Sylwia Stepaniuk-Cieśla

Sylwia is an expert in intellectual property law with over 15 years of experience.

She specializes in a comprehensive range of IP matters, including copyrights, trademarks, designs, patents, unfair competition, and consumer rights.

Sylwia represents clients in complex litigations and administration proceedings before such institutions as common courts, the Supreme Court, the Polish Patent Office, EUIPO, WIPO, administrative courts and domain names arbitration courts. She supports clients in developing tailored strategies for the protection and enforcement of IP rights. Additionally, she advises on high-stakes IP transactions and conducts thorough due diligence audits to support her clients' business objectives.

Professional highlights:

• Representing clients before the Supreme Court in cases involving unfair competition,
• Leading litigation in a high-profile dispute concerning a medical device's external design involving claims of copyright infringement, rights to a well-known mark, and acts of unfair competition,
• Representing clients in design infringement disputes concerning the external appearance of products such as furniture, clothing and household goods
• Securing favourable outcomes in trademark infringement and cancellation cases, including well-known marks, including demonstrating the high reputation of a client's well-known mark before the EUIPO, recognized across several EU countries.

Sylwia works for clients from different sectors, including pharmaceutical, retail, FMCG, fashion, advertising, e-commerce and new technologies. She also advised clients on R&D projects.

• University of Warsaw, Faculty of Law and Administration
• Center for American Law Studies, Uniwersity of Florida with the cooperation of University of Warsaw
• Barrister application, The Warsaw Bar Association

• Civil proceedings in intellectual property cases. Commentary for trial attorneys and judges (Wolters Kluwer 2021)
• Audi defends its emblem against Polish seller, The Trademark Lawyer Magazine, 2024
• McDonald’s loses BIG MAC for subsequent goods and services, The Trademark Lawyer Magazine, 2024
• Marking on a t-shirt label is a trademark, Rzeczpospolita, 2022
• What to do when someone copies your business? Three examples of how to respond, Rzeczpospolita, 2022
• It’s good to regulate acquisition of rights, Kancelarie RP, 2022
• Five specialized IP courts, Kancelarie RP, 2022

• Warsaw Bar Association,
• European Communities Trademark Association (ECTA)
• Licensing Executives Society (LES) Poland