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Miller Canfield Attorneys Richard Walawender and Justyna Regan Attend Conference at Polish Parliament

November 17, 2015

Two Miller Canfield attorneys, Richard Walawender and Justyna (Balcarczyk) Regan, recently addressed a high-profile conference at the Polish Parliament on commercialization of intellectual property.  The conference was organized by the Polish Government, and over 200 people attended from various Polish governmental agencies, universities and research institutes. 

Mr. Walawender, principal of the firm and leader of its Corporate and Polish Practice Groups, instructed the conference on why universities in the United States are so successful in commercializing the intellectual property rights of their faculty and research staff.  He further explained how the U.S. model could be adopted by Polish universities and research institutes.  Dr. Regan, who recently joined Miller Canfield in its Chicago and Wroclaw offices, as is licensed to practice law in both the United States and Poland, discussed intellectual property law and compared the Polish and U.S. systems.

Until the law was changed last year, Polish universities held all intellectual property rights to any inventions of its faculty and staff.  A new Polish law now requires Polish universities to share any monetary gains they may earn from commercializing inventions with the faculty members who invented it.  “This will open the door to many more opportunities for Polish inventors to raise venture capital and sell their inventions”, said Walawender.  He added that “The new Polish law mirrors the system used by U.S. universities, which has been very successful.”

Miller Canfield already represents several Polish start-up technology companies raising venture capital and establishing operations in the U.S.  Thanks to the new law, the firm will also be working with Polish universities as they, together with their inventors, seek to commercialize their inventions in the U.S.  “It is important for Polish companies, especially those in the software industry, to enter the U.S. market,” Dr. Regan explained, “because the U.S. is the most important market in which an entrepreneur needs to protect its intellectual property rights.”

Miller Canfield is also expanding its representation of Polish entrepreneurs looking to establish companies in the U.S.  Under a special program offered to select start-ups, the firm provides free legal representation involving incorporation and standard start-up documentation.  In order to encourage them to establish operations in the U.S., the firm is now offering this special program to Polish entrepreneurs born or living in the U.S.  For more information about the special program, please visit the firm’s website at millercanfield.com.

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About Miller Canfield

With 250 lawyers practicing in all major areas of law and 14 offices in five countries, Miller Canfield is among the 200 largest law firms in the U.S. Our lawyers are recognized by the most prestigious legal referral guides and organizations around the world, including Chambers USA and the 2016 edition of “Best Law Firms” published by U.S. News & World Report, in which Miller Canfield received national first-tier rankings in Public Finance Law, Labor & Employment Litigation and Labor Law-Management. Miller Canfield was also named by corporate counsel as a "Standout in Complex Labor Litigation" in the BTI Litigation Outlook 2015 report, the second consecutive year.  The firm is also recognized for superior client service in the 2015 BTI Client Service A-Team report. Visit www.millercanfield.com.  Follow us on Twitter, www.twitter.com/millercanfield.

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