered in Polish IP collateral review: the UPRP owner of record does not match the entity offering the right as security; a European patent is validated in Poland but the UPRP validation entry has not been updated to reflect a subsequent assignment at EPO; a pledge is asserted by the grantor to have been discharged, but the Rejestr Zastawów still shows it as active. Each of these is a finding to be reported and resolved before any security is perfected.
What is included at each tier
| Scope item | Signal €590 |
Standard €990 |
Extended €2,200 |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPRP register search — trademarks, patents, designs, utility models | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Current registered owner, filing and grant dates, legal status | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Rejestr Zastawów search for registered pledges over identified rights | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Recorded licences at UPRP | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| EUIPO search — EU trade marks and Community designs | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| EPO register search — European patents with Polish validation | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| WIPO Madrid register search — international marks designating Poland | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Renewal term table — remaining protection period per right | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cross-register discrepancy log | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Opposition and cancellation proceedings check (UPRP, EUIPO) | — | — | ✓ |
| Chain of title reconstruction from successive UPRP entries | — | — | ✓ |
| Summary memo in English with source citations | — | — | ✓ |
| Not included — at any tier |
|---|
| Valuation of any IP right |
| Review of unrecorded licence or assignment agreements |
| Legal qualification of findings or advice on enforceability |
| Searches in jurisdictions outside Poland, EU (EUIPO), and WIPO |
| Confirmation that no unrecorded encumbrance exists |
Frequently asked questions
Does a clean UPRP record confirm the right is unencumbered?
No. UPRP records only what has been submitted for recording. A pledge registered in the Rejestr Zastawów does not appear in the UPRP file. An unrecorded exclusive licence does not appear anywhere. Both registers must be checked; neither confirms the absence of contractual encumbrances not submitted for recording.
Can a foreign entity obtain a certified UPRP extract directly?
UPRP issues certified extracts on formal request. The procedure requires identification of the right by registration number and submission in Polish. For a foreign entity without a Polish national identifier or a Polish-language capability, the path involves additional steps that the report removes.
What if the right is registered at EUIPO, not at UPRP?
An EU trade mark or Registered Community design registered at EUIPO is effective in Poland by operation of EU law. It does not appear in UPRP. The Standard and Extended tiers include EUIPO searches. The Signal tier covers UPRP only.
How is a registered pledge over IP discharged in Poland?
Discharge of a registered pledge requires a filing with the court maintaining the Rejestr Zastawów. Until the discharge entry is made, the pledge remains on the register. The report records the register status as of the search date; it does not confirm discharge that has not yet been entered.
Is copyright included?
Copyright in Poland arises automatically on creation and is not registered in any official register. There is no Polish copyright register to search. Copyright ownership and any licences granted over copyrighted works are established from contracts, not from register review. This report covers registered rights only.
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.