Legal Issues in the Digital Age

Outlooks and Issues of Private Law Transformation under Influence of Behavioural Economics and Data Science

2024-04-04T22:19:36+03:00

Corporations are now increasingly embracing the advances of Data Science and behavioural economics. It will undoubtedly have far-reaching implications for many areas of legal regulation . In author’s opinion, private law institutions aimed at regulating relations between business and customers will be the first to deal with transformation. The paper outlines the main questions and issues that lawyers will face in the next five to ten years as the ideas of behavioural economy and Data Science spread to private law, and offers some thoughts addressing these issues. In the beginning the author briefly reviews the progress of behavioural economy and how its achievements help to attain the aims of legal regulation. In particular, the author surveys private law tools such as discretionary rules and information disclosure for “pushing” individuals to a more rational behaviour. The author then analyses how the current level of Big Data collection, processing and use can affect the discretionary rules and information disclosure in corporate contracts with consumers, including the possibility of private law institution “personalisation” with account of the individual features of the parties to the transactions. Further on, the asks and attempts to answer the key question of the article: What regulatory environment should be in place to enable behaviourally informed personalisation of private law institutions using Big Data? In responding to this question, the author analyses three related problems arising at the intersection of law, Data Science, psychology, and economics: How to ensure freedom of choice and autonomy of will of individuals while using information and behavioural innovations? How much information should legal actors be able to receive in order to make the best decision? How to find a balance between private law “personalisation” and personal data protection? In conclusion, the author summarises the results of the study and concludes that to date there are no universal rules and algorithms for private law personalisation, and the introduction of Data Science and behavioural economics into law is still taking place in individual legal relations on case-by-case basis.

Acceptance of Goods and Services under the Contractual System: Regulation and Digitization Issues

2024-04-04T22:21:24+03:00

It is relatively recently that the way goods and services (GS) are accepted in the contractual system has become a focal point of research. It was prompted by the changes to the contractual system law introduced mandatory e-certification since 1 January 2022. However, while the process of e-certification as enshrined now in the law on contractual relationships was in the limelight, the concept of e-acceptance, definitions of actual and documentary acceptance and other issues were largely left out. A study of how acceptance is regulated under the national law shows a lack of systemic approach to the e-certification procedure in the law on contractual relationships, a need to put in place an acceptance procedure and to ensure public and municipal customers’ satisfaction with the quality of goods and services they purchase. The paper provides an overview of research on specific aspects of GS acceptance in the contractual system and identifies its place in the process of contractual performance. It is proposed to have a special terminology in the effective contractual relationships law for defining GS acceptance based on its purpose and identifying structural elements. A new approach to contract execution regulating actual and documentary acceptance as part of e-certification needs to be adopted. With regard to digital solutions required for e-certification, technological aspects are discussed with a view to possible regulation. It is equally proposed to formalize e-certification in the contractual system as a possible model for applying the block chain technology for the public (municipal) procurement system. An analysis of digital processes that support e-certification in the contractual system suggests a need to provide a link between technological and legal aspects of e-certification. The author also proposes a number of block chain related issues to be discussed with relation to the e-certification system.

Artificial Intelligence in the French Law of 2024

2024-04-04T22:21:20+03:00

The use of artificial intelligence in France is growing and intensifying in many areas, particularly in the field of justice. French President Macron has made it one of his government’s priorities to build on these assets and make France a world leader in AI. In parallel, the French government has deployed some efforts towards anticipating the regulatory challenges related to AI, the “National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence” launched as part of «France 2030» . As an illustration of the developments in artificial intelligence and its specific regulation, the French parliament passed a law to ensure the proper conduct of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games (Law N° 2023-380 of 19.05.2023). The law permits the use of the experimental “augmented video-protection” technology, which uses cameras equipped with AI systems to detect and report specific events in real time. French regulations begin already now in the area of justice and must continue in the fields of AI liability and intellectual property. AI is a source of fears, particularly for the respect of human rights, and requires a very elaborate legal and ethical environment that is flexible enough to avoid slowing down the development of AI. The AI Liability EU Directive complements the Artificial Intelligence Act by introducing a new liability regime that ensures legal certainty, enhances consumer trust in AI, and assists consumers’ liability claims for damage caused by AI-enabled products and services. But the new European AI Act does not resolve all issues that therefore need to be addressed nationally.

Copyright Protection for Characters in Transmedia Environment

2024-04-04T22:21:18+03:00

The proposed article provides an analysis of the legal regime for characters as impacted by the current content creation and dissemination trends with a focus on characters placed in transmedia environment and on the impact of transmedia storytelling on creative work. The author argues current global changes in creative work and different media make it relevant to return to discussions of the main premises of copyright regime for characters. In particular, the author explores a possibility to recognize independent exclusive rights to characters appear in different works of art as well as to those not described in any one of them, and looks into legal importance of characters not described in traditional works of art and literature. The paper raises the issue of exclusive right to characters in complex objects such as audiovisuals or computer games, as well as of the authorship and exclusive ownership of team-created and transmedia characters. The cases of joint authorship of (script) writers and artists as well as implications of creating images of characters existing in literary form as commissioned or allowed by the copyright holder are discussed. The legally important components of characters are explored as well as copyright transferability in the context of media production needs. The paper argues for a need to avoid mixing characters with other copyright objects, first of all works of visual arts including cartoon character sketches.

Key Issues in the Intellectual Property Court’s Presidium Rulings

2024-04-04T22:21:12+03:00

The comment reviews key positions in the rulings of the Presidium of the Russian Intellectual Property Court (IPC) issued between July and September of 2023. The Chamber hears cassation appeals against the decisions of the IPC first instance and deals primarily, but not only, with matters of registration and validity of industrial property rights. Therefore, the review predominantly covers substantive requirements for patent and trademark protection, as well as procedural issues both in the administrative adjudicating mechanism at the Patent office (Rospatent) and at the IPC itself. The current review encompasses a variety of topics related to trademark law, patent law and various procedural matters.

The Russian Legal Researches on Metaverses: a Scholar Review

2024-04-04T22:21:10+03:00

Over the past few years, the subject of metaverses has become an object of research of scientists from various fields of knowledge. Most specialists believe that in the next 7–10 years the direction of metaverses will be integrated into many spheres of society. The issue does not remain without attention of the state. Today we observe the first stages of formation of the international «metaverses race» in order to strengthen the leading positions of countries in terms of digital transformation of the economy and ensuring their own digital sovereignty. Russia will soon become a participant in the race mentioned. The development of metaverses will inevitably lead to the transformation of many legal institutions. Therefore today Russian scholars are beginning to explore questions about the symbiosis of law and metaverses. Since the interest to the regulation of the metaverses sphere will increase, it seems right to conduct a comprehensive study of the works of Russian explorers devoted to the transformation of legal relations in the conditions of emerging metaverses. The aim of the research presented: to systematize the Russian legal literature on the subject, to identify the most relevant aspects of regulation in the field, to form a general research trend in the development of law in metaverses, as well as to discover the first research conflicts. The selection of academic papers was based on two interrelated methods: substantive and personal. The use of the first method helped to identify only those studies that are devoted exclusively to the subject. On this basis, the review did not include those acadeniic works that only indirectly address the issue of metaverses. Thanks to the second method, it was possible to exclude studies by scholars from related sciences and student papers too. In this regard, attention is paid mainly to the studies of authors who have a scholar degree and/or extensive practical experience. In addition, the methodology is formed by general methods of study: analysis, synthesis, generalization and others. As a result of the work carried out, its purpose has been fully achieved and the most important key aspects are reflected using graphic illustrations.

Regulating Artificial Intelligence: A Study in the Comparison between South Asia and Other Countries

2024-04-04T22:21:06+03:00

Any regulation, law, or legal order enforced by the lawful authority of a territory to maintain, control, and regulate the characteristics, development, and public interaction of an artificial entity developed in a digital manner can be called AI legislation. The paper presents a comparative analysis of the regulatory landscape for artificial intelligence in the South Asian countries in relation to other selective countries and organizations globally, in light of the challenges encountered in regulating AI in the region. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that South Asian nations have experienced a significant and persistent legal disparity in comparison to other global regions, which has been both involuntary and inequitable. The paper presents an argument for the regulation of artificial intelligence and offers suggestions for South Asian countries to effectively regulate AI despite challenges related to its design and economic limitations.