On 24 April 2024, the Ministry of Digital Affairs published a draft amendment to the National Cybersecurity System Act, which is a law implementing the EU NIS 2 Directive. It is worth noting, however, that in many aspects the Polish draft law deviates from the provisions of the NIS 2 Directive.

W ostatnim czasie do Trybunału Sprawiedliwości Unii Europejskiej (TSUE) wpłynęły kolejne pytania prejudycjalne dotyczące rozumienia przesłanek utworu.

   The Ministry of Economic Development and Technology has presented a draft law on amending certain laws to deregulate economic and administrative law and to improve the rules for drafting economic law (“Deregulation Act”). The amendment provides for 50 solutions for entrepreneurs, which will be implemented in 35 acts. The Deregulation Act is supposed to facilitate doing business.          

By 17 October this year, EU member states are required to implement the NIS 2 Directive, which changes the cybersecurity landscape in the European Union. Public administration bodies have been included as regulated entities, implying changes to public procurement law. The changes affect both the central and local government levels. 

According to individual interpretations of 30 April 2024 issued by the Head of the National Tax Chamber, benefits paid from a family foundation to the founding spouses are subject to partial personal income tax (ref. 0112-KDIL2-1.4011.113.2024.2.JK and 0112-KDIL2-1.4011.114.2024.2.JK).

In the world of gaming, the legality of various types of software used for cheating or “enhancing” the gaming experience (usually in the form of plug-ins) continues to be a topic of debate. In a recent legal opinion (delivered on 25 April, 2024, in case C‑159/23 Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd vs Datel Design and Development Ltd, Datel Direct Ltd), Maciej Szpunar, Advocate General at the CJEU, stated that creating such plugins does not violate game developers’ copyright. This important clarification could also have a negative side effect, as it might encourage further innovation and investment in gaming “enhancements” and any other software facing similar legal issues, potentially impacting the entire IT industry.

On 18 April, the Polish government officially commenced work on a law implementing the provisions of the Digital Operational Resilience Act (hereinafter “DORA”) into the national (polish) legal system. The new regulation is primarily intended to bring the existing legislation in line with the principles introduced by DORA. The so-called sectoral laws relating to individual branches of the financial market, such as payments, banking, or insurance, will be amended.

Trademarks may be cancelled if not used in a timely manner. However, there are exceptions. A trademark protection right can be retained despite even if the trademark in question is not used if there are compelling reasons to do so. Such reasons must be justified and demonstrated. Recently, the owner of the word mark “MOSTOSTAL” found out that simply waiting for the conclusion of licence agreements cannot qualify as an excusable reason.

A ruling of the Supreme Administrative Court confirmed that the use of peel-off labels is, in principle, allowed and that there is no obligation to include all mandatory information on one top layer of the label. The use of several label layers will not lead to hiding mandatory information if the top label indicates where the remaining information can be found. Earlier, domestic interpretations ruled out such a possibility.

A new EU law governing the media services sector entered into force on 7 May. The law in question is the Regulation (EU) 2024/1083 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 establishing a common framework for media services in the internal market and amending Directive 2010/13/EU[1] (hereinafter the “EMFA”). The primary objective of the EMFA is to harmonise certain aspects of national legislation related to media pluralism and editorial independence.

CJEU Advocate General Maciej Szpunar delivered an opinion on 22 February 2024 in case C-135/23 concerning the interpretation of the concept of “communication to the public” of works.