What makes a performance public?
When you buy a CD or a tape, you acquire the right to use it for private purposes. This means you may listen to it alone, with your family, or friends. However, when music is performed from a phonogram in a place which is publically accessible, the person who performs it is required to pay the producer, the artist, the author and composer a fee for its use.
When is music publically performed?
According to the Polish Law on Copyright and Related Rights of February 4, 1994, every commercial entity which uses sound recordings in its business is required to pay a fee for their use to the collective rights management organization representing authors, performers and producers. It makes no difference whether a recording is being performed from a carrier (CD, mp3), or from another source, e.g. radio/TV, or the Internet.
The Polish Recording Industry Association ZPAV represents the producers of sound recordings in Poland. The failure to comply with applicable laws is prosecuted and could result in legal liability, including imprisonment of up to 5 years. Due compensation for the use of music needs to be paid irrespectively of the carrier, or source, from its it originates.
