changes in law - legal aspects of new technologies

Work on the new Trade Secrets Directive is approaching the end. One of the most contro­versial provisions of the proposal concerns information obtained through reverse engineer­ing—examining a product to determine how it was made and how it works.

Several regulations setting maximum levels for interchange fees have entered the legal system recently. It is already clear that these regulations are having a major impact on the market, causing some enterprises to revise their business model. An interesting issue from the point of view of the law of new technologies is whether these regulations are technologically neutral, or apply only to a selected group of payment instruments.

Poland’s first clearinghouse for cash-free payments was established in 1990. In 1991 the first payment cards for individual clients were issued in Poland. The history of cash-free trade in this country now goes back over a quarter-century. But one of the key Polish regulations governing money—the Foreign Exchange Law—has not kept pace with the evolution of the forms in which money is used, but remains fixed in times when the dominant form of money was cash. There are many signs that this state of affairs may soon change.

The new recommendation on processing of da­ta for purposes of employment is designed to meet challenges posed by greater digitisation.

On 1 April 2015 the Council of Europe adopted Rec­ommendation CM/Rec(20l5)5 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on the processing of personal data in the context of employment. The previous recommendation was issued before the growth of the internet and new technologies, and did not reflect contemporary realities. Aware of the increased use of new technologies and electronic communications in dealings between employers and employees, the Council of Europe decided to modify the recom­mendation to ensure adequate protection of personal data in employment.

New regulations and interpretations will soon have an impact on equity- and debt-based crowdfunding business models.

Investment crowdfunding (understood to mean equity-based and debt-based crowdfunding) currently enjoys great regulatory leeway due to the lack of regulations specifically addressed to the crowdfunding market. But some current and planned regulations may impede its growth. Recent regulatory proposals as well as inter­pretations could significantly change the current shape of the market, creating both incentives and barriers for participants.

The Act of 29 August 2014 Amending the Corporate Income Tax Act, the Personal Income Tax Act and Certain Other Acts went into force on 1 January 2015.