Digital Assets and the Limits of the Czech Private Law

There is a lingering uncertainty about the applicable legal framework for digital assets. This is due to their intangible nature. As a result, digital asses may be categorized either as data, thing or a copyrighted work depending on the context. Furthermore, the category of digital assets is similarly uncertain. The subject of this book are digital assets within the Czech property law. On the one hand, the EU recently introduced a new legislature such as Data Act which opted for the data governance instead of data property. On the other hand, the UK Law Commission came up with the so called third category of thing. This book presents research focused on the understanding of the notion of digital assets, especially in comparison to the notion of data.

The book also introduces a comprehensive analysis of the Czech property law in relation to digital assets and whether digital assets may be subject to proprietary protection while discussing how the newly appearing concept of control may be used to the interpretation of the traditional property. The analysis points out several legal loopholes that make the application of the traditional property legal framework uncertain or impossible. The book also offers multiple recommendations to the legislator which address the existing legal gaps within the legal framework.