Anyone who creates – whether writing texts, designing graphics, composing music or developing software – automatically becomes the holder of copyright. But what exactly does copyright protect? What are the consequences of infringement, and how can you effectively safeguard your works? At PATENTBOX IP law firm, we help clients navigate intellectual property law every day. This article covers everything you need to know about copyright in Poland, from the basics to licensing and assignment of rights.
This article is based on Polish law – primarily the Act of 4 February 1994 on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights (Ustawa o prawie autorskim i prawach pokrewnych). While many principles are consistent with EU law and the Berne Convention, specific rules on duration, formalities and remedies may differ in other jurisdictions.
Copyright is a body of legal rules governing the relationship between a creator and their work. In Poland, this area is regulated primarily by the Act of 4 February 1994 on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights. Copyright protection arises automatically at the moment a work is created and fixed in any form – it requires no registration, application or other formality. This is a fundamental difference from other forms of intellectual property protection, such as trademark registration or obtaining a patent, both of which require a formal application to the relevant office.
A “work” within the meaning of copyright law is any manifestation of creative activity with individual character, fixed in any form. This includes literary texts, photographs, architectural designs, computer programs, musical compositions, film scripts and even company logos. For this reason, logo protection and logotype rights form an important part of any brand protection strategy – something our clients regularly ask us about.
It is worth noting that copyright protects the expression of an idea, not the idea itself. A concept for a detective novel is not protected – but the specific text of that novel is.
Polish copyright law distinguishes two categories of rights held by the author: moral rights and economic rights. Each serves a different purpose and operates under different rules.
Moral rights protect the personal bond between the creator and their work. They are inalienable – they cannot be waived or transferred to another person, and they belong to the author indefinitely, regardless of who holds the economic rights. The most important moral rights include the right of authorship (i.e. the right to have the work attributed under the author’s name, pseudonym or anonymously), the right to the integrity of the work’s content and form, and the right to supervise how the work is used.
In practice, this means that even if a business has acquired the economic copyright to a graphic design – for example, a company logo – it cannot distort it or attribute authorship to someone else without the creator’s consent. This is particularly relevant in the context of logo protection and brand identity.
Economic rights are the commercial entitlements attached to a work. They give the author the exclusive right to use the work, to dispose of it and to receive remuneration for its use. Unlike moral rights, economic rights can be traded – they can be transferred to other parties or licensed for use by third parties.
Economic rights cover, in particular: reproduction of the work by any technique, distribution of the original or copies, public performance or exhibition, broadcasting and retransmission, and making the work available online in a way that allows anyone to access it at a time and place of their choosing.
Economic rights last for the author’s lifetime and expire 70 years after their death.
In addition to copyright in the strict sense, Polish law also regulates so-called neighbouring rights. These belong not to the authors of works themselves, but to parties who contribute to the dissemination or fixation of works.
Neighbouring rights include the rights of performing artists – such as actors, musicians and conductors who give a work its specific interpretation – as well as the rights of producers of phonograms and videograms (the parties who finance and organise sound or audiovisual recordings), the rights of broadcasting organisations in their transmissions, and rights in first editions and critical or scientific editions.
Neighbouring rights operate independently of copyright in the underlying work. A song recording therefore generates separate rights: copyright belongs to the composer and lyricist, while neighbouring rights belong to the performer and the producer of the recording. Our intelectual property attorneys regularly advise clients in the creative industries on how to manage these complex legal relationships.
Copyright infringement occurs when someone uses a work without the rights holder’s consent and without legal basis (for example, without a licence or outside the scope of permitted use). Infringement may affect both economic and moral rights.
The most common forms of infringement include copying and distributing third-party texts, graphics or photographs without the author’s consent; using a third-party work for commercial purposes without a licence; plagiarism (attributing authorship of another’s work to oneself); and modifying or adapting a work in a way that violates the author’s moral rights.
In the digital environment, copyright infringement often occurs on a mass scale – illegal copying of content on websites, file sharing via peer-to-peer networks and the use of unlicensed images are issues faced by many creators.
It is important to note that copyright infringement carries not only civil but also criminal consequences. Under Polish law, infringers may face fines, restriction of liberty or imprisonment of up to five years in the most serious cases.
An author whose rights have been infringed has access to a broad range of remedies under the Act. The remedies available depend on whether moral rights, economic rights or both have been affected.
In the case of infringement of moral rights, the author may seek an injunction to stop the infringing conduct and demand that its effects be remedied – for example, by requiring the publication of a public statement. The author may also claim financial compensation for non-material harm, or payment of an appropriate sum to a specified social cause.
In the case of infringement of economic rights, the rights holder may seek an injunction, disgorgement of profits obtained by the infringer, and damages – either on general civil law principles or by way of a lump sum equal to twice the appropriate remuneration that would have been payable for a licence at the time of the claim. The rights holder may also seek the publication of a statement or the court’s judgment in the press or online.
As an intellectual property law firm with extensive intellectual property experience, PATENTBOX supports clients both preventively – helping them secure their rights from the outset – and in enforcement, conducting court and out-of-court proceedings.
Economic copyright constitutes a fully-fledged asset, for both individuals and legal entities. Rights can be valued, contributed as a non-cash contribution to a company, subject to enforcement proceedings and inherited. From a business perspective, they can be extremely valuable assets – consider the rights to a popular software package, a bestselling book or an iconic graphic design.
For businesses, a key point is that economic copyright is a separate category of intellectual property, complementary to other forms of protection. A company can simultaneously protect its logo as a work under copyright law and as a trademark through registration – these are two independent but mutually reinforcing protection regimes. Trademark registration provides territorial exclusivity in trade, while copyright protects the creative expression of the same sign.
Our intellectual property attorneys can help you assess which route – or combination of routes – will be most effective in your situation. It is precisely this comprehensive approach, combining logo protection under copyright with trademark registration, that provides the strongest legal protection for your brand.
Granting a licence is a way of allowing others to use a work without permanently transferring the rights. The author retains ownership of the economic rights, and the licensee obtains the right to use the work within a defined scope and on defined terms.
Polish copyright law distinguishes two basic types of licence. An exclusive licence gives the licensee the sole right to use the work in the specified fields of exploitation – even the author cannot grant a licence to anyone else in those fields. An exclusive licence must be in writing, otherwise it is invalid. A non-exclusive licence permits the licensee to use the work but does not prevent the author from granting equivalent licences to other parties.
A licence agreement should clearly specify the fields of exploitation (the ways in which the work may be used), the territory and duration of the licence, the licensor’s remuneration, and any right to sub-license. Unless the agreement provides otherwise, a licence lasts for five years and covers the territory of the country where the licensee is based. After five years it converts to an open-ended licence, terminable on one year’s notice.
Assignment of economic copyright is a legal transaction by which the author (or other rights holder) permanently transfers rights to the assignee. Unlike a licence, this is a definitive step – once the transfer has been made, the transferor can no longer use the work in the transferred fields of exploitation, unless the agreement provides otherwise.
A copyright assignment agreement must meet several statutory requirements, failing which it may be invalid or ineffective.
First, written form – the agreement must be in writing, otherwise it is null and void. Oral arrangements or an exchange of emails do not constitute an effective assignment.
Second, specification of fields of exploitation – the agreement must expressly list the fields of exploitation being transferred. A general clause purporting to transfer rights “on all fields of exploitation” is not effective – each field must be specified individually. Typical fields of exploitation include reproduction by a specific technique, distribution of the original or copies, and communication to the public in a specific form (public display, broadcasting, online availability).
Third, prohibition on transferring unknown fields of exploitation – an agreement cannot transfer rights in fields of exploitation that did not exist at the time it was signed.
Fourth, remuneration – while the law does not require that an assignment be for value, the author is in principle entitled to remuneration. If the agreement does not specify an amount, the author is entitled to remuneration reflecting the benefits derived from using the work.
In practice, we regularly encounter poorly drafted agreements that fail to achieve an effective transfer of rights. Typical mistakes include the absence of written form (for example, work commissioned and delivered exclusively by email), failure to specify fields of exploitation or specifying them in vague terms, failure to address derivative works (such as the right to create adaptations), and failure to regulate the ownership of copyright in works created by employees or subcontractors.
Our intellectual property attorneys specialising in intellectual property law can help you prepare an agreement that is fully effective and protects your interests.
Intellectual property protection is not a one-off action but an ongoing process requiring a strategic approach. Copyright is an important but not the only element of that system. To give your brand the strongest possible protection, it is worth combining several legal instruments.
Logo protection under copyright arises automatically, but it does not give a monopoly on the use of similar signs in trade. That is why trademark registration is so important – it provides exclusivity in a given territory and for specific classes of goods or services. Trademark registration also makes it easier and faster to act against infringers, including in domain name disputes, e-commerce listings and unfair competitive practices.
PATENTBOX intellectual property law firm offers comprehensive intellectual property services – from auditing your existing rights and drafting assignment and licence agreements, to trademark registration in Poland, the European Union and worldwide. Our specialists will help you build a coherent protection system covering copyright in your logo and other works, trademarks, industrial designs and patents.
👉 Contact us to find out how we can protect your intellectual property.