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Guide to the Global Leaders in Media Law Practice

Paulina Maślak-Stępnikowska is a member of the IP & TMT practice and specialises in intellectual property law, in particular copyright and industrial property, including in proceedings before national and international bodies. Paulina assists clients from the technology, retail, publishing and fashion industries (including press and book publishers, and shoes manufacturers) and the automotive market, advising on matters including national and international trademark protection, inventions, industrial and utility designs, as well as in contentious proceedings. She has advised entrepreneurs on developing strategies for the protection of products and technologies with regard to their commercialisation and distribution, as well as on infringements of their rights on the Polish and EU markets. Paulina has represented clients before courts, including the EU Trademarks and Designs Court in Warsaw, Polish Patent Office, EUIPO and WIPO. She is a recipient of a scholarship at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität in Heidelberg and a graduate of postgraduate studies in intellectual property law at the H. Grocjusz Intellectual Property Rights Centre. She is also a co-author of a manual titled Turn Your Public On.

Biography

REGIONS WE COVER

Middle East and North Africa

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Central and Eastern Europe

The Polish media and entertainment market has seen several key trends and changes in the course of 2024:

1. Entertainment and media market value growth

According to the Polish edition of the PwC report titled “Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2024–2028”, the value of the Polish entertainment and media market reached PLN 64.8 billion, an increase of 3.8% year-on-year.

2. Stability of traditional television

In contrast to global trends, in Poland, traditional TV has maintained a strong position, with revenues of PLN 10.7 billion.

3. Development of OTT (Over-the-Top) services

The market for OTT video services has tripled since 2019, achieving revenues of PLN 3.2 billion in 2023, with further growth projected at 6.7% per year.

4. Challenges for the press market

The newspaper and publishing segment has faced challenges due to declining revenues from traditional print editions, despite the growth of digital editions.

The Polish market’s pending digital transformation

These changes reflect the dynamic transformation of the Polish media market towards a digital-first market and the market’s adaptation to new technologies.

From the legal perspective, 2024 was an intense year for the Polish media market, involving significant regulatory changes, new copyright disputes, and challenges to EU directives and national regulations on media pluralism. Many of these issues could have long-term consequences for media business and the freedom of expression in Poland.

In connection with the Digital Single Market (DSM) Copyright Directive, Poland introduced new obligations for streaming platforms. Now, these platforms must allocate a portion of their royalties to local content creators and comply with transparency requirements regarding their recommendation algorithms. Broadcasters and VOD providers have also felt the increased activity of collecting agencies, which have moved to secure new agreements with users and fees for the creators they represent.

The National Broadcasting Council imposed the highest fine in its history

In March 2023, TVN24 aired a report by Marcin Gutkowski titled “Bielmo. Franciszkańska 3” on its weekly “Czarno na Białym” programme. The report addressed questions regarding what Karol Wojtyła, later Pope John Paul II, knew about alleged cases of sexual abuse by priests during his time as Metropolitan Archbishop of Kraków.

Following the broadcast, the National Broadcasting Council received a record number of complaints, with the Council stating that it had received more than 6,000, many of them being politically motivated as part of a massive campaign and based on a template complaint made available by conservative media outlets. Following an investigation, the Chairman of the National Broadcasting Council concluded that the report failed to meet the standards of journalistic ethics and violated viewers’ religious feelings.

Accordingly, in March 2024 the Council’s Chairman, Maciej Swirski, issued a decision imposing a financial penalty of PLN 550,000 on TVN for violating Article 18(1) and (2) of the Broadcasting Act.

TVN appealed this decision and the case was referred to the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection (a division of the Regional Court in Warsaw), which will rule on the legitimacy of the fine imposed.

What proved to be particularly scandalous, is that, despite an ongoing appeal, the Council’s Chairman referred the fine to the tax authorities for mandatory enforcement, which was then performed at lightning speed. As a result of the charges and the filing of a complaint, the administrative court ruled that both the actions taken to enforce the fine and the Council Chairman’s actions were unlawful.

This case has sparked a wide-ranging debate on the limits of the freedom of expression and media accountability in Poland as well as the role of state agencies in content monitoring.

A Tribunal of State for the media regulator?

In may 2024, 185 members of the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament, filed a preliminary motion to institute proceedings against Maciej Swirski, the Chariman of the National Broadcasting Council before the Tribunal of State. The Tribunal of State is a constitutional body established to review violations of the Constitution or laws by top government officials. Persons holding key positions in the state are subject to constitutional accountability, meaning that they may be held accountable for acts or omissions that violate

the law.

The applicants accuse the Chairman of violating the law in three respects:

 Blocking subscription funds: withholding approximately PLN 300 million in

subscription fees allocated to public radio and television.

 Delaying licensing proceedings: these alleged violations relate to delays in granting

licenses to private broadcasters such as TVN, TVN24, TOK FM, and Radio Zet.

 Failure to conduct statistical surveys: the applicants allege that the Chairman failed

to conduct statistical surveys on TV viewership in Poland.

Currently, the Constitutional Accountability Committee of the Sejm is proceeding with work on the motion, interviewing witnesses, and analysing the evidence at its disposal. Once this stage is complete, the Committee will submit a recommendation to the Sejm on whether Maciej Swirski should be indicted before the Tribunal of State. The decision on indictment is made by an absolute majority of votes, with a quorum of at least half the statutory number of members of the Sejm present.

It is worth noting that being brought before the Tribunal of State is not in itself determinative of a persons guilt, but does result in suspension from office for the duration of proceedings. Only a ruling by the Tribunal can result in possible legal consequences for the accused.

Potential forthcoming major amendments to the media act?

The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage (Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego; MKiDN) is working on amendments to the Broadcasting Act. As part of this effort, the Ministry published the assumptions of a new media act in June 2024, including, among others, proposed changes to the functioning of the National Broadcasting Council, reforming public media, and abolishing subscription fees in favour of financing public media directly from the state budget.

As a result of public consultations, the Ministry published a summary report in October 2024 outlining, among other things, proposals to ensure the apolitical and pluralistic nature of the National Broadcasting Council and to limit the discretion of its Chairman.

Poland's Media Market Faces Transformative Change

Written by Paulina Maślak-Stępnikowska

WKB Lawyers

Paulina

Maślak-Stępnikowska

In 2024, Poland saw intense efforts to reform the media, including the amendment of the Broadcasting Act aimed at increasing pluralism and the independence of public media. There were also highly publicized controversies related to the actions of the National Broadcasting Council (Krajowa Rada Radiofonii i Telewizji; KRRiT), including a motion to initiate proceedings before the Tribunal of State against its chairman, and changes to the regulations on political advertising ahead of EU and local elections. Additionally, the licensing and supervision of media outlets became a focal point in the ongoing debate on political influence over the media in Poland.