Krzysztof Wojdyło | In Principle

This year’s three-day programming marathon will be held under the theme “AI to spur legal innovation.” Participants will look for innovative solutions to help revolutionise lawyers’ work, client relations, and access to justice. Our In Principle portal is a media partner of the event.

Interest in the game development industry is not diminishing. The upward trend has been consistent for several years, and 2021 is sure to bring a further increase. Forecasts indicate that in 2023 the value of the game market will exceed USD 200 billion

In recent days, it was widely reported in the media that a well-known manufacturer began testing a system allowing for display of personalised ads in cars. But attentive drivers are not surprised. It is no secret that a modern car is a computer on four wheels, as it processes large amounts of data to ensure safety, transport efficiency, and access to navigation and infotainment services.

To complement our previous considerations about the civil-law status of data, we should analyse the possibility of using data to create security interests in business transactions. The increasing economic value of data inspires a search for effective ways to collateralise these assets.

A natural extension of the consideration of the legal status of data is the question of whether data can be inherited. This is no longer just a theoretical issue. Data are increasingly valuable, making it vital to answer the question of whether data constitute an asset of the decedent’s estate that can be taken over by the heirs.

When seeking inspiration for the future legal status of data, it is worth taking a closer look at how the right to personal data has been shaped. In particular, we could consider whether it is a property right and whether the current legal framework for the right to personal data corresponds to reality and meets our needs.

At first glance, it may not seem obvious to treat data as crypto-assets. But a closer look shows that the current and planned regulations for this new asset class could serve as a key legal framework for the future data economy.

The contemporary debate about data, including discussions of the legal status of data, are hard to understand without defining the broader context. One element of this context is the demands of the movement referred to collectively as “MyData.”

The conceptual framework of the data economy also requires an understanding of the division of data into different layers. This may have great legal significance.

We are launching a series of articles on the data economy. We use this term to refer collectively to new models of the economy in which the principal role is played by data. Data are becoming an asset in their own right which is more and more often the subject of commercial exchange. This doesn’t mean only personal data. It also, or even primarily, means non-personal data of all sorts, including those generated or gathered by machines, whose value we are only beginning to discover.

A core issue for the data economy is how to define the legal status of data. Can data be the subject of ownership? If not, what rights can be exercised with respect to data? Future models for management of data will depend on the answers to these questions.

The video game development sector has grown rapidly in recent years. With the spread of smartphones, new business models, and distribution platforms, the market for video games has taken off, becoming a key sector of the creative industry. Its growth stirs the imagination and appetite not only of game producers and publishers, but also of the biggest companies in sectors like IT and film, who are increasingly oriented toward the game market. It is also a promising field for investors, particularly from Asia. The industry’s growth has not even been slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic. To the contrary, the industry has taken advantage of this time to reinforce its position and achieve new growth.