Copyright law in practice — copyright law firm in Warsaw

In the digital economy almost every business both creates and uses other people's works: code, texts, graphics, photos, recordings, advertising campaigns. Yet copyright remains one of the most neglected areas in B2B contracts — the mistakes only surface during a dispute, the sale of the company or an investor's due diligence. Here are the key rules of the Polish Act on Copyright and Related Rights, and what a copyright law firm in Warsaw can actually do for you.

Protection arises automatically — no registration, no © notice

A work is protected from the moment it is fixed, i.e. from the moment anyone other than the author can perceive it — even if it is unfinished. Nothing needs to be registered, filed or marked with a copyright notice. Good news for creators, but a trap for companies: since protection arises automatically, almost every graphic, text or piece of code you use has a rightholder — and you need a legal basis to use it.

Moral and economic rights — what can be transferred and what cannot

The author's moral rights (including the right of attribution and the right to the integrity of the work) are inalienable and perpetual — no contract can buy them; at most the author may undertake not to exercise them. Only economic rights can be transferred or licensed, and as a rule they expire 70 years after the author's death.

An e-mail deal does not transfer rights — written form on pain of nullity

This is the most common mistake we see in IT, marketing and e-commerce. A transfer of economic copyright and an exclusive licence require written form on pain of nullity. Accepting an offer by e-mail, a scanned signed contract sent as a PDF, or an invoice noting "rights included" — none of this is enough. A company that has been ordering code or creative work "by e-mail" for years often has no rights to its own product. That is why, before an investment, a company sale or a major roll-out, it pays to order an audit of the rights to your content, code and graphics.

Fields of exploitation — the contract must list them expressly

Under Article 41(2) of the Act, a contract covers only the fields of exploitation expressly listed in it (e.g. digital reproduction, placing on the market, making available online). A blanket clause "I transfer all rights" may not be enough, and fields of exploitation unknown at the time the contract was concluded cannot be covered by it — which is why older contracts do not always cover new channels of use.

Employee works vs B2B cooperation — two different worlds

If a work is created under an employment contract, the employer acquires the economic rights upon acceptance of the work — within the limits of the purpose of the employment contract and the parties' mutual intent (Article 12). This rule does not apply to B2B contracts, mandate contracts or contracts for specific work: there, without an express written clause, the rights stay with the creator. For software houses and agencies working with self-employed subcontractors this is a systemic risk — the chain of title must be closed at every link.

Licences — the five-year trap

A licence granted for more than five years is, after that period, treated as concluded for an indefinite term — and such a licence can be terminated on notice. A "perpetual licence" in an implementation agreement may therefore turn out to be terminable years later. When drafting licence agreements for IT, publishing and marketing, we secure, among other things, exclusivity, sub-licences, territory and the consequences of termination.

Copyright infringement — what Article 79 gives you

The rightholder may demand cessation of the infringement, removal of its effects, compensation for the damage — including payment of twice the appropriate remuneration that would have been due for consent to the use — and surrender of the profits obtained. In practice a well-prepared cease-and-desist letter settles most cases; where it does not, we represent clients in court. Infringement disputes are often combined with damages claims under general rules — see our civil law and damages practice in Warsaw.

Personal use, the right of quotation and AI-generated content

Permitted personal use allows a disseminated work to be used within a circle of family and friends — it does not cover a company's business. The right of quotation requires a justified purpose (e.g. explanation, critique, teaching), a reasonable extent of the quotation and attribution of the source and the author. An increasingly common practical problem: content generated entirely by AI, without human creative input, is not a work — there is no human author. A company that builds its offer on such materials cannot stop competitors from copying them; on the other hand, using generators carries the risk of infringing third-party rights.

Copyright law firm in Warsaw — how we help

If you are searching for a "copyright law firm Warsaw", you most likely need one of the following. The law firm of attorneys-at-law (kancelaria radców prawnych) of Bartosz Krajewski provides end-to-end copyright services for entrepreneurs, creators and the IT, marketing and e-commerce sectors:

• rights-transfer and licence agreements — for IT, marketing and publishing, with properly drafted fields of exploitation;
• audits of rights to content, code and graphics in your company — before an investment, a sale or a dispute;
• drafting legal opinions — in Warsaw and online: risk assessment, permitted use, the status of AI content;
• cease-and-desist letters and negotiations in infringement cases — for rightholders and for recipients of claims;
• representation in court disputes over copyright;
• brand protection — in cooperation with patent attorneys on trademarks.

We serve clients in 8 languages — consultations online or at our office in central Warsaw. On when it makes sense to engage an attorney-at-law at all, read our article law firm in Warsaw. Book a consultation — we will review your contracts and content, point out the gaps in your chain of title and propose a concrete action plan.

Useful links

• Law firm in Warsaw — when to use a legal counsel and how to choose the right firm
• Patent Office of the Republic of Poland
• National Bar of Attorneys-at-Law (KIRP)