Protecting Digital Property

Introduction

Our digital and physical lives are becoming increasingly intertwined, and with that comes greater complexity. Just as you expect to have property rights in the real world, you should also expect to have property rights in the digital world. People are already aware of intangible property (the traditional counterpart to physical property, and sometimes described as choses in actions, things like debt and modern shares) but this paper is assessing digital products which stem from digital systems and are increasingly ubiquitous.

Digital property rights are broad. Most people have them but do not protect or enforce them the same way they do for example their tangible property like land, bicycles or handbags, or intangible property like the aforementioned debt or share capital.

For example, an individual or corporation’s digital property like its data is still largely ignored or entirely unprotected as a valuable legal asset often with complex property rights across multiple parties.

One of the reasons most organisations have failed to adequately protect or enforce or adequately value their digital property rights is that too often people hear digital assets and think only of blockchain, crypto and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs).

Because most individuals and corporations don’t have “crypto” they are insufficiently protective of the valuable digital property that they do have – this is the “nothing to do with me” problem. This is changing, particularly as for example data value is increasingly apparent in an AI driven economy.

While the crypto asset market is a multi-billion dollar market – it still only represents a fraction of digital property and digital property rights.

As the digital world expands and becomes more integral to everyday life, the laws governing it, and technical solutions aimed at protecting and recording digital property are also evolving.

Governments, business and consumers all need clear rights to purchase, protect, and enforce ownership of all types of digital assets in online environments. While courts around the world have begun adapting existing legal principles to safeguard these rights, significant policy gaps remain.

Enforcement of digital property rights

Courts worldwide have already adapted traditional legal tools to digital assets, including new methods of service, disclosure orders, and freezing injunctions. While enforcement remains complex due to the multi-border nature of digital networks, many jurisdictions allow seizure of digital assets and compel disclosure of passwords or private keys.

The law continues to evolve alongside technology. Some jurisdictions, like Germany, have not yet revised core property laws, while others, notably the UK, are moving toward reform. ¹

The Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025 has now been passed in the UK. ² The key effects of the law are as follows: Digital assets are now legally classed as personal property. There is now a third category of property, aside from physical assets and legal claims. A place for assets that sit in between the preexisting categories, such as NFTs and crypto. These are known as ‘Data objects’, they have been designed to capture digital assets more clearly. While there is some dispute as to whether pre-existing legal categories were adequate to safeguard digital property, the legislative signal of a drive to protect and democratise digital property value makes sense.

Clear ownership rights are fundamental to trust in digital systems. As individuals and businesses increasingly acquire digital-native and tokenized real-world assets, the legal framework must ensure secure ownership, effective transfer, and meaningful remedies for loss or misuse. The UK’s reforms are likely to influence other jurisdictions, but global coordination remains essential to avoid fragmented rules and to establish genuine, borderless trust in digital property.

Ultimately, securing ownership in a digital life requires not only technical innovation but legal systems that keep pace with it. By modernising property laws and aligning global approaches, we can build a digital environment where rights are clear, trust is strengthened, and ownership means ownership.

¹ Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025

² Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025