Intellectual Property Rights in Polish Labour Law

When hiring in Poland, especially for R&D, software, or creative roles, intellectual property (IP) protection is not just about having a contract. The Polish legal system distinguishes between the right to earn from a creation and the permanent personal link an author has with their work. Failing to manage these distinctions can lead to situations where an employer owns the code but cannot legally modify it or use it for new versions without the creator’s specific consent.

Our Employer of Record (EOR) service integrates these specific legal requirements into the standard employment workflow, ensuring your business assets are secure from day one.

The dual nature of Polish Copyright

Polish law operates under a dualistic system. You must understand the difference between Economic Rights and Moral Rights to secure your business assets.

Economic Rights (Autorskie Prawa Majątkowe)

These are the rights to use, reproduce, and commercialise the work.

Automatic Transfer. Under the Labour Code, if an employee creates a work as part of their defined duties, these rights transfer to the employer upon acceptance of the work.
The Software Exception. For computer programs, the law is even more employer-friendly. Economic rights are vested in the employer the moment the code is created, even before formal acceptance.

Moral Rights (Autorskie Prawa Osobiste)

These protect the author’s relationship with their work, such as the right to be named as the author or the right to the work’s “integrity.”

Non-Transferable. These rights stay with the employee forever. They cannot be sold or waived.
The Fix. We include a clause where the employee pledges not to exercise their moral rights and authorises the employer to exercise them on their behalf. This prevents an employee from legally blocking modifications to their work.

Patent rights and statutory remuneration

Inventions, utility models, and industrial designs fall under the Industrial Property Law. While ownership usually rests with the employer, there is a hidden financial risk: Remuneration.

Right to Reward. Unless your contract states otherwise, a Polish employee has a statutory right to “fair remuneration” for an invention that the employer uses.
The “Substantial Profit” Clause. If your company makes significantly more profit from an invention than originally anticipated, the employee may have a legal claim for an increase in their remuneration.
Strategic Drafting. Our EOR contracts specify that the employee’s standard salary already includes compensation for the transfer of all IP and inventions, mitigating the risk of unexpected future claims.

Critical clauses for your Polish contracts

To safeguard your company, an employment contract must go beyond the basic statutory defaults. Every EOR agreement we manage includes:

Defined Fields of Exploitation. In Poland, a transfer of rights is only valid for the specific “fields of exploitation” (ways of using the work) listed in the contract. We use a comprehensive list covering all modern digital and physical mediums.
Derivative Works. We explicitly secure the right to create and authorise “dependent” works, such as adaptations, translations, or updates to the original.
Duty-Specific Scopes. We ensure the employee’s “Scope of Work” specifically mentions creative or inventive output. If they write code but their job description only says “Admin,” you may not automatically own that code.
Post-Termination Confidentiality. We protect trade secrets and “know-how” with enforceable clauses that survive the end of the employment relationship.

IP in the B2B versus Employment model

It is worth noting that IP transfer is handled differently for B2B contractors. While an employment contract has some automatic protections, a B2B contract requires a written assignment signed by hand (or with a qualified electronic signature) to be valid.

By using our EOR service, you avoid the “ownership gap” that often occurs when international companies use generic templates that do not account for the rigours of the Polish Copyright Act.