‘From Creator to Inventor’ - Invention Exchange for KGHM employees continues

This year's KGHM Invention Exchange will continue until 5 December 2025. This is just one of the company's ways of developing competence and innovativeness. Invention projects, such as inventions, utility models, industrial designs and improvement projects, can be submitted as part of the initiative. The event has already become a permanent item in KGHM’s calendar and each year attracts a growing number of employees with a passion for creating new solutions. In the last five years, KGHM employees have filed more than 500 invention project applications, confirming the scale of creativity within the organisation.

The idea is what counts

‘KGHM's annual Invention Exchange is a celebration of the innovativeness and creativity of our Employees, who can not only share their knowledge and inspire others, but also gain real financial rewards. Even seemingly small improvements, if implemented on the company scale, can make a significant difference to our efficiency, safety and comfort. I encourage everyone - regardless of their position or seniority - to submit their ideas’, says Zbigniew Bryja, Vice President of the Management Board for Development at KGHM Polska Miedź S.A.

Improvement projects are defined in the Invention Rules at KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. and are assessed by the company’s specialists. Other invention projects, on the other hand, are solutions defined by the relevant legislation. They may be filed with the patent office and, after the appropriate procedure before the office, be protected by an exclusive right. This ensures that the inventor is entitled to remuneration and that his or her name is mentioned in globally available registers and publications, alongside inventors such as Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla and Steve Jobs.

The power of innovation

Poland is among the top ten countries in terms of the rate of increase in the number of invention applications filed by its companies. KGHM actively contributes to this success, and the number of patents and designs held by the company is one indication of its modernity and innovation. In 2024-2025 alone, 5 inventions submitted by KGHM were granted patent protection. The company has also obtained protection rights to utility models and 10 European Union industrial design registration rights.

Inventors are among us

In previous editions of the Invention Exchange, as well as outside of this event, it turned out that there were inventors among the employees of KGHM who have filed invention applications with the patent office.

‘Not everyone can become an inventor, but everyone - through their commitment to creating new solutions - drives the power of employee inventiveness at KGHM. The Invention Exchange is an excellent moment to go beyond everyday duties and show that we have solutions that can make a difference’, says Sebastian Andruszkiewicz, Director of the Department of Innovation and Intellectual Property Protection at KGHM Polska Miedź S.A.

An example of such a solution is the invention entitled ‘Blasting line lock’, filed with the Polish Patent Office in 2024, the author of which is Marcin Opyrchał from the Lubin Mining Facility. Thanks to its unique design, the device, which is used in the mining industry during blasting operations, allows the blasting circuit to be set up quickly and safely, ensuring that connections are secure even in difficult mine conditions. In addition, the status of the device is visible from a distance to its operators.

Another example of an invention that is currently under evaluation by the Polish Patent Office is the invention, filed for patent protection this year, entitled ‘Composition for coating casting moulds, especially metal casting moulds, and its application’, developed by a team from the Legnica Copper Smelter consisting of Dorota Chwaleba, Krzysztof Gregoryński and Krzysztof Naczyński. Their solution, used in the copper refining process, makes it possible to obtain more homogeneous, smooth copper castings, while reducing raw material consumption and improving work safety.