Poland has implemented the Reporting by the press on current events (Art. 5.3(c) 2nd part InfoSoc) exception in Article 25, para 1, (b) of the Copyright and Related Rights Act. The national exception is slightly more restrictive than the EU exception.

Implementation summary:

This exception allows for dissemination through press, radio and television and making available to the public, for informatory purposes, of already disseminated reports on current events; and against compensation - of current comments made and photographs taken by reporters. Short excerpts of such works, however, as well as digests of disseminated publications and works and short summaries of disseminated works are covered by the exception without compensation being due. The permitted use covers both the original versions of works as well as their translations.

Implementation details:

Beneficiaries:

• press, radio and television

Purposes:

• informatory purposes

Usage:

• dissimination
• making available to the public

Subject Matter:

• reports on current events
• current comments made and photographs taken by reporters
• short excerpts of such works, digests of disseminated publications and works and short summaries of disseminated works

Compensation:

• no compensation due, with the exception of the use of current comments made and photographs taken by reporters, where remuneration is due

Attribution:

• the author’s full name and source are indicated. The author and the source should be indicated taking into account existing possibilities

Other Conditions:

• works used must be already disseminated

Introduced/last updated: 01 April 2004

Remarks: Poland has transposed the two exceptions in art.5.3.c. of the InfoSoc Direvctive in one provision, containing several different hypotheses based on different subject matter: e.g. reports for current events, short excerpts, digests and short summaries etc. can be used freely and for free; articles and parts of articles on current political, economic or religious topics can be re-used against payment of a statutory remuneration, unless the rightsholder has forbidden the re-use; while comments and photographs taken by reporters can be used freely against compensation, but the rightsholders cannot oppose the latter use. The provision of art. 25 is also cumulating to a certain extent the requirements for the two exceptions.

In terms of beneficiaries, Polish case law has not been consistent. In one instance the Warsaw Administrative Court stipulated that the ‘press’ nature of a website was determined by its informatory purpose (Case n II SA/Wa 1885/07). However, in a later decision, the Gdansk Court of Appeal interpreted the term ‘press’ in a narrow sense, as ‘periodical publications that do not constitute a closed, homogeneous whole, appearing at least once a year, with a permanent title or name, a current number and a date. The above concept of press also includes the Internet press, however […] reprinting and posting of articles on a regular website can in no way be equated to the term ‘press’ indicated above' (Case n V ACa 687/15).