In 2023, the European Commission (EC) introduced the Data Act, effective since September 2025, to improve the access users of connected products and related services and third parties enjoy to the data generated by such devices. This move turns data into an access-regulated product not dissimilar to power grids and certain essential patents. The EC expects the implementation of the Data Act to create additional GDP in the vicinity of 270 billion euro by 2028. In this article “Compensation Disputes Under the Data Act: How to Prepare for Terra Incognita,” Director Dominik Hübler and Economic Analyst Lucas Skrabal review different approaches for determining compensation under the Data Act.

The Data Act challenges data holders to determine fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory access terms for data they are being asked to make available. In the absence of guidance from the European Commission, data holders and access seekers looking to evaluate the economic viability of a data request can rely on methods developed elsewhere to create terms that will eventually stand up in court. Doing so is not trivial, but the bulk of experience available from other regulated sectors provides parties with tried and tested guidance on how to determine transparent access charges that can be tailored to the specific use cases under the Data Act.