News

The European Economic Congress, a key meeting of representatives from business, science, and government, is still underway today in Katowice. Yesterday, at the invitation of the Ministry of Industry, we participated with Julian Tateno in a special conference organized by the ministry as part of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. We were particularly impressed by the discussion during the session on “Europe’s energy security,” summarized by Minister of Industry Marzena Czarnecka. The common message from European ministers is the issue of energy independence, i.e., learning lessons from the gas crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as the importance of solidarity in building energy security in Europe. At the same time, we must not lose sight of the fact that energy is a specific commodity to which low-income consumers should also have access at reasonable prices, which is crucial for the protection of Polish families, as pointed out by Secretary of State Aleksandra Gajewska. This was confirmed during the next session by a representative of the energy business, President of Grupa TAURON Grzegorz Lot, MBA. Ms. Joanna Pauly, Executive MBA, presented ambitious plans for the transformation of mining regions in a “White Paper.” There is also hope for lawyers working in the energy sector. MEP Borys Budka promised to continue to monitor the reduction of the enormous production of specialized legal acts. The slogan is not so much “deregulation” as “simplification.” Let’s hope so.

This time, in Rzeczpospolita, Dr. Michał Markiewicz points to the problem of “exemplars” in copyright law. What is an exemplar? How does it differ from a work? To what extent does copyright law provide for specific regulations related to exemplars (including the issue of contracts or exhaustion of rights)? I also point to the problem of “intangible” copies (media) of works – which do not exist. Link to the article: https://pro.rp.pl/biznes/art42143401-egzemplarz-utworu-wedlug-prawa-autorskiego

35 years is almost two generations. That is how long the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (established in 1990 as the Antimonopoly Office) has been operating. This important anniversary was commemorated by the Academy of Humanities and Economics in Łódź, Jasło Branch, which organized a nationwide interdisciplinary scientific conference entitled “35 years of antitrust law and the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, reflections and perspectives” on March 15 and 16, 2025. The conference brought together speakers and listeners interested in the activities of one of the most important Polish authorities, which has a huge impact on the functioning of the economy on a macro and micro scale. Together with Julian Tateno, we were invited to give a presentation in which we presented the development of the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection’s competences in a “vertical” arrangement — the growth of competences along with evolving, organic antitrust and consumer legislation, as well as “horizontal” — the multitude of areas in which business may encounter the Office (bottlenecks, the dominance law, geo-blocking, control of foreign investments, and others). We have entitled our presentation: “From bows to rockets: 35 years of development of the powers of the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection,” because, in our opinion, this is a vivid comparison of the powers of the Office 35 years ago and today. Thank you for the invitation, the excellent academic atmosphere, and the pleasant meetings: Dean Monika Maria Kapuścińska, Dr. Elżbieta Małecka, Chairman of the Podkarpackie Provincial Assembly Jerzy Borcz, Prof. Rudolf Dupkala, Dr. Robert Frey, Łukasz Mroczyński-Szmaj, Dr. Krzysztof Kaczorowski, and Paweł Śnieg. More about the conference can be found at the following link: https://jaslo.info/35-lat-prawa-antymonopolowego-konferencja-w-jasielskiej-filii-ahe/

In the next two comments [5 and 6], Prof. Ryszard Markiewicz reflects on fair use in the form of parody, pastiche, and caricature. He writes about how the Court of Justice of the European Union has extended the definition of parody, essentially beyond the linguistic meaning of the term. The same approach can be expected with regard to pastiche and caricature. Although I am aware of the specific manipulation involved in such interpretations, I support them because they broaden the excessively narrow framework provided by EU law for the exploitation of other people’s creative work in one’s own activities. These texts also show that the CJEU is using autonomous concepts to extend the scope of permitted use, but then requiring national courts to narrow it down using a three-step test, which is somewhat similar to the American fair use doctrine [except that it unilaterally limits the scope of permitted exploitation of other people’s works]. Links to the texts on the website prawo.pl Wolters Kluwer Polska: https://www.prawo.pl/biznes/prof-markiewicz-pastisz-parodia-karykatura-prawo-autorskie,532281.html

In Rzeczpospolita, Dr. Michał Markiewicz writes about industrial designs (design protection) – he draws attention to a new ruling by the EU Court regarding the possibility of testing a design before its registration. The EU Court not only allowed for the testing of a design before its registration, but above all indicated that during a 12-month period (the so-called “grace period”) the creator can also make modifications to the design and register this new (changed in relation to the previously disclosed product) design without fearing that it does not meet the conditions of novelty, but above all of individual character. Link to the article: https://pro.rp.pl/biznes/art42077071-testowanie-nie-przeszkadza-w-rejestracji-wzoru-przemyslowego

When can you sell a used computer game, i.e. exhaustion of rights. “The introduction of a ban on the resale of computer games purchased in electronic form is in accordance with French law. The judgment of the French court, based largely on EU case law, can be considered a kind of application of this case law in practice. Therefore, the interpretation adopted in it can be a valuable guideline for intellectual property law practitioners in Poland and the entire European Union,” writes lawyer Damian Dąbrowski in the latest article for the prawo.pl portal of Wolters Kluwer Polska. The article addresses the following issues: the principle of exhaustion of rights, the development of case law on the principle of exhaustion of rights, and whether a computer game is a computer program. Full article: https://www.prawo.pl/biznes/gra-komputerowa-zakaz-odsprzedazy-zgodny-z-prawem,532163.html Link to the contest website: https://www.prawo.pl/prawo/umowne-wynagrodzenie-autorskie-w-projekcie-nowelizacji,528001.html? The “5 minutes about IP” section: https://www.prawo.pl/prawo/5-minut-o-pwi,518742.html

The text includes a link to Dr. Michal Markiewicz’s statement on the Polish Press Agency website regarding the bestseller clause. After the amendment of the law in September 2024, the issue of author’s remuneration is yet to see a wave of disputes related to creators’ demands for an increase in remuneration. It is worth noting that the amendments to the bestseller clause make it easier to use (there is a lower threshold of disproportion between remuneration entitling to demand an increase in remuneration). However, the key difference and dangers of the amendments are in the lump-sum remuneration of creators and regardless of any subsequent commercial success. Interesting times are yet to come. Link to publication:https://www.pap.pl/aktualnosci/autorka-chlopek-zapowiada-pozew-wydawnictwo-liczy-na-porozumienie-0