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Hailed as “the most experienced firm in Poland for biotechnology instructions” by its peers, WTS Patent Attorneys stays close to its clients and operates out of three bases across the country. Its is home to a distinguished line-up of professionals, and the first name on the team sheet is co-founder Rafał Witek. He instils the troop with inspired leadership and acquits himself with distinction when assisting industry heavyweights with identifying and mitigating the risks associated with pharmaceutical market entry. Andrzej Witek brings heaps of industry knowledge, courtesy of his time spent working in a food-processing company, and appreciates the vital role intellectual property plays in a company’s success. Another valuable contact, Anna Gdula is well versed in technology and brilliantly shepherds patrons through difficult patent protectionmatters.
Anna Gdula is a Polish patent attorney and partner at WTS PatentAttorneys.
Ms Gdula’s prestigious academic background includes obtaining her PhD in biotechnology with honours from the Faculty of Food Science of the University of Environmental and Life Sciences in Wrocław. During her studies she spent two years on a government scholarship at the Faculty of Food Science of the University of Bologna, Italy. Her research interests included molecular biology, microbiology and technology of dairy products. She also completed a two-year post-graduate diploma at the International Centre for Industrial Property Studies of the University of Strasbourg, France.
Ms Gdula specialises in the protection and commercialisation of inventions in the fields of biotechnology and pharmacy. An all-round professional, Ms Gdula deals with the patent protection of biotechnological inventions, especially inventions originating from Polish scientific organisations. She also manages scientific consultant and translator teams, displaying excellent leadership. She combines her rich experience with a personal approach to clients. Her finely honed analytical skills and astute evaluation of intangible assets translate into cost-effective, outcome-basedcounsel.
Ms Gdula is a member of the Council of the Polish Chamber and International Committees of the Governing Council of Polish PatentAttorneys.
WTS Patent Attorneys is a full-service European IP firm with a strong focus on patent work in all fields of technology. Its 20 years of experience place WTS in the unique position in Poland to be able to provide top-quality patent prosecution, litigation and IP strategy consultancy services to clients in the public and private sectors. While WTS earned its reputition primarily as the leading life sciences patent expert in Poland, over years the firm has expanded its area of expertise to cover other fields of technology, such as nanotechnology, electrical engineering, electronics and mechanics.
Firm history
The partnership was formed in 2002 by individuals who wanted to combine their skills and experience gained over several years at renowned patent agencies. The firm has offices in Wrocław and Warsaw, and a representative office in Munich. Since its establishment, WTS Patent Attorneys has gained a reputation for representing high-profile clients ranging from academic institutions and start-up companies to international corporations acting in the Polish market.
WTS specialists
WTS is run by 11 patent attorneys of whom eight focus exclusively on patents and three on trademarks and designs. The firm’s patent attorneys are licensed to conduct all manner of cases concerning IP protection before the Polish administrative bodies and civil courts and international IP offices – namely, the EPO, WIPO and the EU Intellectual Property Office. WTS attorneys have deep technical knowledge, bringing together experience from academic research and extensive patent expertise in different fields of science and technology. The WTS team of qualified paralegal assistants have backgrounds in civil and administrative law (masters and PhDs), economics, English, linguistics and Slavonic studies. WTS works with an established network of more than 20 scientific translators representing a number of disciplines in all fields of technology. Scientific experts cooperating with WTS on a daily basis hold PhDs in life sciences, chemistry and biotechnology.
Expertise
WTS Patent Attorneys specialises in all matters relating to European and Polish patents and utility models, providing domestic and foreign clients with comprehensive and professional assistance.
The firm’s services include drafting, filing and prosecuting applications for patents and utility models; filing and prosecuting supplementary protection certificates; drafting and filing non-patentability statements; conducting patent searches; monitoring patents; and drafting patentability opinions.
WTS Patent Attorneys has significant experience in IP rights enforcement and litigation conducting patent nullity and infringement proceedings.
WTS assists its clients with the commercialisation of intellectual property by offering opinions on marketability, finding business partners, securing the rights of parties participating in trade negotiations and drafting contracts and agreements.
Supported by highly skilled and experienced consultants and translators, WTS provides professional services in the validation of granted European patents in Poland.
The firm also offers services related to trademarks and designs, acting as representatives in application, opposition, litigation and appeal proceedings before Polish, international and EU institutions granting trademark and design protection.
Pharmaceuticals disputes
Among WTS’ numerous notable achievements are litigation and nullity disputes involving pharmaceuticals, including alendronate, venlafaxine, quetiapine, repaglinide, oxaliplatin, montelukast, dorzolamide, esomeprazole, docetaxel, drospirenone-ethynyloestradiol, Herceptin, tiotropium, clopidogrel-acetylsalicylic acid, capecitabine, tropenole, budesonide-formoterol, rituximab and valsartan-amlodipine.
Worldwide recognition
For several years, WTS Patent Attorneys has been recommended in the IAM Patent 1000: The World’s Leading Patent Professionals ranking (2019, 2020 and 2021 editions). The firm was recognised at the Global IP Awards presented by IAM and WTR as the Polish Patent Prosecution Firm of the Year 2020. And WTS was the only firm for Poland to be included in Europe’s Leading Patent Law Firms ranking, published by the Financial Times (2019, 2020 and 2021 editions).
The firm’s patent attorneys boast an impressive collection of individual distinctions too: in recent years, various partners have featured in the IAM Global Leaders (2020, 2021 and 2022 editions), Who’s Who Legal: Patents 2020 and IP STARS rankings.