Når foreligger det ett kjøp av EDB programvarer? En analyse av EDB transaksjonens klassifikasjon

Abstract

A key component of the digital economy is the utilization of computer programs. Either it is from the computer itself where there are lines of code upon the hardware that makes up the computer, to the consumer buying and playing a video game, or to the business needing a way to categorize its customer information. It all acts in reliance of a computer program. Said transaction may follow with a licence agreement, where certain acts are to be prohibited or in the most extreme examples follow with a formulation of “not sold but licensed”, however the transaction often resembles a purchase agreement in the sense of the buyer getting the program at his or her disposal along with purchase terminology being used between the parties. This legal uncertainty can beg the question about how said transaction should be charactered? Is there a purchase of the software? And if so, how does this fit with the license agreement? These simple questions become further complicated by the different actors in play: the consumer who purchases an E-book, to the business transaction; along with elements such as internationality, the underlying copyright, and the wide degrees of things software can be and the ways it can be transferred. The main goal of this assignment is to uncover which legal arguments the legal practioner can utilize to assess when a contract regarding software is a purchase agreement. This paper is from the perspective of the Danish legal system and treaties Denmark are bound by. Foreign elements will be explored where it is necessary due to a particular method, or when it serves as an inspiration for a particular solution. This thesis is not about service contracts but will explore them to highlight distinction to the purchase contract, nor will the thesis be looking into the general data protection act (GDPR), patents and trademark questions, or look at matters that pertain to the jurisdiction question. The paper concludes that a variety of arguments may be of relevance when analysing the software transaction but in general, arguments of price and if there is a unlimited usage right will be arguments that carry weight, however this must be viewed in light of the underlying copyright, the type of goods, and if the transaction is covered by the legal acts that protect the consumer rights among other things. The paper also concludes that software contracts can be sales under the CISG with exception to programs stored on the cloud.

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A master thesis from Aalborg University

Når foreligger det ett kjøp av EDB programvarer? En analyse av EDB transaksjonens klassifikasjon

[When is there a purchase of software? An analysis of the classification of the software transaction]