Judgment of Court of Appeal in Warsaw, 1st Civil Division

26 May 2009

Case No. I ACz 863/09

Nature of interim relief

Standing to obtain relief under Copyright Law

Grounds for granting interim relief

1. Review of a plaintiff's motion for interim relief to secure its claim is limited because it must generally be based on incomplete evidence. Thus the decision is of an interim nature and does not prejudge the merits of the case.

2. Under Copyright Law Art. 80(1)(1) and (2), the grounds for granting interim relief to secure a claim and require the defendant to provide information relevant to the plaintiff's claim are standing on the part of the movant, demonstration of a likelihood of prevailing on the merits, and a legal interest in obtaining interim relief.

3. Copyright Law Art. 80(1)(2) permits the holder to elect the claim to be asserted as referred to in Art. 79(1) and to set the scope of the claim if a petition is filed. Thus there is a "legal interest in obtaining interim relief" if the holder will not be in a position to determine the scope of infringement unless the infringer is required to provide relevant information or documents (see Judgment of Court of Appeal in Szczecin dated 6 January 2006, Case No. I ACz 1162/05).

4. As the defendant continues to distribute the disputed work, the lower court properly found that granting interim relief in the form sought by the plaintiff was necessary to achieve the purpose of the proceeding.