The dissertation is the first special comprehensive study of theoretical and practical problems of the right to private property in the information society, conducted in the national science of civil law.
The dissertation investigates the peculiarities of the formation of the concept of the right to private property and its philosophical principles as well as concepts and features of the right to private property at the present stage of development of society. The influence of the information society on the transformation of private property relations is analyzed.
It is concluded that the modern definition of property, formed in an industrial society, requires revision in terms of the information society, where the definition of property through the category of "appropriation of material things" does not correspond to reality. It is proposed to modify the classical approach to the definition of "property" and consider property as a state of ownership of assets that have a certain economic / exchange value (commercial value). Given the multifaceted nature of property rights, it is proposed to simplify its legal definition and to define the right of ownership as the most complete domination over the thing (property), provided that it does not contradict the law and the rights of third parties.
The subjects of the right to private property in the information society are characterized, their features at the present stage of development of society are determined. In particular, the possibility of recognizing virtual legal entities and artificial intelligence (robots) as subjects of the right to private property is considered.
The influence of information technologies on the emergence of the newest objects of civil relations, in particular, cryptocurrencies, domain names, the Internet of things, industrial data, accounts in social media, was revealed. Analysis of the latest objects of civil legal relations through the prism of the concept of property rights has led to the conclusion that at the present stage of development of society distinguishing of the concepts of information and data, which are correlated as general and specific, is necessary.
The features of the grounds for the emergence of property rights in the information society are revealed, in particular, smart contracts are analyzed as the basis for the emergence of property rights and user agreements are considered as a potential basis for the emergence of virtual property.
The features of the content, enjoyment and protection of property rights in the information society have been investigated. Special attention is paid to the peculiarities of the protection of private property rights in the practice of the European Court of Human Rights.
The specificity of the fiduciary ownership as a special type of ownership is revealed. The assessment of the prospects of introducing the concept of virtual property as a special type of ownership into the civil law doctrine is carried out. A concept of virtual property right, which is proposed to be defined as a specific type of ownership, the object of which is digital assets (digital data / digital quasi-things, digital / virtual property), has been developed.
Scientific conclusions and suggestions on improvement of legal regulation of private property relations in the information society are formulated.
