On Wednesday, August 14, 2024, the President of the Republic of Poland signed an amendment to the Copyright and Related Rights Act, which implements the DSM and sat-cab II EU directives into Polish law. Thus, new regulations have come into force, which provide Polish filmmakers and actors with long-awaited royalties from the internet.
This is a great success for the entire Polish film community! President Andrzej Duda's signature on this extremely important piece of legislation means that creators and actors will finally receive fair and proportionate remuneration for the use of their works on online platforms. The amendment also introduces a number of beneficial changes for producers, journalists and newspaper publishers and brings Polish copyright law into the digital age.
The amendment, which has been in progress since February 2024, implements the EU DSM and sat-cab II directives into Polish law, which are the EU's response to current challenges related to the development of digital technologies in the area of copyright. Poland was the last country that did not fulfill this obligation, but today it has joined the group of countries that provide creators and artists with adequate protection.
The signing of the act by President Andrzej Duda and the entry into force of its provisions is a great success for Polish filmmakers and the culmination of many years of hard work by the entire film community. However, this success would not have been possible without solidarity. It was truly admirable to see representatives of all film professions, including creators, actors, producers, young and old, come together for a common cause. This will certainly benefit Polish culture as a whole. – comments Director of SFP-ZAPADominik Skoczek.
According to information provided by the President's Office, the law is generally expected to come into force one month after its announcement. An exception is Article 1(21), which will come into force six months after its announcement (this provision specifies that performers of literary, journalistic, scientific, music or verbal-music will be entitled to appropriate remuneration for the public sharing of a recording of a performance in such a way that everyone can have access to it in a place and at a time of their choosing).