7. What is a ‘connected product’?

Connected products are items that can generate, obtain, or collect data about their use, performance, or environment and that can communicate this data via a cable-based or wireless connection. This includes communication of data outside the product on an ad hoc basis (e.g. during maintenance operations). Connected products can be found in all areas of the economy and society. They include smart home appliances, consumer electronics, industrial machinery, medical devices, smartphones, and TVs (cf. Recital 14). Products which primarily fulfil the function of storing, processing, or transmitting data (e.g. servers and routers) are outside the scope of the mandatory data-sharing obligations under Chapter II of the Data Act, unless they are owned, rented, or leased by the user. Similarly, the fact that a connected product (e.g. a wagon, airplane, or vehicle) must use certain infrastructure (e.g. railways, airports, or highways) to function does not entitle the user of that connected product to access data generated by, for instance, sensors that are part of that infrastructure. Access would only be granted if the user has received ownership or contractual rights over the sensors embedded in the infrastructure. As an example, if a vehicle receives data from smart infrastructure (e.g. roadside sensors, traffic lights) or records data on road conditions (e.g. fog, ice) and the vehicle data holder has access to the data, then it must be made available to the vehicle user in accordance with the Data Act. The mere fact that a vehicle user is driving on the road does not make them a “user” of the road infrastructure and sensors. Rather, the Data Act ensures user access to data that the vehicle itself receives and processes, not the entire dataset managed by the infrastructure operator. Finally, the Data Act specifies that prototypes are out of scope, as their manufacturing stage has not been completed.