We have a long and broad experience in the field of copyright and related rights. To a large extent, these experiences are a result of the synergies between the scientific and research activities of Prof. Janusz Barta and Prof. Ryszard Markiewicz and the advisory practice of both professors and our other lawyers.
We advise in the general areas of intellectual property law, with particular emphasis on copyright and neighbouring rights and the protection of databases. MSM lawyers are specialists in such issues as the transfer of rights, various kinds of licenses for the use of exclusive rights, infringement liability, etc. We also advise with respect to the international aspects of copyright protection and the activities of the copyright and neighbouring rights collective management societies.
Our lawyers have considerable experience in software protection law. We have provided extensive advice in this area, representing both licensors and licensees.
The following examples present the consulting experience of MSM lawyers in the field of copyright and related rights:
- representing clients in court proceedings relating infringements or violations of intellectual property rights;
- legislative activity (drafting and expertise); Prof. Janusz Barta and Prof. Ryszard Markiewicz were experts of the Polish Parliament in the drafting of the Act on Copyright and Related Rights, as well as on the amendments of this Act;
- long-term and complex advice to one of the largest companies from the software industry, with a worldwide presence. The advice was related to a broad spectrum of licenses designated for different categories of licensees, implementation of new software products and provision of additional consulting and technical assistance services, etc.;
- advice on various legal aspects of “open source” software;
- evaluation of specific intellectual works as to their protected status under copyright laws (for example, such works as computer programs, games, expert opinions, technical drawings, graphs and tables, industrial designs, words, catchwords, web pages, notes and coins);
- the issue of recognition of architect’s rights in connection with an enlargement of a commercial centre;
- the issue of copyright protection of family house designs published in catalogues of typical housing projects;
- copyright protection of a trademark;
- the scope of an employer’s right to employees’ creative activity and the necessary content of the related copyright agreements;
- the interpretation of copyright law concerning the obligation to pay royalties by Polish broadcasters to foreign authors and performers;
- the reproduction of radio music programs in cafes and restaurants;
- the admissibility of free use of TV spots on an Internet portal;
- the issue of presenting artistic performances via the Internet;
- the rights of artists’ collective societies to demand remuneration for public performances;
- legal opinion concerning a withdrawal of Poland’s reservation to the Rome Convention concerning the exclusion of broadcasters’ obligations to remunerate authors and producers for broadcasting their phonograms published for commercial purposes;
- the issue of the dissemination of town plans for the purposes of the GPS system;
- the copyright and neighbouring rights issues related to re-emission via satellite;
- the legal implications of the officially approved remuneration tables for the exploitation of artistic performances subject to the collective management;
- legal opinion concerning the collective management of author’s rights in connection with exploitation of an audiovisual work;
- regulations pertaining to so-called “reprographic payments”;
- the rights of a movie screenplay author to remuneration for dissemination of the movie in new fields of exploitation;
- the issue of a producer’s copyright infringement in case a movie character is used in third party adverts;
- the issues of reactivation of protection in Poland of works created abroad;
- anti-piracy legal assistance in the field of computer software and computer games. This included the related cooperation with the Police, Public Prosecutor and customs authorities.