The legal nature of contracts for the supply of digital content or services

Abstract

Contracts for the supply of digital content or services are primarily regulated by Directive 2019/770, which was implemented into the Polish legal order within the framework of the Consumer Rights Act. The Polish legislator has not opted to define the legal nature of such contracts. For the civil legal qualification, relevant is the content of the characteristic obligations arising from a given contractual relationship. The performance characteristic for contracts for digital products is their "supply". The supply of digital contents consists of making available or accessible. Making available leads to gaining permanent control over a specific digital content, while making accessible only provides the user with a time-limited capability for use. Providing digital services, on the other hand, involves making those services accessible. With regard to the criteria of duration of performance, the supply of digital products can occur in the form of one-time, successive or continuous performance. Due to the broad concept of digital content and the various ways of providing it, contracts for the supply of digital content should be known as a peculiar legal category encompassing many different contracts concluded and performed electronically. Digital service contracts, on the other hand, should be classified as service contracts to which the provisions on the provision of electronic services apply.