Press release: Poland secures fair remuneration for audiovisual authors online under EU copyright law

Thanks to the mobilisation of filmmakers and their representative organisations, Polish screenwriters and directors now enjoy an unwaivable right to remuneration with mandatory collective management for the exploitation of their works online.
 
Poland was the very last country to implement the EU Copyright directives, five years after their adoption and three years after the deadline for implementation. The new law came into force on 20 September 2024. While the initial draft law of 14 February 2024 lacked the necessary provisions to ensure proportionate remuneration to authors for the on-demand and online uses of audiovisual works (see our letter to the Polish authorities), the Parliament listened to filmmakers and corrected the law.
 
The law now provides audiovisual authors with an unwaivable and inalienable right to remuneration for the on-demand (streaming), online uses (user generated content platforms) and retransmission of their works, to be paid by the platforms and managed collectively. It builds on the positive experience of the collective management of audiovisual authors’ rights in Poland and levels the playing field by extending the rules to the new modes of exploitation.

Quotes 

“Our member in Poland, ZAPA, was instrumental in the success of the new law. ZAPA has worked tirelessly for years to raise awareness of the devastating consequences of excluding audiovisual authors from the success of the exploitation of their works. ZAPA mobilised the Polish audiovisual community in an unprecedented way, and young filmmakers have generously shared their experience with policymakers to secure the livelihood of their profession.”

“We thank the Polish Minister of Culture and Parliament. By providing an unwaivable and inalienable right to remuneration for the exploitation of audiovisual authors’ works on streaming and UGC platforms, this law brings Poland back into the group of leading countries in audiovisual and copyright matters. Although it was last the last country to implement the directives, Poland has rightly built on collective rights management, the best model for investing in and supporting Europe's audiovisual authors.”

Barbara Hayes, Chair of the SAA

Press: Annica Ryng
Public Affairs and Communication Director
a.ryng@saa-authors.eu