| In Principle

The Residential Special Act was supposed to generate huge growth in residential development, mainly by cutting through red tape. Now the hubbub surrounding its introduction seems to have exceeded the real impact of the act. Should it now be plainly admitted that the special act has not lived up to the hope placed in it?

With the growing popularity of video games, the game development industry is booming on a global scale. The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic only accelerated this process. The unwavering demand for video games is generating an increase in interest in investing in entities involved in production and distribution of games.

We have reported here on the 30 March 2021 amendment to the law on environmental impact assessments from the perspective of investors and ecological organisations. In practical application, these provisions are generating more and more doubts.

Compliance with export control regulations poses a growing challenge for participants in international trade in goods and providers of cross-border services. The size of the enterprise is irrelevant. Multinational corporations are subject to the same restrictions and consequences for infringement as small businesses or individuals. Every participant in trade must determine whether a planned export of goods, technologies or services requires a permit or completion of other formalities to avoid exposure to financial losses or criminal liability.

1 July 2021 marks an important day for all entities subject to entry in the commercial register in Poland. On that day, the long-announced and repeatedly postponed revolution in registration proceedings came into force, and now businesses can submit applications to the National Court Register (KRS) only electronically.

Work on the amendment of the Investment Funds Act is coming to an end. The changes include extending the range of fees in connection with distribution of participation units in Poland and introducing uniform rules for advertising information provided by funds and detailed rules for protection of investors in the event of cessation of marketing of participation units in foreign funds in Poland.

The Ministry of Finance has proposed regulations allowing for conclusion of an investment agreement (also called a “590 interpretation”) between an investor and a tax authority—an agreement on the tax consequences of a planned or commenced new investment in Poland. It is supposed to constitute a binding opinion for the tax authorities on all tax consequences of the planned investment. Thus the investment agreement should be an effective tool for removing investment barriers in Poland and thus encouraging more investments, including foreign investments. In particular, it will be addressed to foreign entities planning to commence business in Poland, but current taxpayers in Poland will also be able to take advantage of it.

We have already written about the conditions under which the likeness of real-life people can be used in a game. But what if a game developer wants to use the likeness of a deceased person, or make an avatar look like a deceased person, e.g. a dead celebrity (aka “deleb”) or historical figure? After all, obtaining the person’s consent is impossible. So can the likeness of a dead person be used freely? In this article, we point out what rules a game developer should follow to ensure they are legally on safe ground.

On 25 June 2021, the president of Poland’s Energy Regulatory Office announced the results of the May/June 2021 auctions for sale of renewable energy. Unlike in previous years, the results of all auctions announced in 2021 were released on one day.

A two-stage competitive dialogue often extends the procurement procedure to many months. During that time, as a result of various circumstances, changes in the parties to a consortium may occur, often beyond the contractors’ control. In this situation, will the remaining contractors still be entitled to submit a bid, or should they be excluded from the procedure? In its ruling of 22 January 2021 (case no. KIO 3357/20), the National Appeal Chamber held that to avoid negative consequences for contractors, two key conditions must be met.

In this episode we present a short summary of the general picture of the Polish economy and proposed changes in labour law relating to remote work.

The digitalisation of work entails many benefits. In many professions work may be delivered from anyplace in the world, and in many industries talent can be sourced from all over the globe. For employers this is an opportunity for significant savings, and for employees it offers hope for a better work/life balance.