QMIPRI Response to the Law Commission’s Digital Assets Consultation Paper

7 Pages Posted: 29 Nov 2022

See all articles by Garry Gabison

Garry Gabison

Queen Mary University of London, School of Law

Michaela MacDonald

Queen Mary University of London - School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science

Guido Westkamp

Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research Institute (QMIPRI); Queen Mary University of London - Centre for Commercial Law Studies (CCLS); University of Münster - Institute for Information, Telecommunication and Media Law

Uma Suthersanen

Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London

Date Written: November 4, 2022

Abstract

This paper presents QMIPRI's response to the “Digital Assets: Consultation Paper” of the Law Commission of England and Wales. While the inquiry is a welcome exercise, and we have no ideological or doctrinal objection to a third category of property per se, we would argue that the Consultation Paper does not set out a clear rationale for a third category of property. Property is based on a social understanding of relationships – the legal rights of use, excludability and alienability in relation to a thing or asset. We can identify different normative justifications of property. The Law Commission's proposal focuses mainly on economic and social needs without necessarily considering the intra-legal relationships between different types of existing property rights.

Keywords: Digital Assets, Property Law, Non-fungible Tokens, Information Ownership, Possession

Suggested Citation

Gabison, Garry and MacDonald, Michaela and Westkamp, Guido and Suthersanen, Uma, QMIPRI Response to the Law Commission’s Digital Assets Consultation Paper (November 4, 2022). Queen Mary Law Research Paper No. 396/2022, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4287493

Garry Gabison

Queen Mary University of London, School of Law ( email )

67-69 Lincoln’s Inn Fields
London, WC2A 3JB
United Kingdom

Michaela MacDonald (Contact Author)

Queen Mary University of London - School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science ( email )

Mile End Road, Mile End
London, England E1 4NS
United Kingdom

Guido Westkamp

Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research Institute (QMIPRI) ( email )

67-69 Lincoln's Inn Fields
London, WC1A 3JB
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://www.law.qmul.ac.uk/staff/westkamp.html

Queen Mary University of London - Centre for Commercial Law Studies (CCLS) ( email )

London, WC1A 3JB
United Kingdom

University of Münster - Institute for Information, Telecommunication and Media Law ( email )

Germany

Uma Suthersanen

Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London ( email )

67-69 Lincoln’s Inn Fields
London, WC2A 3JB
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://www.qmul.ac.uk/law/people/academic-staff/items/suthersanen.html

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
86
Abstract Views
489
Rank
603,196
PlumX Metrics