2022 was the “year of meetings”, as symbolized by the number that dominated the year of our jubilee. And although we are, of course, pragmatic patent attorneys, engineers and lawyers, not at all superstitious, this augury had an appealing ring for us. And it came true, albeit quite differently than we had planned! The year of our anniversary indeed turned out to be a time of getting together, but also helping those affected by the war raging across our eastern border.

#JWP30years

We celebrated last year’s April Fool’s Day with a bang! Exactly 30 years before, 1 April 1992 marked the establishment of Jan Wierzchoń & Partners law firm, currently JWP Patent & Trademark Attorneys.

We have already grown accustomed to the changing realities of our times and are always doubly prepared for new challenges and unexpected circumstances. That is why the snowstorm that hit our spring anniversary picnic did not come as a huge surprise to anyone, nor was it an obstacle to having fun together, the aim of which (as always) was to change our world into a better place – if only a little.

50 children from Ukraine that were taken in by the Pilaszków Care and Treatment Centre were given a wide range of essentials

100 trees were planted at the local forest nursery (beech, birch, spruce and hornbeam)!

4 new, spacious and warm kennels for dogs from the Korabiewice shelter were built

#JWPgala

The highlight of our double anniversary celebrations was the jubilee gala of JWP law firm and foundation, held on 3 June 2022 in Mała Warszawa art & business center. For JWP employees, our clients and friends it was a great opportunity to have fun, talk, commune with art and just be together.

The exhibition of paintings by a Ukrainian artist Natalia Pastushenko and the presence of the artist herself added splendor to the gala. Her works, reminiscent of the style of Gustav Klimt or Marc Chagall, could be admired throughout the evening. It was also an opportunity to raise funds for the Polish Humanitarian Action project SOS Ukraine. The evening also featured the premiere of a film about our law firm, entitled “A Diversity of Cases and People”.

35,000 PLN raised was donated to the Polish Humanitarian Action for the “SOS Ukraine” campaign, thanks to the commitment of all the guests present at the gala, JWP Patent & Trademark Attorneys’ employees and partners as well as the Ukrainian painter Natalia Pastushenko.

8 paintings were sold during the charity exhibition

3 paintings were presented as prizes in the JWP competition

#UPCconference

On 21 September 2022, the first ever international conference on the topic of the Unified Patent Court’s creation was held in Poland, bringing together academics, professional attorneys and business representatives. We invited leading European and national experts in the field of patent protection to join the debate and share their up-to-date knowledge on the changes related to the launch of the Unified Patent Court in Europe with the conference participants. It was also a unique opportunity to exchange views and learn about different strategies for dealing with the “new reality” in the world of patents.

310 participants registered for the conference

75% attendance on the day of the event

27 press publications on the Unified Patent Court and the patent with unitary effect.

20 experts from Poland and Europe

#JWPChristmas #JWPhelp

In December, we met in the snow-covered Warsaw district of Praga for the annual Christmas party. It was yet another opportunity to enjoy each other’s company and celebrate the success and many achievements of the passing jubilee year. The choice of venue was no accident – the newly renovated building in 75 Mińska Street will become our new headquarters in 2023! For the 4^th time in its 30-year history, our Warsaw law firm will relocate and it looks like we are going to settle for good within the walls of an atmospheric old printing house from the 1950s. During the party, a Christmas video featuring the youngest members of the JWP family was shown: our children presented Christmas riddles, told us why they like Christmas, what their favorite Christmas traditions are and what inventions are used by Santa. Finally, they passed on their Christmas wishes. In addition to participating in many other charity events, this year, as usual, we also prepared a Noble Gift for a family from Wyszków.

8 charity campaigns which the JWP Patent Attorneys Board of Directors and employees were involved in throughout 2022 included: PAH “SOS Ukraine”, Help for the children from the Ukrainian Orphanage, currently in the Pilaszków Centre, Help for the Animal Shelter in Korabiewice, Noble Gift, Colourful Backpacks Galore for the children from the Social Welfare Centre Warsaw/Śródmieście, Evening of Dreams organized by the Child’s Dream Foundation, collecting money for a Ukrainian family of 9 that our JWP colleague took under her roof, collecting medicines and food for the emergency services in Lviv.

15 children from JWP Patent Attorneys who took part in our jubilee #JWPChristmas campaign

#JWPteam

In our anniversary year, we shared a lot of information and interesting facts about our law firm and invariably spread knowledge on intellectual property law. As part of the cycle #30interesting factsforJWP30^thanniversary, among other things, we wrote about Quentin Tarantino’s dispute over the NFTs (non-fungible tokens) for the Pulp Fiction screenplay, the role of 3D printing in the restoration of coral reefs and the invention by a 15-year-old Filip Piękoś, i.e. a keyboard for the disabled persons. As for the latter, our foundation helped Filip to file a patent application with the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland.

In order to introduce everyone to our team, we also presented profiles of our colleagues working in various departments and on various positions in JWP Patent & Trademark Attorneys: patent attorneys, translators and specialists. The interviews, which are available on our anniversary website, allow you to get to know more about the unique and very diverse professional experiences and hobbies of those working in our company.

100 online publications on intellectual rights protection

50 publications in foreign press and internet portals

40 posts on the company blog “All Rights Reserved”

7 interviews within the #JWPteam cycle

6 press releases

#InspirationsForInnovations #JWPstories

“A Diversity of Cases and People” is a film about our law firm made in cooperation with the wonderful team from Rebus Films, which was screened as part of our 30^th anniversary celebrations. The premiere, as announced, took place on 3 June 2022 at the jubilee gala. The production can now be viewed on our website and on the JWP_IP YouTube channel. The inspiration for the film came from the awe and delight we take in the diverse and interesting cases handled by our patent attorneys.

During the making of this anniversary film, we also produced a series of beautiful videos entitled “Inspirations for Innovation” which featured our clients presenting their companies and talking about the importance of a coherent IP strategy for business development. Neel LLC, Mago S.A., Zieta Prozessdesign LLC. and the Warsaw University of Technology all agreed to contribute.
We also would like to thank all our customers who got involved in the production of the anniversary film by making their products and premises available. We express our heartfelt gratitude to Gerda LCC, Agrosimex LCC, Mieszko S.A., Tarchomin Pharmaceutical Works POLFA S.A., Piątnica District Dairy Cooperative, Interdruk S.A. and Żywiec Group S.A.. Intellectual property rights really rock!

9 video productions made by JWP

6 professional films made in cooperation with Rebus Films

1026+ views of our videos

An interesting year full of meetings, exchanging ideas and joyful group celebrations has come to an end. It was also a difficult year due to the events that forced us to change our perspective and redirect our support. At the beginning of 2022 we had been planning to devote all our energies to helping the environment, adopting bees, cleaning up or planting forests… However, we were faced with a huge humanitarian crisis which became our top priority.

We hope that the New Year 2023 will bring us the security we need to continue growing as a company as well as many new and exciting projects, the results of which we will be able to share widely with our friends, customers and partners.

#JWPteam

Artykuł Diversity is key. It is the art of keeping balance, offers the opportunity of agile management and forms the basis for the company’s success pochodzi z serwisu 30-lecie JWP.

Play Christmas riddles with us! >>

Santa’s inventions! >>

Christmas traditions as seen by our children >>

Download Christmas cards by JWP kids!

Download >>

Download >>

More cards >>

Artykuł Christmas wishes from our children pochodzi z serwisu 30-lecie JWP.

And you? What’s your favorite thing about Christmas time?

Play Christmas riddles with us! >>

See Santa’s inventions! >>

Download Christmas cards by JWP kids!

Download >>

Download >>

More cards >>

Christmas wishes from our children >>

Artykuł Christmas traditions as seen by our children pochodzi z serwisu 30-lecie JWP.

Play Christmas riddles with us! >>

Christmas traditions as seen by our children >>

Download Christmas cards by JWP kids!

Download >>

Download >>

More cards >>

Christmas wishes from our children >>

Artykuł Santa’s inventions according to our children pochodzi z serwisu 30-lecie JWP.

Download Christmas cards by JWP kids! Choose a card, download a PDF file, write your wishes and send it to your friends!

Download >>	Download >>
Download >>	Download >>
Download >>	Download >>
Download >>	Download >>
Download >>

Play Christmas riddles with us! >>

Santa’s inventions! >>

Christmas traditions as seen by our children >>

Christmas wishes from our children >>

Artykuł The most beautiful Christmas cards from our children pochodzi z serwisu 30-lecie JWP.

Santa’s inventions! >>

Christmas traditions as seen by our children >>

Download Christmas cards by JWP kids!

Download >>

Download >>

More cards >>

Christmas wishes from our children >>

Artykuł Play Christmas riddles with us! pochodzi z serwisu 30-lecie JWP.

Artykuł I for Inventive Step (or Inventive Level) pochodzi z serwisu 30-lecie JWP.

Tell us how it happened that you started working at JWP as a translator?

This is an interesting story, I’ve been working for JWP since 2017, but my first job interview was in 2016. The interview was for a position other than translator, but I still remember it because it lasted 2.5 hours and there was very good chemistry between me and the recruiter. I was not successful in this recruitment because the position required different competences than mine. In the following year, 2017, JWP was looking for an in-house translator probably for the first time – previously I had seen offers of cooperation for freelancers, but now they were looking for someone to join the office on a permanent basis. Thanks to that first job interview, I was remembered and that’s how I ended up at JWP.

So ‘it was meant to be’? 😊

Above all, I really wanted to work as an in-house translator in a company office. I graduated much earlier, in 2009, and at that time it was difficult for me to find such a job. There were very few offers for in-house translators. For the first few years I was freelancing, translating from home and teaching on top of that, but I kept looking and wanted to try a full-time job with a company and just then JWP had their offer.

Translating specialised, technical or legal texts is a difficult task?

Yes, their language is understood primarily by experts in the field, but when applying here I did not particularly think about that. Somewhere in the back of my mind I was aware that these would be specialised texts, from fields I had not dealt with, but I also found this challenge appealing.

What were your first few months at work like? Was it a reality check for you or did it go smoothly?

There was no trouble, it was very enjoyable and I have good memories. I was the first and for a few months the only translator. It was a nice time of getting to know the firm and colleagues. I was making contacts with the patent attorneys or their assistants and all staff in the patent-related departments, namely mechanics and biopharma. I was getting to know a new reality, it was great joy.

You were the first translator, and now I think there are more than a dozen people in your team?

Yes, there are now more than a dozen translators at JWP. Things have evolved a lot since then.

Could you give an example of an interesting text that you translated?

I still remember the first patent I translated. This was a text from German on how military vehicles communicate. This was my first translation, so I worked on it for a long time to make sure everything was tip-top. I also remember a patent where transgenic pigs were an invention, because I was very surprised that pigs could be an invention. And of the kind of difficult texts I remember, I think it was the text on the subject of ore enrichment, because… Well, I’m just looking at your face, everyone is wondering ‘what the heck is that’? I also asked myself what it was about, I had to do some reading, and it was difficult to find materials that addressed this topic.

There are inventions that we can laugh about or that we can understand better, because they are, for example, everyday objects, or there are those that are repetitive, such as electronic cigarettes or chemical compounds that later become, for example, medications.

Your day-to-day work also involves talking to patent attorneys and exploring the topics you are working on…

Yes, if I am given a text from a field that is completely new to me, the first thing I need to do is to understand the matter in question, read something in Polish, English or German, find source texts, and parallel texts. It is also a must to have some contact with the patent attorney, though certainly at the beginning of my work for JWP there was a lot more of it than now due to the fact that I am already more familiar with some topics. Yet, there is always something new, and that, for me, is the most interesting thing about this profession. There is this permanent need to familiarise yourself with something that you don’t deal with on a daily basis, that you generally know nothing about. This part of exploring, of satisfying your own curiosity, is the most fascinating.

Everyone I talk to comes to the conclusion at some point in the conversation that it is impossible to become bored here, because every now and then there is something new and surprising that pops up. You once mentioned in a conversation about your beloved artificial intelligence. I was very intrigued by this, who is this?

This is a plug-in that we use in the programme we translate in. 😊 The plug-in, which I also now call artificial intelligence, drops us its own translation, the so-called machine translation, i.e. what is generated by a continually learning programme. We check it, adjust as necessary, and post-edit it. The suggestions it drops us are sometimes better, sometimes worse, it also depends on the language. It’s doing pretty well with English, but not in every field. When it comes to life science, texts are better machine-translated. But even so, there are still funny situations resulting from such machine translation, when, for example, words have two meanings or the whole context of the description implies something completely different from what the plug-in suggests, based on a single sentence. That’s when you can have a laugh.

A bit like Google translator for me.

Now Google’s translators also rely on artificial intelligence. This wasn’t the case in the past, but that quickly changed at the end of the second decade of our century.

Could you please tell us what you like to do in your spare time?

There is little free time in my everyday life. I have two sons aged six and nine and a lot of time is taken by things like homework, shopping, preparing meals or after-school activities or reading books in the evening. So there is not much time left for a classic type of hobby. If I find a moment and feel I have the energy to go out in the evening, I go for a run. I try to do it regularly, once or twice a week, because I have a very sedentary lifestyle, spending loads of time in front of the computer.

However, there is much more going on at weekends. We like family outings, these are regular visits to the grandparents, because we have them outside of Warsaw, but we also sometimes manage to go further into the country. I now have this idea of going to Ojców. It’s autumn, the tree leaves are beautifully coloured and I love taking photos. I like going to the mountains most and my wife enjoys going to the sea, but we manage to meet halfway. We would like to visit all the national parks in Poland, we have probably already managed to see more than half of them. I also have this idea of going to the mountains with my sons, with one or both of them. We made it last years, this year we ran out of weekends, but the future is open.

And what are your dreams?

If I plan anything, it’s all about travelling. This is where I haven’t been yet, this could be an interesting place… There are of course quite a few such points on the map, I keep them in the back of my mind. I don’t know if they will all be achievable, but it’s always worth having dreams.

And where would you like to go most?

New Zealand, such a distant destination and a very distant reality. But we’ve also never been to Portugal, and I can recall quite a few stories and photos by friends. Lofoten in Norway – I’ve always loved photographs from there, I might go there, too. I’ve been to England and would love to visit Scotland as well.

And I’m also thinking about that destination that my professor once showed me when I was at university, it was Russia. There is a wealth of spectacular nature to be seen there, but given the current situation, it will be difficult to go there. There is nothing I can do about it. But I have collected quite a few plans and ideas. It’s good to have and use them.

Artykuł  „I was very surprised that pigs could be an invention. (…) There are inventions that we can laugh about, or that we can understand better…” Paweł Łączyński pochodzi z serwisu 30-lecie JWP.

“The application has been filed, we are currently waiting for the state-of-the-art report, the publication of the application information and, finally, the decision on granting the patent”, says Piotr Mierzwiński, patent attorney at JWP Patent & Trademark Attorneys, who handled the case pro bono on behalf of the JWP Foundation.

Meet the 15-year-old inventor; his dad, Bogusław Piękoś, talks about Filip, his interests and new inventions.

What is Filip interested in? What are his passions?

He is mainly interested in everything that is related to computers. He reads and programs a lot. His passion is assembling small programmable devices. Actually, this is how his invention came about – he decided to construct a programmable keyboard for himself.

Apart from that he is currently working on a smart home. He loves Morgan Freeman. He enjoys computer games as much as anyone else, but doesn’t overdo it; he mainly plays in a team with his siblings. It helps him relax.

In your opinion, what are the most important features of the solution submitted to the Polish Patent Office?

The use of magnetic sensors as switches in the keyboard, with a pointer to activate them, which can come in different forms. This solution may help a lot of disabled people to be able to work on a computer.

Has anyone used this invention yet? And if so, what are their first impressions?

The ZHELTA K6 programmable keyboard without magnetic sensors was first used by Filip’s classmates. It makes it much easier for them to play computer games, apparently.

More recently, following a meeting with a disabled person who has only one functioning hand with a very small range of movement, the pointer has been adapted to fit the user’s grip and a stand has been added to the ZHELTA K46 keyboard, allowing it to be tilted.

The indescribable joy of the disabled person is the biggest payoff for the handover and installation of the keyboard at their home. It is almost like a new chapter opening up in their life. The keyboard is not just for typing, but for the most common activities, too. Everything has been programmed specifically to suit their requirements.

A lot of other disabled people are approaching us and meetings with them inspire further modifications to the invention.

Have any large companies or institutions expressed interest in the invention?

The meetings we had at a conference attended by the heads of local centres for the disabled gave us a broader perspective and prompted us to think about new ways to help such people, open a window to the wider world for them, so to speak.

Many disabled people around the world are offered euthanasia because of their ailments. If Filip’s invention saves the life of even one such person, it will be a great achievement… We just need to reach them. It requires take time and publicity.

Has no one actually invented such a solution yet?

It seems so. No one is selling such contactless keyboards.

Apparently, there was an attempt to take over the idea. What happened? And how was it stopped?

There was an attempt to get a sneak peek at how the keyboard, i.e. the actuator, works. Several recognized and talented engineers looked closely at a working ZHELTA K6 keyboard and came up with nothing. Probably none of them suspected such a simple solution. Just in case, I sent a letter warning them that it was Filip’s intellectual property.

And how did you come across the JWP Foundation?

Through Filip’s secondary school in Jarosław, thanks to Mr. Adam Tomaszewski, the headmaster, and Mr. Artur Tutka, one of the teachers. The JWP Foundation takes part in the educational project called “Intellectual Property at Your School” organized by the Polish Patent Office.

What are your thoughts after getting to know the patent procedure better and witnessing the first application?

All of this would have been difficult to accomplish on our own. It’s like with a court case: one needs an expert. We were fortunate to meet the exceptional Mr. Piotr Mierzwiński at the JWP Foundation. No words could express the extent of what he did to help Filip. He worked out every detail, asked about every single document and made sure everything was in order.

Is Filip working on any new projects?

Of course. For now, modifications to the existing keyboard designs have the highest priority. But he is also working on other projects, such as a life-saving device for people in the mountains, whose prototype will be developed soon.

What are Filip’s plans education-wise?

Right now his plans are not very far-fetched. He is taking one step at a time. First, he wants to study at the Rzeszow University of Technology.

We wish Filip the best of luck and a lot of satisfaction from creating more world-changing solutions!

Artykuł “The joy of a disabled person is the greatest payment” – an invention by 15-year-old Filip Piękoś pochodzi z serwisu 30-lecie JWP.

Not only scientists, but also a number of companies and entrepreneurs work to develop new technologies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and directly eliminate CO2 from the atmosphere. This group includes companies such as Climeworks, Carbon Engineering (supported, among others, by Bill Gates), Global Thermostat (cooperating with the Coca-Cola Company) and many others.

Here is a list of unusual solutions that may help save our planet:

Solution No. 1. Bury the problem in the ground (literally)

One approach to eliminating CO2 is the use of CCS (carbon capture and storage) technology, known and developed for years, which generally involves capturing CO2 before it reaches the atmosphere, transporting and depositing it, for example, in the ground, or processing it. This technology is used mainly in areas where carbon dioxide is produced in large quantities (e.g., power plants), its use is limited on a large scale.

Solution No. 2. Capture CO2 from the air and sell it to a carbonated beverage manufacturer

A similar approach, although slightly more effective, is to capture CO2 directly from the atmosphere. And although it seems unreasonable at first glance, the first commercial farm to capture CO2 from the atmosphere was put into operation by the Swiss company Climeworks in 2017. Carbon dioxide captured from the atmosphere was used, among others, to stimulate the growth of plants in greenhouses, and was also sold to manufacturers of carbonated beverages.</p>

Solution No. 3. Build a plant, saturate water, pump it underground

Climeworks’ biggest project to date (to eliminate carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere) is “Orca.” It is a commercial plant put into service in Iceland in 2021. Its capacity to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere is estimated at 4000 tonnes per year. “Orca” resembles metal containers, which, with the use of fans, pump air into a collector, whose task is to capture CO2 and thus to “concentrate” it, so that in the next stage this concentrated carbon dioxide could be used to saturate water, which is then pumped about 1 km underground. The accumulated carbon dioxide deep underground is mineralized and, as a result, transformed into environmentally harmless carbonates. Additionally, the installation is powered with renewable energy, i.e., geothermal energy from nearby hot springs.

Climeworks is already working on much larger projects (e.g., in Scotland and the USA) capable of eliminating up to one million tonnes of CO2 per year directly from the atmosphere, which corresponds to the amount of CO2 absorbed by about 40 million trees.

Elon Musk has offered the largest ever prize of up to $100 million for the best carbon dioxide removal technology. The competition will be held until 2025. And we’re following it very closely.

You can read more about it on our blog in an article by Maciej Stodulski, PhD >>

Artykuł Innovative solutions for reducing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere pochodzi z serwisu 30-lecie JWP.