POLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Xawery Konarski, Traple Konarski Podrecki & Partners
• International nature of the industry – many games are distributed worldwide, which means that developers have to contend with different legal systems (eg, copyright). • Piracy – illegal copying and distribution of games is a serious problem that affects the profits of game developers, publishers and distributors. IP Mechanisms The key laws and mechanisms protecting IP in the digital world are the following. • Copyright – this is the basis of protection for most game elements, such as source code, graphics, music, scripts, and character designs. • Trade marks – these protect game names, logos, slogans or other graphic signs that identify a product or service. Registering a trade mark gives the creator the exclusive right to use it. • Industrial designs – this protection applies to an original utility model or industrial design, such as a unique user interface design. • Licence agreements – this is a key tool for regulating the use of works by others. Through licence agreements, creators can determine to what extent and under what conditions others can use their intellectual property. Copyright The key copyright issues for digital and virtual content are the following. • Authorship: in the case of games created by teams, who is the author? • Object of protection: what exactly are the protected elements of the game? Is it just the graphics and sound, or also the gameplay mechanics or the game idea itself?
• Fixation: when is a work considered to be fixed? Is saving it on a hard drive sufficient, or is a more formal form of fixation required? Trade marks Examples of virtual goods and services that a trade mark can protect include: • virtual currencies – names of cryptocurrencies are often protected as trade marks; • game characters – names and images of video game characters can be protected as trade marks; • virtual worlds – names and logos of virtual platforms (eg, metaverse) may be subject to trade mark protection; • virtual objects – unique objects in games (eg, skins, weapons) may be trade marked; and • virtual services – services provided in a virtual environment, such as virtual concerts or exhi - bitions, can be identified by trade marks. User-Generated Content (UGC) UGC is any material created by users of online platforms, such as comments, posts, videos, or graphics. It presents a number of challenges related to the protection of intellectual property rights, with the most important consequences outlined below. • Copyright infringement – unconscious copy - ing, where users often unknowingly copy parts of copyrighted works, eg, quoting long passages of text or using parts of music or graphics. • Unauthorised use of trade marks: Users may use the trade marks of others in a way that misleads consumers about the origin of the goods or services. • Violation of the right to privacy – publishing the image of others without their consent may constitute a violation of the right to privacy.
367 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook