Distributes a software product, in Poland

Kodeks cywilny, art. 449[1]-449[10] · Read the law's page

• The Civil Code treats a product as a movable thing, joined to another thing or not, and treats animals and electricity as products; it is not settled whether that reaches software supplied on its own (Arts. 45 and 449[1] § 2).
• If you produce a product in the course of your business, you answer for the damage a dangerous product causes to anyone (Art. 449[1] § 1).
• If you make a material, raw material or component, you answer like the producer unless the design of the product or the producer's instructions were the sole cause of the damage (Art. 449[5] § 1).
• If you put your name, trade mark or another distinguishing mark on a product, or bring a product of foreign origin onto the domestic market in the course of your business, you answer like the producer (Art. 449[5] § 2).
• If the producer is not known, you answer as the seller of a dangerous product unless, within a month of notice of the damage, you name the producer (or for imported goods the importer) to the injured person (Art. 449[5] § 4).
• Offer the safety that can be expected in normal use, judged by the circumstances when you put the product into circulation, including how you present it and the information you give the consumer (Art. 449[1] § 3).
• Be able to show that you did not put the product into circulation or did so outside your business, that its dangerous properties appeared only afterwards without a cause already in the product, that they could not be foreseen given the state of science and technology when you put it into circulation, or that they resulted from applying legal rules, because the law presumes the product was made and put into circulation in your business (Arts. 449[3] and 449[4]).
• Do not rely on a contract term to exclude or limit your liability for damage a dangerous product causes (Art. 449[9]).

Dz. U. 2024 poz. 731, art. 17 i art. 5 pkt 3 i 33 ustawy o zapewnianiu spełniania wymagań dostępności niektórych produktów i usług przez podmioty gospodarcze · Read the law's page

• If you provide e-books to consumers together with software for accessing and using the files (excluding the software of e-readers), meet the general service requirements of Article 12 and, in addition, synchronize text and audio where an e-book contains audio as well as text (Art. 17 point 1; implements Directive (EU) 2019/882, Annex I, Section IV, point (f)).
• Make the e-book file interoperable with assistive tools, give access to the content and structure of the e-book, allow navigation of the content and graphic layout including dynamic layout, and let the reader choose an alternative way of presenting the content that keeps it perceivable, functional, understandable and compatible (Art. 17 points 2 to 5).
• Give information on the accessibility features of the e-book content through metadata (Art. 17 point 6).
• The Act does not apply to services offered or provided by microenterprises (Art. 4 point 1).

Dz. U. 2024 poz. 731, art. 23-28 i art. 34 ustawy o zapewnianiu spełniania wymagań dostępności niektórych produktów i usług przez podmioty gospodarcze · Read the law's page

• If you manufacture a product within Article 3(1), ensure that the products you place on the market meet the accessibility requirements (Art. 23(1); implements Directive (EU) 2019/882, Art. 7(1)).
• Assess the product against the accessibility requirements by internal production control, and draw up technical documentation with a general description of the product and a list of the harmonized standards or technical specifications, or parts of them, applied or a description of the solutions adopted where they were not applied; if you applied only parts of them, state which (Art. 23(2) to (4)).
• Keep the technical documentation and the declaration of conformity for five years from placing the product on the market (Art. 23(5) and Art. 24(7)).
• If the assessment shows the product meets the requirements, draw up the declaration of conformity in writing, on paper or electronically, before placing it on the market, and affix the CE marking visibly, legibly and indelibly on the product or its data plate, or where that is impossible or unjustified on the packaging and the accompanying documents (Art. 23(6) and (7)).
• Draw up the declaration of conformity in line with the rules on conformity assessment systems and market surveillance and Annex III to Decision No 768/2008/EC, show in it that the relevant accessibility requirements are met, list the requirements that are not met where the Article 21 assessment excuses you, update it whenever the product's functions or properties change, and issue a single declaration where several laws require one; by drawing up and signing it you assume responsibility for conformity (Art. 24(1) to (6)).
• Keep procedures that maintain conformity in series production, taking account of changes in the product design or properties and in the harmonized standards or technical specifications relied on (Art. 25).
• Put the type, batch or serial number on the product, or where that is impossible on the packaging or an accompanying document, and put on it your name, registered trade name or trademark if any, and contact details in Polish including a single point of contact (Art. 26(1) and (2)).
• Supply or publish the instructions, warnings, labels and information required by Article 7(1) with the product (Art. 26(3)).
• If you have reasonable doubt that a product does not meet the requirements, take the corrective action needed without delay or withdraw it from the market, and inform without delay the competent market surveillance authority and those of the other Member States where the product was made available, of the non-conformity and the action taken (Art. 27(1) and (2); Directive (EU) 2019/882, Art. 7).
• Keep a written or electronic register of non-conforming products and of the related consumer complaints (Art. 27(3)).
• On request of the PFRON President or the market surveillance authority, hand over within the time set the information and documentation needed to show conformity, in writing or electronically, translated into Polish if they are in another language, and cooperate to remove the non-conformity (Art. 27(4) and (5)).
• If you appoint an authorized representative, give it a written mandate; the representative may not take over your duties on conformity assessment, technical documentation and product identification, and must perform at least the duties of Article 23(5), Article 24(7) and Article 27(4) and (5) (Art. 28).
• On request, give the PFRON President or the market surveillance authority within the time set the identity of each operator that supplied you with a product or that you supplied it to, with name, address, date of supply and description, and keep that information for five years (Art. 34(1) to (3); Directive (EU) 2019/882, Art. 12).

Dz. U. 2024 poz. 731, art. 29-31 i art. 34 ustawy o zapewnianiu spełniania wymagań dostępności niektórych produktów i usług przez podmioty gospodarcze · Read the law's page

• If you import a product within Article 3(1) (you place on the market a product from outside the European Union or the European Free Trade Association states that are party to the EEA Agreement), place on the market only products that meet the accessibility requirements (Art. 29 point 1; implements Directive (EU) 2019/882, Art. 9).
• Before placing the product on the market, make sure the manufacturer has done its assessment, technical documentation, declaration of conformity, CE marking and identification (Art. 29 point 2).
• Do not place on the market a product you have reasonable doubt about, and inform the manufacturer and the market surveillance authorities (Art. 29 point 3).
• Put your name, registered trade name or trademark if any, and contact details in Polish on the product or, where impossible, on the packaging or an accompanying document; see that Polish instructions and warnings, kept understandable, accompany the product or are made public (Art. 29 points 4 and 5).
• Keep storage and transport conditions from harming conformity while you are responsible for the product, and keep a copy of the declaration of conformity for five years from placing the product on the market (Art. 29 points 6 and 7).
• On request, give the PFRON President or the market surveillance authority access to the technical documentation, and information and documents in Polish within the time set, and cooperate to remove non-conformity (Art. 29 points 8, 12 and 13).
• If you have reasonable doubt that a product you placed on the market does not meet the requirements, take corrective action without delay or withdraw it, and inform the market surveillance authority of the non-conformity and the action; keep a register of non-conforming products and the related consumer complaints (Art. 29 points 9 to 11).
• If you distribute a product within Article 3(1), check before making it available that the manufacturer and importer have done what Article 26 and Article 29 points 2, 4 and 5 require, and that the CE marking is on the product (Art. 30 points 1 and 2; Directive (EU) 2019/882, Art. 10).
• Do not make available a product you have reasonable doubt about, and inform the manufacturer, the importer and the market surveillance authority; if doubt arises about a product already made available, tell the manufacturer, authorized representative or importer to take corrective action, or withdraw the product, and inform the market surveillance authority (Art. 30 points 4 to 6).
• Keep storage and transport conditions from harming conformity while you are responsible for the product (Art. 30 point 3).
• On request, give the PFRON President or the market surveillance authority, in Polish and within the time set, the information and documentation needed to show conformity, and cooperate to remove non-conformity (Art. 30 points 7 and 8).
• Customs authorities check products that are to be released for free circulation under Article 25(3) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 and tell the market surveillance authority when they suspend a release; that authority may ask the importer for further information, documents or explanations about the product (Art. 61(1), (3) and (6)).
• A decision ordering corrective action, withdrawal, a ban or notice to consumers that is addressed to a distributor covers only the products it made available (Art. 56(3)).
• If you place a product on the market under your own name or trademark, or modify a product already on the market in a way that may affect conformity, you are treated as the manufacturer (Art. 31; Directive (EU) 2019/882, Art. 11).
• On request, identify the operators that supplied you with a product or that you supplied it to, and keep that information for five years (Art. 34(1) to (3)).

Dz. U. 2024 poz. 731, art. 3 ust. 1, art. 7-11 i art. 19-21 ustawy o zapewnianiu spełniania wymagań dostępności niektórych produktów i usług przez podmioty gospodarcze · Read the law's page

• If you place on the market a consumer general purpose computer hardware system or its operating system, a payment terminal, a self-service terminal (an ATM or cash deposit machine, a ticketing machine, a check-in machine, an interactive information terminal), consumer terminal equipment with interactive computing capability used for telecommunications services or for access to audiovisual media services, or an e-reader, make it meet the accessibility requirements of Articles 7 to 11 (Art. 3(1); implements Directive (EU) 2019/882, Art. 2(1) and Art. 4(1) and (2)).
• Make the labels, instructions and warnings on or in the product available through more than one sensory channel, presented so that they are understandable and perceivable, in a suitable font size and style with sufficient contrast and spacing (Art. 7(1) point 1; Annex I, Section I, point 1).
• Where the instructions for use are not on the product, make them publicly available another way, in particular on a website, put on the product or its packaging a note saying where, and include a non-text alternative, a description of the user interface, information on how the product meets Articles 8 to 11 and the solutions adopted, text formats usable for alternative and assistive communication, and a description of the software and hardware that connects the product to assistive tools with a list of the tools tested with it (Art. 7(1) point 2).
• Make the installation, maintenance, storage and disposal instructions and the information on the packaging accessible in the same way; this does not apply to terminals (Art. 7(1) points 3 and 4 and Art. 7(2); Annex I, Section II).
• Design the product, including its user interface, so that, among other things, communication, operation and control are available through more than one sensory channel, speech and visual elements have alternatives, color and audible signals are never the only carrier of information, volume, speed, magnification, brightness and contrast can be adjusted, manual operation allows sequential control and tactile discrimination, modes of operation avoid great reach or strength, photosensitive seizures are avoided, privacy is protected when accessibility features are used, an alternative to biometric identification is offered, functions are consistent, response time is long enough and adjustable, and software and hardware interface with assistive tools (Art. 8).
• Equip a terminal with speech synthesis in the language of the user interface, let it take a wired stereo headset, let a user start using the accessibility features without activating them, mark keys and switches with sufficient contrast and make them distinguishable by touch, warn through more than one sensory channel of any timed response and allow the time to be extended, and keep audio compatible with assistive tools including sound amplifiers (Art. 9).
• Equip an e-reader with speech synthesis in the language of the user interface (Art. 10).
• If you make consumer terminal equipment for telecommunications services that offers text as well as voice, enable real-time text and Hi-Fi sound, and where it also offers video, enable full conversation (voice, real-time text and video of a resolution that allows Polish Sign Language, synchronized); enable wireless connection to sound-amplifying assistive tools and avoid interference with them (Art. 11 point 1; Annex I, Section I, point 2(o)).
• If you make consumer terminal equipment used to access audiovisual media services, let the user reach, select, control and personalize the facilities for persons with disabilities that the audiovisual media service provider supplies, and work with assistive tools (Art. 11 point 2).
• For a feature or property of the product that Articles 7 to 18 do not cover, apply the functional criteria of Article 19(2), which cover use that involves vision, hearing, voice, manual operation or physical strength and the reach, simplicity and privacy of operation; you may apply them in place of one or more of the requirements where they give equivalent or greater accessibility (Art. 19).
• Where you provide support services for the product, such as technical help, call centers, relay services or training, give information on its accessibility and its compatibility with assistive tools in line with the Act's accessibility requirements, in particular Articles 12 and 13 (Art. 22).
• A product that conforms to the relevant harmonized standards or technical specifications, or parts of them, is presumed to meet the accessibility requirements to the extent those standards cover them (Art. 20(1); implements Directive (EU) 2019/882, Art. 15).
• The accessibility requirements apply only to the extent that compliance does not require a fundamental alteration of the basic nature of the product and does not impose a disproportionate burden; assess both, applying the cost, benefit and revenue criteria of Article 21(3) and counting the costs listed in Article 21(4), and document the assessment (Art. 21(1) to (5)).
• Keep the documentation of that assessment for five years from the last time the product was made available, give a certified copy to the PFRON President or the market surveillance authority on request, and tell the market surveillance authority in writing without delay if the assessment shows you need not meet a requirement; a microenterprise dealing in products is relieved of the documentation duties but must show its documents or circumstances on request (Art. 21(6) to (9)).
• You may not rely on the disproportionate-burden limit for a requirement where you received funding from a public or private source other than your own resources to meet that requirement (Art. 21(11)).
• The Act does not apply to products placed on the market before it entered into force on 28 June 2025 (Art. 84).

Dz. U. 2024 poz. 731, art. 35-37 i art. 67-68 ustawy o zapewnianiu spełniania wymagań dostępności niektórych produktów i usług przez podmioty gospodarcze · Read the law's page

• If a consumer complains to you that your product or service does not meet an accessibility requirement, the importer, manufacturer, authorized representative or service provider examines the complaint; a distributor forwards it without delay to the operator that supplied the product and tells the consumer (Art. 35(2) and (3); Directive (EU) 2019/882, Art. 29).
• A complaint must give the consumer's name, a contact address, e-mail address or telephone number with the preferred way of contact, the product or service, and the requirement not met with the demand that it be met; a complaint without that information is left unexamined (Art. 36).
• Accept a complaint in writing (in person, by post or to an electronic delivery address), orally (by telephone or in person for the record) or electronically by the means you designate (Art. 37(1)).
• Examine the complaint and answer, in the way the consumer chose, within 30 days of receiving it; in an especially complicated case tell the consumer within that time why there is a delay and give a new date no later than 60 days from receipt (Art. 37(2) and (3)).
• If you miss the deadline, the complaint is regarded as examined in line with the consumer's demand, and you must carry out the demand within six months of receiving the complaint (Art. 37(4)).
• Include in the answer the outcome and, if the complaint is not upheld, the factual and legal reasons; if it is upheld, a date, not later than six months from the answer, for carrying out the demand; and the name and position of the person authorized to answer (Art. 37(5)).
• If the complaint is not upheld, tell the consumer of any appeal you provide for and how and when to appeal, of mediation or another out-of-court dispute mechanism if you provide for one, and of the right to notify the PFRON President under Article 67 (Art. 37(6)).
• Services offered or provided by microenterprises are outside the Act, its complaint procedure included (Art. 4 point 1).

Dz. U. 2024 poz. 731, art. 38-66 i art. 73 ustawy o zapewnianiu spełniania wymagań dostępności niektórych produktów i usług przez podmioty gospodarcze · Read the law's page

• If an authority starts an inspection of your product or service, hand over the evidence and information it reasonably asks for, make documents available and allow copies, give written and oral explanations, let the inspector enter your premises and buildings used to offer the service, and hand over product samples free of charge; a business holding products or documents that fall within an inspection of another operator must make them available on request (Arts. 44 to 46 and 49).
• Keep the control sample in conditions that do not change its quality until the authority releases it (Art. 47(5)).
• Bear the test fees if the product is found not to meet the accessibility requirements; the State Treasury bears them if it does (Art. 48).
• If an inspection finds that a product does not meet a requirement and you did not make the Article 21(2) assessment, or made it or applied its criteria wrongly, make the assessment and present its results within the period the authority sets, which is not shorter than 60 days; if you do not, the authority opens proceedings (Art. 51(2) and (3)).
• If the authority finds a product non-compliant, take the corrective action needed or withdraw the product and show within the period it sets, not longer than 120 days from receipt of its call, that you did so; if it finds a service non-compliant, take the corrective action or stop offering the service and show that within the same period (Art. 52(1) point 1 and Art. 62(1) point 1).
• If the product or service endangers the health or safety of consumers, notify consumers in the way the authority specifies and show that you did (Art. 52(2) and Art. 62(2)).
• Comply with the decision that orders you to ensure the product or service meets the requirements or to carry out the duties not performed, to withdraw the product, to stop offering the service or not make the product available, or to notify consumers, and inform the authority of its execution in the way and time it sets; a decision may be made immediately enforceable where a consumer's interest requires it (Art. 56 and Art. 65).
• Comply with a ban on making the product available or on offering the service for up to 180 days, which the authority may extend until the proceedings end (Art. 52(1) point 2, Art. 54, Art. 62(1) point 2 and Art. 64).
• Pay a fine within 14 days from the day the decision imposing it becomes final, into the Accessibility Fund (Art. 73(5)).
• Services offered or provided by microenterprises are outside the Act (Art. 4 point 1).