Polish gaming industry proposes comprehensive reform of copyright laws to modernize regulations for digital innovation.
Gamedev Industry: Copyright Laws Must Keep Up with Digital Market
The most important element of the report is the call for a thorough reform of copyright law, which in its current form is increasingly becoming a brake on digital innovation.
Authors of the report point out that the main problem is the incompatibility of copyright law provisions with the realities of the global digital job market. The most pressing issue is the requirement to maintain written form under penalty of nullity when transferring property copyright rights and granting exclusive licenses. In an industry based on remote work and collaboration with creators from around the world, the need to physically sign documents and send them by traditional mail is a costly relic of the past.
Licenses: Complex Projects Require Time and Flexibility
Equally important for the stability of the sector are changes regarding the validity periods of contracts. Current regulations limit the possibility of concluding license agreements for a fixed term longer than five years, after which they transform into indefinite licenses with the possibility of termination. For producers of AAA games (those with the largest budgets), whose production cycle often exceeds this period, this generates significant legal and business risks.
A similar proposal concerns the creator’s right to withdraw from the contract if the work has not been disseminated within five years. Experts propose extending this period to ten years, arguing that modern, complex technologies require much longer development time than literary or musical works, which the law was originally designed for decades ago.
Development Strategy for Gamedev Sector During Global Slowdown
Although copyright law forms the core of legal proposals, the report also addresses other barriers hindering development. In the area of tax legislation, the industry raises the issue of clarifying IP Box and R&D tax incentives, and calls for the abolition of the tax on contribution of property copyright rights made by individuals.
In the remaining pillars of the document – financing, professionalization, and promotion – the report outlines a vision of systemic support necessary during the global crisis in the sector. The industry suggests reactivating dedicated grant programs and creating stable mechanisms for revolving financing. All these recommendations have one goal: to make Polish gamedev not only maintain its position but become a modern pillar of the intellectual property-based economy.
Industry Proposes Comprehensive Reform Package
The report will be submitted to public entities as a collection of best practices, demands, and recommendations developed by representatives of the Polish gamedev industry.