數位遺產相關法規與案例之探討

A Discussion of Related Law and Cases in Digital Property After Death

所謂的數位資產乃指並未附著於任何形體之上的無體財產，舉例如當網站所有人上傳歌曲、影片和其他資料到網站時，皆構成數位資產的內容；如何達到受託人管理數位財產的合理化與妥善利用法規規範，形成本文研究動機。本文首先闡述數位財產與數位財產的內涵，應如何進行管理，尤其在帳戶所有人去世之後的內涵與權益管理，形成疑義，社群網站亦限制繼承人閱覽死者數位遺產的權限，雖然網站做法是為了保障帳戶使用人的資訊隱私，如此嚴苛的規範看似不近人情，然而在資訊揭露與隱私保護的取捨之間，如何界定合理標準，值得探討。 Intangible personal property lacks physical existence. Intangible personal property includes financial accounts, stocks, options, intellectual property rights, and so-called digital property. Individuals' digital property is the content they upload onto these Web sites. How laws prevent fiduciaries from managing digital property unreasonably, will be the main issue of this paper. The paper begins by defining digital property and discussing why it must be managed. How should this property be managed during the account holders' lives? This article looks to the future and makes recommendations which will be useful for social network service providers and legislators with respect to the digital remains of deceased users.