On Thursday, 11 July 2024, a meeting of the Senate Committee on Culture and Media was held to discuss the amendment of the Copyright and Related Rights Act. The meeting was attended by, among others, representatives of the Coalition of Filmmakers, an association of fourteen film organisations, who strongly support the swift introduction of the law, without any modifications regarding online royalties and re-broadcasting.
The vote on the amendment has been postponed following an agreement between the government and media representatives to give publishers more time to prepare additional amendments to the law to protect them. The new date is 23 July, at around 10:00 a.m.
During the meeting, the Deputy Minister of Culture, Andrzej Wyrobiec, emphasised the key changes brought about by the bill passed by the Sejm. The new regulations are aimed at ensuring that creators and performers receive fair remuneration for making their works available online.
The ministry representative also pointed out that thanks to the amendment, the creators and performers of audiovisual, literary, journalistic, scientific, musical and verbal-musical works, as well as the adaptations of these works, will receive royalties for making their works publicly available online.
Director Dominik Skoczek spoke on behalf of the Polish Filmmakers Association - Union of Audiovisual Authors and Producers (SFP-ZAPA):
We support the efforts of newspaper publishers to clarify enforcement regulations. We know from experience what very long negotiations mean. Therefore, we do not want any changes to the definitions of broadcasting or remission to occur during this final stage of proceedings in the Senate. Such dangerous practices can lead to difficulties in the enforcement of the law. Any attempt to change the definition of broadcasting or the definition of emission de facto limits the negotiating possibilities of producers and actors, because it deprives them of part of the royalties due to these groups from either one cake or the other.
Małgorzata Machczyńska, legal adviser of SFP-ZAPA, also mde a statement:
Only the Polish Actors‘ Union is in favour of the amendment, while the Film Coalition, which consists of representatives from several film organisations, including the Polish Actors’ Union, is against it. This case has been referred for reconsideration, there has been no decision yet, so it is not possible to build an argument on an unfinished court case.
Maksymilian Rogacki, Chairman of the Main Board of the Polish Actors' Trade Union (ZZAP), spoke on behalf of the actors:
As the chairman of the main board of the Polish Actors' Trade Union, I represent those actresses and actors - almost 1,500 of them - who expect the law to be introduced as soon as possible without taking into account the amendments to the definition of broadcasting and rebroadcasting. In our opinion, these changes could paralyse the system of royalty payments and put us in an even more difficult financial situation. We consider exposing us to this to be crazy. We believe that the provisions of the draft law provide a 100% legal basis for success in negotiations with broadcasters, platforms and cable networks and for the fastest possible payment of the royalties due to us by the OZZ representing us. We don't have time for this. We are professionals and expect to be paid for our work.
Elżbieta Benkowska, director and chairperson of the Youth Circle of the Polish Filmmakers Association, also took the floor during the meeting:
We would really prefer to focus on making films rather than on political activity. The bill as it has reached the Senate is more than satisfactory to us. We ask that it be passed without amendments and as soon as possible. Our series or films actually have the highest viewership about 2 weeks after they appear on online platforms. The popularity they gain shortly after the premiere will never be the same again. Hence, every day is a real loss, especially for young filmmakers. Despite the fact that they often create hit films and series, without royalties from the internet they have to make money by, for example, driving an Uber, teaching yoga or working as translators.