Copyright and industrial property are areas of law that are becoming increasingly important. The digitalization of the world and technical progress mean that intellectual property must increasingly be taken into account in civil law relations. As an attorney, I have been helping entrepreneurs in the proper settlement of matters related to copyright and industrial property rights for many years. I gained experience in these matters not only from working for large companies in Gdynia, Gdańsk and Warsaw, but also by gaining knowledge from the best practitioners in the country at the School of Law. Hugo Grocjusz based in Kraków.
It might seem that copyright and intellectual property services can only be provided to the creative industry. The creative industry, i.e. marketing agencies, photography industry, music creators, scriptwriters, actors, bloggers are a natural group of people interested in the law firm’s services. But it is a mistake to limit the addressees of this service only to the above group. Currently, virtually every industry needs proper and safe regulation of intellectual property rights. In what situations will you need the assistance of a copyright lawyer?
As part of servicing topics related to broadly understood intellectual property (not only copyright), the law firm offers, among others:
Copyright can be understood in two ways. On the one hand, copyright is a set of regulations and standards relating to intellectual property rights. The basic source of these regulations in Poland is the Act on Copyright and Related Rights. On the other hand, when we talk about copyright, we mean all the creative rights that a given entity is entitled to under copyright law. We often hear that someone is entitled to copyright. In my opinion, this is a mental shortcut, but an acceptable one.
In any case, the subject matter of copyright is:
any manifestation of creative activity of an individual nature, established in any form, regardless of value, purpose and method of expression (work). (Article 1(1) of the Copyright Act)
Based on the above definition, interesting disputes often arise in the field of car protection.
All manifestations of creative activity that do not meet the above statutory definition are not subject to copyright. Moreover, the Act explicitly states that the following do not benefit from copyright protection:
The basis of copyright is the author’s right to exclusive use of his or her own work and to receive remuneration for the use of his or her work from others. Auto. pr. May. they are also subject to restrictions: in time (they expire 70 years after the death of the creator), in use (permitted personal use, right of quotation).
Copyrights are also transferable and heritable. This means that the creator may transfer the rights he has to another entity during his lifetime. They may also be subject to inheritance. The creator may authorize the use of a given work, e.g. on the basis of an agreement on the transfer of copyrights. They may also be the subject of a license agreement or the subject of lease or lease. In all these contracts, the role of the lawyer as the person who will ensure the protection of the rights of the entitled person is invaluable.
Copyrights are of great importance in practice. Every day we listen to music, use the Internet, watch movies, TV series and read books. Finally, we use applications, phones and cars. In all these everyday activities, we are accompanied by the effects of people’s creative work. Copyrights are usually associated only with artists, singers and actors. This is a mistake, because copyright may also belong to the creator of software or applications.
Unlike economic copyrights, personal rights are inalienable. This means that they cannot be transferred to another entity under any contract. Personal copyrights are related to the creator’s bond with the work – hence their inalienable nature. They are expressed primarily in the creator’s right to:
Therefore, cannot moral rights be the subject of a contract? They can, and often even have to. The creator’s agreements with other entities may consist in regulating the scope of the use of these rights. Therefore, it is worth using the help of a law firm in such matters.
As a lawyer, I assist in matters related to the regulation of copyright and the protection of broadly understood intellectual property. It is true that I operate mainly in the Tricity (Gdynia, Gdańsk, Sopot) and Kutno, but I see no obstacles to helping entrepreneurs from the rest of Poland. My law firm operates throughout Poland. For this purpose, I encourage you to contact me by e-mail or telephone.
As part of providing services to clients from the rest of Poland, I visit the following cities: Warsaw, Płock, Katowice, Poznań, Wrocław, Bydgoszcz, Elbląg.
