polskiego prawa własnosci intelektualnej – Tom I
The year 2026 marks a century since Poland enacted its first modern copyright statute — a milestone that invites more than ceremonial reflection.
It speaks to the durability of a legal tradition that, through the ruins of partition, foreign occupation, the constraints of a socialist legal order and the
ruptures of democratic transition, never abandoned its foundational conviction: that creative authorship deserves legal recognition and protection.
Polish copyright law did not merely survive the turbulences of the twentieth century. It adapted, reformed and on more than one occasion set
precedents that anticipated broader European developments. This resilience is not incidental. It reflects the depth of a jurisprudential culture in which the rights of authors have long been understood not as commercial privileges, but as an expression of the intimate bond between a creator and their work — a conception that resonates, with notable continuity, from the 1926 Act through to the legislation in operation today.
This handbook traces that century-long arc. It examines how Polish copyright doctrine evolved in response to shifting political realities and technological change, how it engaged with — and influenced — international and later European frameworks and how it continues to grapple with the tensions that define modern intellectual property law: between protection and access, between individual authorship and collective use, between national tradition and harmonized European norms.
A centenary is a moment to take stock. Polish copyright law has much to account for — and much to be proud of.
This Open Handbook on Polish Intellectual Property Law: Copyright is the result of a truly collaborative endeavor — one brought to life
by 45 contributors representing 20 universities and higher education
institutions across Poland, spanning both public universities and distin-
guished private academic schools. The breadth of perspectives gathered
here speaks to the richness of contemporary Polish legal scholarship
and reflects a shared recognition that intellectual property, in an age of
relentless technological change, demands exactly this kind of interdisci-
plinary conversation.
The timing of this publication carries its own significance. In 2024,
Poland marked thirty years since the enactment of the Copyright and
Related Rights Act of 4 February 1994 — the third major copyright
statute in the country’s legislative history, following a distinguished lin-
eage that includes the pioneering Act of 1926, widely regarded as one
of the most forward-looking copyright frameworks of its era. That first
statute, enacted a century ago, marked the beginning of a continuous and
evolving tradition of copyright protection in Poland — one that now,
in 2026, reaches its hundredth year. Only shortly before, in 2023, the
legal community in Katowice celebrated another centenary: one hun-
dred years of the modern Polish Bar — a century of shaping, refining
and safeguarding the institutions of legal practice within a democratic
society committed to the rule of law.
These anniversaries are not merely commemorative; they invite
reflection on three decades of doctrinal development, judicial interpre-
tation and legislative adaptation in response to digitalization and Euro-
pean harmonization — and, looking further back, on a full century of
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Polish copyright law shaping the relationship between creators, their
works and the societies in which they live.
Taken together, these milestones remind us that the questions ani-
mating today’s debates around authorship, ownership and access to cre-
ative works are not new. They are the latest chapter in a long and living
tradition — one that continues to evolve while remaining deeply rooted
in its institutional and intellectual foundations.
That tradition is being tested and transformed in real time. Recent
amendments to Polish copyright law — most notably those introduced in
2024 in response to evolving technology and the implementation of key
European Union directives — make clear that the normative landscape
governing creative production and digital dissemination is anything but
settled. The interplay between innovation, market forces, and fundamen-
tal rights is growing more complex by the day and meeting that com-
plexity requires analytical frameworks that can move fluidly between
doctrinal rigor, comparative insight and broader policy considerations.
This Handbook was designed with two audiences in mind: interna-
tional students encountering copyright law for the first time and seasoned
researchers engaged in comparative intellectual property scholarship
from anywhere in the world. Its open-access format is a deliberate
choice, one that reflects the increasingly international character of legal
education in Poland — a country that welcomes growing numbers of
international students and scholars through English-language programs
and cross-border research partnerships. By offering a clear, structured
window into the Polish copyright system within its European and global
context, this volume aspires to foster meaningful dialogue across juris-
dictions and to support rigorous inquiry into the legal challenges posed
by digitalization, platform economies, and emerging creative practices.
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Ultimately, this Handbook is more than a reference work. It is an
expression of a shared commitment — to legal education, to scholarly
exchange to the belief that copyright law, at its best, is a dynamic and
adaptive force capable of rising to meet the demands of the world we
actually live in.
Editors
Habil. Dr. Marlena Jankowska, Assoc. Prof., MBA (Deakin)
Habil. Dr. Mirosław Pawełczyk, Assoc. Prof.
