Object and Subject of Copyright Law in Poland: General Issues

Abstract

The subject of this study is to present the issues that relate to the object and subject of copyright in Poland. The relevant provisions of the Copyright and Related Rights Act of 4 February 1994 were subject to analysis. The Copyright Rights Act substantiates that the object of copyright is any manifestation of the creative activity of an individual character in any form, regardless of the value, purpose and mode of expression. The Law defines objects that are not protected by copyright: 1) normative acts or their official projects; 2) official documents, materials, signs and symbols; 3) published descriptions of patents or security documents; 4) press-releases. In accordance with the law, copyright belongs to the creator, unless otherwise provided by law. The law contains a legitimate presumption according to which the creator is a person whose name on the work copies was made public or whose authorship was otherwise disclosed in connection with the distribution of the work covered by copyright. The Act envisages a judicial way of resolving disputes concerning the disposal of copyright among co-authors of the intellectual property object. This Act also contains provisions on intellectual property objects created by the employees in accordance with the contract, according to which unless otherwise provided by law or employment contract, the employer, whose employee created the work fulfilling obligations of the employment contract acquires property rights at the time of work/product acceptance within the limits arising from the purpose of the employment contract and when the intentions of the parties are agreed.