“The proposal, introduced by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage on 15 February 2024, omits statutory royalties for creators in the online domain”, said Dominik Skoczek, Director of ZAPA.

ZAPA raised concerns about the removal of internet royalties, disapproving of the Ministry of Culture's justification. The organisation points out that other European countries already had law ensuring royalties for filmmakers before the introduction of the EU directive, like France, Spain, Italy or Estonia, or introduced these laws following the EU directive like Belgium or Latvia.

The draft amendment is under scrutiny for not acknowledging the diverse approaches taken by different countries in implementing Article 18 of the EU Directive on copyright. ZAPA emphasises that the proposed changes fail to align with the directive's goal of ensuring adequate and proportional remuneration for creators.

The organisation also highlights concerns about proprietary systems introduced by major VOD providers, citing Netflix's pilot programme as falling short of providing fair and proportional compensation for all creators.

As debates unfold within the Polish filmmaking community, industry stakeholders watch closely for developments surrounding the copyright amendment, hoping for a resolution that addresses the concerns of creators in the evolving landscape of digital content distribution.