According to Article 5(5) of the Act of September 12, 2002, on standardization (Journal of Laws of 2002, No. 169, item 1386), Polish Standards are protected by copyright as literary works, and the exclusive economic rights belong to the Polish Committee for Standardization (PKN). Issuing and disseminating Polish Standards in any medium (paper or electronic) require PKN's permission for such activities. Polish Standards and other standardization products are marked with holograms or watermarks. Publishing documents without PKN's markings is inconsistent with current legal regulations, and the information contained in such documents may be incomplete or outdated.
According to Article 5(7) of the standardization law, Polish Standards are not considered public information and are not subject to disclosure under the Act of September 6, 2001, on access to public information (Journal of Laws No. 112, item 1198, as amended).
By the judgment of May 31, 2004, the Supreme Administrative Court, file reference OSK 205/04, confirmed that Polish Standards do not constitute public information and are not subject to disclosure upon the request of an interested party under the procedures defined in Article 14 of the Act on access to public information, provided the information pertains to a Polish Standard within the meaning of the standardization law.
Violation of PKN's rights is a criminal offense and is subject to criminal proceedings under the Act of February 4, 1994, on copyright and related rights.