IT & Software

Poland is still one of the top locations for implementation of IT and software development projects. Foreign investors are establishing offshore software development centers in Poland being tempted by:

• constant inflow of well-educated developers (domestic and from Eastern Europe),
• comparably low cost of workforce in Poland,
• proficient English language skills,
• boosting Polish Economy,
• political stability and EU membership,
• cultural similarities,
• favourable location and time zones.

You may find out more in our IT Outsourcing Guide.

Awarded Software & IT Lawyers in Poland

We advise to IT industry for over 30 years. Our multidisciplinary team is well recognized and awarded (Legal500, Chambers Partners) for executing various IT projects in Poland. We are specialized in servicing foreign investors and over the years we advised to the biggest world software corporations, which you may explore below.

IT and software customers are placed under the care of experts from various legal fields incl. but not limited to:

• Investment / M&A
• Corporate law
• Employment law
• Copyrights
• IP protection
• Commercial and contracts
• Tax
• Dispute / Arbitration
• GDPR

Navigating Software Development in Poland

We are specialized in navigating software development investments in Poland. Since early nineties we have incorporated and introduced to Poland dozens of foreign software development centers, starting from small software houses and ending up on international software corporations employing over thousand of IT staff.

Our team of attorneys dedicated for software development projects has longstanding experience and full awareness of specifics of IT business in Poland. They are ready to provide tailor made and straight forward solutions for the software clients.

Our IT team provides comprehensive services that cover investment advisory, legal and tax advisory, as well as, further ongoing accounting and payroll service. We are leading one stop shop provider for software costs centers in Poland.

Usual Legal Services to IT customers in Poland

The scope of services to It customers  most usually covers the following aspects:

• Investment – incl. investment advisory, investment incentives, financing of investment, structure of investment,
• Corporate –  incl. choice of corporate form of Polish Software Development Center,
• M&A – in case of acquisition of existing Software Development Centers, we advise and represent in the acquisition process, throughout due diligence and transaction closing,
• Employment –  incl. advisory as to specific rules and forms of employment of software developers, drafting and introducing employment regulations dedicated to software development business,
• Contracts – drafting and reviewing various IT industry contracts, incl. IT project contracts, implementation agreements, agile implementation agreements, software services agreements, service agreements, SLA agreements, SaaS T&C, license agreements, copyrights transfer agreements etc.
• Data protection – advising and auditing compliance with GDPR of the software and the business itself, introducing internal regulations allowing inter-company data exchange and data flows outside of EU,
• IP and copyrights – advising on security and protecting IP rights and copyrights to the developed products,
• Tax – advising on tax incentives for software companies (incl. KUP50, R&D and Innovation Box), CIT, VAT, withholding, transfer-pricing.

IT Contracts Lawyers

Contracts in IT are vital. Our IT lawyers provide advisory, negotiate, draft and assist in execution of various IT contracts with Polish element. As a one stop shop Law Firm, we make sure your agreement meets your expectation, not only in terms of content, but also in terms of tax, IP, corporate and commercial consequences.

In particular we help with following types of agreements:

• IT projects agreements,
• IT service agreements,
• Implementation agreements,
• Agile type agreements,
• Software development agreements,
• IT system maintenance contacts,
• SLA contracts,
• Integration project contracts,
• License agreements,
• Copyrights transfer agreements.

We also prepare T&C for various IT products, such as: SaaS T&C, App T&C, e-shop T&C, hosting T&C etc.

Employment in IT Industry

Polish IT industry is governed by specific employment rules. Almost every IT company in Poland has a similar set of legal challenges, e.g. B2B vs employment, remote work terms, KUP50, R&D relief, IP Box.

Our employment law attorneys have longstanding experience and full awareness of specifics HR aspects of Polish IT sector. They will quickly provide you with ready made solutions that will allow to save time and cost.

Tax advisory to IT sector

Surprisingly IT / software sector in Poland often involves more tax considerations than other industries. This is mainly related to extensive list of tax incentives that are available for IT, R&D and IP related sectors.

Our tax advisors specialized in IT sector frequently advise regarding:

• SEZ tax exemptions
• R&D relief
• IP Box – i.e. 5% CIT
• KUP50
• WHT / Withholding Tax (in particular on IP/copyrights, royalties)
• TP – Transfer Pricing
• Taxation of employees and contractors

We also represent in tax inspections and represent before the courts in various IT tax disputes.

IP and Copyrights in IT

Copyright and IP are essential part of business. Polish law is restrictive when it comes to the legal form and specific content of agreements transferring ownership of IP or license agreements. Our IP law team:

• draft / negotiates IP agreements, incl.
• copyrights sale agreements, and
• license agreements,
• designs IP creation procedures,
• runs IP audits,
• advises in IP transactions.
• represents in IP disputes.

Our IP attorneys are authors of the comparative study Copyright Laws and Regulations Poland 2024 at ICLG.

Disputes and Arbitration in IT sector

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Legal Support to Startups in Poland

In 2021 we supported the biggest startup sale transaction in Poland. We are experienced in servicing startups in various stages of development, from seed to exit. Our multidisciplinary team of attorneys most usually advices to startups regarding:

• Corporate structure
• Financing mechanisms
• Exit mechanisms
• Investment process
• M&A transactions
• ESOP schemes
• Tax effects
• etc.

Software attorneys in Warsaw and Kraków

We provide legal services to IT companies all around Poland thought all five offices, and in particular in Warsaw and Kraków.