Michał Pękała is an advocate, a partner and the head of the Video Games & Entertainment practice of Rymarz Zdort Maruta.
He graduated in 2011 from the Faculty of Law and Administration of Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin and completed a course in American law at the Catholic University of Lublin. In 2013, he graduated with an LL.M. (Master of Laws) degree (with honours) in International Intellectual Property Law from the Chicago Kent-College of Law of the Illinois Institute of Technology.
He also completed postgraduate studies in Intellectual Property Law at the University of Warsaw in 2013. Prior to joining Rymarz Zdort Maruta, he gained experience in major international law firms.
He has extensive experience in advising entities from the video games industry such as developers, publishers, industry investors, porting houses, asset providers, freelancers, YouTubers, influencers and e-sports teams. He specialises in providing comprehensive full-cycle legal advice on the creation and commercialisation of video games. Among other things, he advises on financing transactions for gaming entities, as well as in regard to companies preparing to launch IPOs.
Michał is a legal expert for WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) in relation to video games. He also assists with the acquisition and protection of intellectual property rights for video games, trademark and brand protection, and the development of overall legal strategies for video game companies. He works closely with the Indie Games Poland Foundation, advising on the legal aspects of the video game market, as well as provides free legal advice to independent developers. In the past, he advised the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage on the legal aspects of the video game market.
He is a regular speaker and participant at the largest Polish and international gaming conferences, such as the Games Industry Law Summit, Digital Dragons, the Games Industry Conference, Mastering the Game, Pixel Connect and More Than Just a Game. He regularly comments on current legal events concerning the video game market, among others, in publications such as PolskiGameDev and CD Action (an industry-recognised magazine).
The prestigious legal publication, The Legal 500, recommended Michał for Corporate/M&A in 2022 and, since 2023, has ranked him as a Next Generation Partner in the field of TMT. According to a recent report, he “is a very competent team leader; he is a distinguished IT and video games law expert. His pragmatic and client-oriented style, profound expertise and flexibility match his notable commitment. Michał has a wealth of experience relating to contract drafting. Importantly, he also has a deep understanding of what running a business is about.” A client describes him as “the best lawyer for the video games industry. It would not be enough to merely say he just knows the industry as, after many years of working closely with video game companies, it is like he has become part of the industry himself.”
