Smart Regulation
Knowledge Risks in Industry 4.0 Supply Chains: A Legal and Technical Perspective in cooperation with Prof. Dr. Johannes Zollner (https://unternehmensrecht.uni-graz.at/de/) and supported by the profile-building area Smart Regulation (for more details see: smart-regulation.uni-graz.at)
The cross-organizational exchange of data within the framework of digitization not only offers many advantages but also involves new risks. In particular, the risk of unintentional disclosure of competition-critical knowledge within the framework of data exchange has to be emphasized. The disclosed knowledge could be used by partners in the supply chain for their own benefit. However, since the knowledge advantage is a - if not the - decisive competitive advantage for many companies, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), this risk must be assessed as substantial. Together with the Institute of Corporate and International Commercial Law, the protection of knowledge in cross-organizational supply chains is investigated. The following questions are considered from both a legal and a technical perspective: Which legal measures and instruments are available to minimize the risk of improper data use? To what extent can existing technical measures be applied or adapted for these data-driven collaborations? And to what extent is an interaction of legal and technical measures possible and useful?
The project has a duration of 4 years and started on 01.06.2019.
Project team members: