Protection of industrial data – a new property right for the digital economy?
Andreas Wiebe · Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice · 2016
Generating and trading industrial data has become as important for the digital economy as oil has been for the “real” economy. While contractual practice already treats data like property, a legal analysis shows that no legal scheme yet provides generally for exclusive rights in data. Proposals for drafting an exclusive right in industrial data are presented and pros and cons discussed. Fundamental problems that can be identified suggest that the case for a new exclusive right has not been made, yet.