Legal Study on Ownership and Access to Data

Citation
European Commission, Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, Legal Study on Ownership and Access to Data (Nov. 28, 2016) (full-text).

Overview
This is a study on the existing legal instruments and landscape affecting commercial operator's access to and rights over data. It considers the current EU regime which affects access to and ownership of data. It discusses which are the most significant laws in this respect, and includes a detailed discussion of the trade secrets directive, relevant intellectual property laws and sector-specific laws which govern access to data.

It also considers the national law regimes defining rights to data in England & Wales, France, Germany and Spain, including analysis of relevant case law. The study addresses the role of competition law with respect to access and usage of data. A survey of selected practitioners across the EU was done to establish what issues they are being asked to deal with in relation to data and how they are managing these. Contractual clauses which are being used to manage rights attached to data are analysed and the question of whether contractual provisions provide an efficient legal framework for managing rights attached to data is reviewed.