SHOULD A DIGITAL PRODUCT BE CONSIDERED A SERVICE?
SHOULD A DIGITAL PRODUCT BE CONSIDERED A SERVICE?

Summary/Abstract: For the purposes of the analysis of issue raised article draws much attention towards the definition of goods, services and the sale transaction. Accordingly, first part of article examines the digital products in the light of these definitions. The impossibility of the digital products to be copied, stored or felt in any way had led to conclusion that digital product is attributable to services. This conclusion is supported by the view of the European Union institutions that considers a product to be good only if its natural features, without implementation into medium, allows it to become tangible. Second part of this article examines digital product in the terms of sale transaction. I.e. the main task was to find out, whether the ownership over the digital product can be transferred. If the answer were in affirmative it could be concluded that this product is a good. It was determined that in most of cases the acquirer is not free to use, control and dispose of the product. This means, that the ownership is not transferred. However, one explicit answer is not possible. In cases when the digital products are implanted into material mediums, the conclusion must be drawn on the ground of buyers’ expectations (which rights are important to him) and on the rights actually passed to the acquirer. If the buyers’ main intent is to use, for example, a computer program, without references to possibility of reproducing it, this transaction has to be considered as sale of services. If, in contrast, the purpose of the buyer is to copy the acquired product – it should be considered as the sale of goods, because seller has to give up all his copyrights and to retain no possibility of the future control of this product.

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