The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage has proposed changes that will not provide creators with royalties from the Internet. The project concerns the implementation of the directive introducing changes to copyright and related rights in the digital space, but it does not regulate the issue of royalties for filmmakers. As it turns out, Poland is the only country in the European Union that does not regulate this issue.
They expressed their dissatisfaction in this matter, among others Jan Holoubek, Mateusz Damięcki and Maciej Stuhr. Young artists also decided to fight for their future and not only went to the protest that took place on February 21, but also decided to take part in a press conference in the Sejm. “We do not stop fighting for Internet royalties!”
Now the Minister of Culture, Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz, has commented on the whole matter. During the conference, he said that consultations on this matter were ongoing, among others. with creators and artists, which ended today. “We are implementing the law regarding the use of royalties on the Internet and include in this act (…) the right to collect royalties resulting from the reproduction of their works on the Internet,” said the minister.
The minister also said that “the regulations regarding Internet royalties will be submitted to Parliament in two to three weeks at most.” “We really wanted this issue to be zero-and-one in the final – someone is for it or someone is against it,” he added.
The Polish Filmmakers Association commented on the minister’s words. You can see a thank you video on the profile. “This is a very important day for us, filmmakers. We thank the ministry for listening to us and for standing up for us. Thank you for your support in such an important matter,” said actor Mateusz Banasiuk in the recording. Finally, he added that “you can feel that the government has changed in Poland.”