Urszula Nowak provides complex counselling services with companies in regards to their Trademark and Industrial Design portfolio management considering client business strategies and the efficiency of the rights obtained. She represents Polish and foreign clients in the trademark and industrial design application proceedings before the Polish Patent Office, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the Intellectual Property Office in Geneva (WIPO).
How did it happen that you started working for JWP Patent Attorneys?
At that time, I was in my fifth year of studies, writing a master’s thesis on intellectual property law, specifically on patent procedures, and I was looking for an internship. I already knew that I wanted to do my patent attorney apprenticeship, so I was looking for a job at a patent attorney firm.
I was sending my resume and our firm was the first to respond, very quickly, and over the next three days, I already had an invitation to an interview that was conducted with me by Att. Dorota Rzążewska.
I have been working in the firm for 13 years and I have gone through all levels of my career here, from assistant to specialist, trainee, patent attorney, and now deputy team leader. My entire professional life is connected with JWP.
That’s a great story! I see that in 13 years you have not been bored at all?
I feel strongly connected with the firm, although it has changed a lot over the years. When I started working for JWP, there were about 25 people employed; currently, there are over a hundred. I am one of the firm’s longest-serving employees, I know a lot of things inside out, so I can deal with them more easily.
And when it comes to my profession… I don’t think about changing the profession at all. This is a very interesting job and there has been no “wear and tear.” Every time a different client comes along, they have different needs, and because we serve clients from very different industries, we gather experience from really various areas. And not only from the area of industrial or intellectual property, but from the so-called borderlines. Sometimes we get questions about launching products to the market or pharmaceutical law… Sometimes we need to “enter” a new sector, for instance, the gaming sector, to learn its specificities, to understand the background of its activities in order to write, for example, a list. Some activities may seem simple and uncomplicated, but if you want to do this job properly and responsibly, you need to know the background of many industries, which is extremely interesting.
Every time we start working with a new client, we start a new adventure with them. It makes me feel like something new and unknown is starting. That’s why I strongly support my clients to be successful and I am happy to see how these new products enter the market and succeed.
What fascinates you most in this profession? What do you enjoy?
Apart from “new adventures,” I really like to conduct training. This is something that I do very often within our firm and the JWP Foundation. It gives me a lot of satisfaction. In addition, I teach classes on the patent attorney apprenticeship, so I am dealing with the youngest “generation” of patent attorneys. I am also involved in the activities of the patent attorneys’ council. Every patent attorney must belong to the council, but working for the council is my additional activity, which brings me satisfaction.
Could you share a strange or funny story that happened in our firm? Maybe you have come across an original client?
We have original clients every day. Really… The needs of the clients are endless. It gives me great satisfaction when a client thanks us sincerely for our commitment and support because it means they are content and feel well looked after. That’s when I know why I am working.
In terms of funny stories, I have fond memories of one client. We had great cooperation and a very good rapport because of our common name, and we liked each other very much. The gentleman I had the pleasure of dealing with was the senior of the family and, as part of what was probably a joke, one time when calling the firm he asked if his “fiancée” was at work. It always brought up such a big smile. After the initial shock, the reception desk already knew it was about me.
In 2012, as we were organizing the firm’s 20th anniversary, an exhibition of our clients’ products/solutions was planned. I was asked to call my “fiancé” to find out if we could somehow present the client at the anniversary. At the time, I took care of their entire trademark portfolio around the world, even in exotic jurisdictions, together with one of the then partners, Magda Pietrosiuk. We wanted to showcase their products. We got a whole cabinet of them, almost on the spot! When we wanted to return the products, my fiancé said, “Dear Ula, we’ll take the cabinet, because you won’t need it anyway, but please keep the products to yourself, you have a car, they’ll come in handy, and you’ll remember us.”And it was so nice…
It really is a remarkable story. Now we are in a very similar situation because we are celebrating our thirtieth anniversary, and it revolves around client diversity again. I am curious to see what our clients are going to leave us with in the office this time…
I no longer work with this client, but as far as I know, his company has now been taken over by his sons. He is probably no longer working and is doing what he has often talked about, that is, visiting various places with his wife.
Do you have any hobbies or special interests? What do you do after work?
Of course, it is important to have something to set your mind at ease. For me, swimming and cycling are such an escape. What’s more, I am a sociable person, I like to have people next to me, I spend a lot of time with friends, with colleagues from the chamber or apprenticeship. I always hang out in the city or the neighborhood; these are such simple pastimes.
I’ve also been listening to podcasts compulsively lately. I think it started with the pandemic… Sometimes people have different methods of assimilating knowledge: some are auditory learners, some are visual learners, and I am a kinesthetic learner. I need to be in motion in order to assimilate knowledge. If I am learning, there has to be some movement involved, like wiggling my leg or flipping a pen in my fingers; otherwise, knowledge just doesn’t come into my head. I’ve found that a great way to occupy my mind, especially if I need to do something physical such as cleaning the flat or going for a walk, is a podcast. Podcasts also allow me to satisfy my hunger for knowledge – I like to know what is happening around me and I like to have the full picture. This trait of my character also definitely influences my professional work. I combine facts and I approach a lot of things holistically, from many different perspectives. When I advise clients, but also participate in some internal projects, I look at one thing from different points of view. I like to know the causes and try to anticipate the consequences, rather than just focusing on the “here and now.”
What are the podcasts you listen to in your spare time?
I am interested in general knowledge about the world, geopolitical and political topics, and what’s currently happening in the world. Sometimes I also find psychological topics interesting, especially social psychology. On the other hand, I am least interested in interviews with famous people about their lives. I’d rather listen to someone who has sound knowledge about a subject on which I don’t have the foggiest idea, such as China’s political system, how life is in North Korea or how countries cooperate on the International Space Station.
It is indeed very interesting; such knowledge opens up new perspectives. Perhaps when you find out how the space station functions and how it is organized, you can transfer this knowledge to another ground? In that sense, this is the answer to my question – you have interests that influence your work.
I really like business stories. Stories about big successes or, on the other hand, stories about big failures or scammers. It is also something that has become the “in-thing” recently on various streaming services, I mean, documentaries about a Tinder swindler or the Fyre Festival in the US. This is also interesting, how people cheat and how not to be fooled. It also touches on business, and since we deal with it a lot, it is worth learning about it, finding out about various mechanisms or people, and knowing that sometimes you have to take what you hear with a grain of salt. Something that has fascinated me recently is a saying that supposedly functions in the US, that is, “fake it till you make it.” Apparently, a lot of business in the United States is based on this expression. First, we make a good impression – we pretend we know how to do it, even though we don’t really have a firm idea, but maybe somehow it will work. And it often does. Building confidence in the accomplishment of a project is sometimes the key to success.
Do you have any plans? A new pet, skydiving, tidying up the flat?
I would like to start a diving course. I already had it in mind before the outbreak of the pandemic, because I was planning to go on a diving course to Egypt in March to do my OWD – Open Water Divers – certification. Unfortunately, the pandemic broke out, so I’ve had to postpone it; now, I am waiting for its realization, as I would like to dive in Micronesia.
Micronesia?
Yes, I am basically a person who really likes places that can be called “getaways”, that is, best for me when there is no one thousands of kilometers next to me, like somewhere on a lonely island in the Pacific. I would love to go somewhere in the Pacific, to Vanuatu or some other tiny island, like a desert island, and spend a month on the beach by myself. This is such a lifelong dream of mine.
Well, you have to explain yourself now, because you said at the beginning that you like to surround yourself with people – how do you combine that?
I like to surround myself with people, but sometimes I also need to be alone. I am a Pisces, and I guess it comes from that, although I don’t quite believe it. I am a person who is very sociable and empathetic, but on the other hand, sometimes I need to crawl into my shell and just not have people around me – such a duality of nature. For me, this is nothing strange, but some people might think there is a contradiction.
That’s why, even though I am drawn to isolated areas, I am just as happy to go to Rome or London where there are thousands of people. And that is my dual nature.