Commentary on Sections Part 1: Consumer Contracts for Goods, Digital Content and Services What statutory rights are there under a digital content contract? Section 41: Trader’s right to supply digital content
199.This section clarifies that a trader must have the right to supply the digital content to the consumer. Often where a consumer buys digital content from a trader there will be other traders who have rights over the digital content, particularly intellectual property rights.
200.This section is slightly different to the equivalent section for goods (section 17) to reflect the fact that (unless the contract states otherwise) the trader does not usually pass on (or sell) all property rights of the digital content (e.g. the ownership of any intellectual property rights to the digital content) to the consumer. More usually, the trader passes on a limited right to use the digital content in certain defined circumstances. The ownership of any rights to the digital content usually stays with the rights holder (usually the originator of the digital content).
201.If the trader does not have the right to supply the digital content at all, the consumer will be entitled to a refund (see section 45).