Features of Civil Law Regulation of Relations in the Use of Cloud Technologies: Analysis of the Composition of Participants and Contractual Structures

Abstract

In recent years, cloud technologies have become an integral part of everyday life. These technologies offer a wide range of opportunities for users, reducing both time and financial costs. At the same time, cloud technologies contribute to the development of the sharing economy, which necessitates an understanding of their legal regulation. This article is dedicated to analyzing the civil law aspects of the use of cloud technologies, including the legal status of key participants such as cloud providers, users, and intellectual property rights holders. The focus is on various contractual structures mediating these relations: service contracts, licensing agreements, and mixed contracts. The main types of interactions between participants in these legal relationships are identified. Cloud providers offer access to resources hosted on their servers, allowing users to work remotely with data and software products. Users of cloud technologies, in turn, use the services provided by the providers for processing and storing information. Intellectual property rights holders, such as software developers or content creators, enter into licensing agreements with cloud providers (and, in some cases, with users), who provide their services to end users. Special attention is given to the legal status of cloud technology providers.