A New (Intellectual) Property Right for Non-Personal Data? An Economic Analysis
Gewerblicher Rechtsschutz und Urheberrecht, Internationaler Teil (GRUR Int), 11/2016, 989-999
23 Pages Posted: 27 Oct 2016 Last revised: 6 Sep 2017
Date Written: October 24, 2016
Abstract
The discussion about appropriate legal rules for the digital economy has raised the question of the ownership of non-personal data, e.g. in the context of value networks of firms, smart manufacturing and connected cars. The article analyzes from an economic perspective whether there is a need for a new exclusive IPR on data. It is shown that there are no convincing economic arguments for the introduction of such a new IPR, especially due to the lack of an incentive problem for the production and analysis of data. On the contrary, a new IPR on data might lead to considerable problems and dangers for competition and innovation, especially for the digital economy, which depends on the access to a broad variety of data. Therefore problems of access to data might be a much more important policy issue than exclusive property rights on data.
Keywords: Digital economy, data ownership, intellectual property
JEL Classification: K20, L86, O34
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation