Smart Contracts in the system of civil law, copyright and enforcement law

• Applicant: Dr. Daniel Timmermann
• Subject Area: Private Law
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 500701017

The utility value of a physical object is not assigned to the owner solely by his material dominion, but only by the possibility of using the object. In the algorithmized and digitized world, objects are increasingly functionally firmly connected to a specific software; therefore they cannot fulfill their intended function without the associated software. In the analogue, non-digitized world, it is not possible for factual reasons to restrict or even completely remove the usability of an object by remote access. The increasing "smarting" of objects as well as the Internet of Things, i.e., the networking of objects, give rise to new technical possibilities of influence (e.g., in bike or car sharing business models), the legal permissibility of which has not yet been systematically and comprehensively analyzed. The primary goal of the study is a comprehensive inventory of the legal possibilities and limits of pre-coded automated legal acts for objects with digital elements. The analysis covers the law of obligations, property law, tort law, copyright law, and foreclosure law. This will reveal the extent to which so-called smart contracts have the potential to make breaches of contract technically impossible without themselves violating the law. If the study uncovers any existing weaknesses in the regulatory framework, legislative options for improving it will be presented or developed and then evaluated. In terms of legal policy, the legal dogmatic study is intended to serve as a future-oriented basis for considering changes to the admissibility of contractual arrangements under the law of obligations and copyright law in the short to medium term and for debating a new conception of the notion of property, possession and ownership in the long term. The paper continues the research discussion and aims to ensure that the law keeps pace with technical developments and/or shapes them in a forward-looking manner.

• DFG Programme: WBP Position