Posted on Categories blockchain, changes in law

Prosta Spółka Akcyjna: a list of shares in a dispersed database

A proposal presented in May by the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Technology for amendments to the Commercial Companies Code provides for a new type of capital company – Prosta Spółka Akcyjna (PSA). This legislative proposal has been criticised for an excessive amount of regulation and complexity of the provisions, and also has been welcomed for achieving the principal goal of the initiative, which is making the legal environment suitable for start-ups. This article discusses the section of the amendment that deals directly with new technologies.

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Posted on Categories blockchain

Legal aspects of Airdrops

We have been writing about the legal issues surrounding tokens and ICOs/token sales for quite some time now. However, there’s still a lack of clarity regarding many legal and tax issues regarding the sale and exchange of tokens. The subject is not directly regulated by either EU or Polish laws. While the European Securities and Markets Authority and numerous national regulators (including the Polish Financial Supervision Authority) have issued statements on the subject, numerous issues remain unresolved creating uncertainty for blockchain entrepreneurs and their lawyers.

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Posted on Categories creative industry, litigation

Reconciling web-blocking injunctions and freedom of speech – mission impossible?

Within the EU, web-blocking injunctions have become an increasingly prevalent mechanism utilized by copyright holders to protect against the unauthorized use of their copyrighted materials online. Recently extended to protect trademark rights, these injunctions are heralded by rights holders within the music, film, and luxury goods industries, as an incredibly effective method in protecting copyrighted/trademarked material from online infringement. However, these injunctions should be considered a weapon of last resort in fighting online infringement, rather than a standard tool of enforcing intellectual property rights (IPRs). Implementing these injunctions or filtering mechanisms should be done so sparingly, as their increased use endangers fundamental civil liberties such as free speech and due process.

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Posted on Categories blockchain

Legal implications of various consensus mechanisms in public blockchains

Each legal analysis requires a prior determination of the underlying facts. The more precise the factual description of the subject to be analysed, the better the likelihood that the legal conclusions reached will be comprehensive and correct. This is one of the reasons why lawyers’ work in the field of new technologies is challenging and fascinating. Within the rapidly changing realities of new technologies, a lawyer’s ability to identify and understand the most legally relevant facts is a critically important skill. Of course, this skill must be supplemented with the knowledge that the facts are subject to dynamic changes.

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Posted on Categories fintech

Cryptocurrencies and sanctions

New applications for blockchain, such as decentralised exchanges and unique tokens, bring new legal challenges. But sometimes even well-known uses of this technology present interesting legal issues never raised before or for some reason overlooked in the legal debate.

Undoubtedly cryptocurrencies and other crypto assets will not remain outside the legal system for long. Although they cannot be directly tied to many existing regulatory regimes, as we discussed in 2014 in our virtual currencies report, this does not mean that activity involving crypto assets will never be regulated. This is evident from the example of blockchain tokens, which in certain situations may be regarded as financial instruments.

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