Ochrona prawna fotografii produktowej w prawie polskim
Legal protection of product photography in Polish law

Summary/Abstract: Background: This article focuses on the legal protection of product photography, which is often used for the purpose of promoting and advertising products and services, especially on the Internet. The ease of using the photographs from other enterpreneurs’ websites or auctions leads to many disputes in which they often seek legal protection.Research purpose: The purpose of this work is to identify the legal basis of this protection as well as to determine the criteria that, if met, allow the plaintiff to seek legal protection.Methods: The research is based on the analysis of (still very few) court judgements in cases involving product photography, but also other works of a comparable (commercial) character, as well as on the ECJ ruling on portrait photography. The author also referred to legal literature, although this topic has not yet fully attracted the attention of scholars. Part of the article focuses on the case study analysis.Conclusions: The research leads to the conclusion that product photography can be protected by copyright if the legal requirements are met. This protection exists regardless of the author’s subjective opinion of the value of the photograph, the amount of work the author did, the subject being photographed, or the equipment used.

• Details
• Contents