Big Data and the Law: a holistic analysis based on a three-step approach - Mapping property-like rights, their exceptions and licensing practices

Given Big Data's increasing importance, it seems im-portant to develop a clear and coherent body of law and to organize the different relationships among all stakeholders and legal regimes that grant different property-like rights. There are already numerous stud-ies on the interactions between Big Data and intellec-tual property and/or privacy, but less that map all legal regimes, including the question of licensing and overlaps between legal regimes. In a first part specifi-cally addressed to data producers or data users active in Big Data (collectively referred to as “organizations”), this article suggests a holistic approach, where we map all legal regimes from a comparative law perspective and suggest a three-step approach, according to which each organization needs to assess whether a given data is subject to a property right; if yes, whether that rele-vant data may be used thanks to exceptions or other flexibilities notwithstanding the property right and, if not, how to license them (below II). In a second part specifically addressed to policymakers, this article ex-plores selected policy considerations, including the question of overlaps between legal regimes, the creation of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to ensure that all data processes function seamlessly, and the promotion of co-regulation in developing digital stand-ards at an age of de-regulation to increase democratic control and the participation of all stakeholders (below III)