According to the Report on Digitisation of Polish Cultural Resources (prepared for the Congress of Polish Culture 2009), the digital resources of state archives are calculated at approximately 3 million scans; libraries at 300 thousand library units (ca. 1915-1917 million scans); and museums at about 300 thousand reproductions.
After 2023, digital cultural policy increasingly focused on copyright regulation, online distribution of cultural content and the impact of artificial intelligence on the cultural and creative sectors. In 2025, provisions implementing the EU Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (DSM Directive) entered into force in Poland, including mechanisms concerning internet royalties for creators and publishers. The reform aimed to strengthen the bargaining position of creators and media entities in relation to digital platforms and online content distributors.
At the same time, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage restored the Copyright Law Forum as a platform for dialogue between public authorities, creators, collective management organisations and digital market actors. The Ministry also reactivated a specialised team for combating infringements of copyright and related rights. These activities increasingly address challenges connected with generative artificial intelligence, unauthorised online distribution of cultural content and the protection of creators’ income in the digital environment.
An important development in Polish digital and copyright policy was the long-awaited reform of the reprographic fee system (“blank media levy”). In 2025 and 2026, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage initiated and finalised the process of updating the list of devices covered by reprographic fees for the first time in more than fifteen years. The reform replaced outdated devices such as VHS recorders, cassette tapes and fax machines with contemporary digital devices actually used for storing and copying cultural content, including smartphones, tablets, laptops and smart televisions. According to the Ministry and organisations representing creators, the reform was intended to adapt Polish copyright law to contemporary technological realities and strengthen compensation mechanisms for creators, performers and producers in connection with private copying. The updated system is also expected to increase revenues distributed through collective management organisations and improve the economic protection of creators in the digital environment.
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