The overall aim of the project is to take a holistic approach to how property rights and property protection have changed in Swedish law since the mid-1980s. The effects of the transnationalization of law and the development of biotechnology and information technology will be highlighted in particular. A first step in the project is to map these changes. The lines of development identified by the survey will then be analyzed on the basis of a number of influential theories of how property rights arise and why they should be protected. These theories are essentially normative but in the context of this project the theories will be used diagnostically to explore the legal developments.

The project's central research questions are: How have property rights and property protection changed in Sweden since the mid-1980s? How does this legal development relate to influential theories on how property rights arise and why they should be protected?

The project will be structured around three concrete and topical questions: 1) whether property rights include the future return of property, 2) the meaning and scope of Sami land rights, and 3) the ownership of personal data collected by applications such as apple watch and facebook. Each of these issues will be highlighted historically, discussed in relation to the development of technology and transnational law, and provide an entry point for the legal philosophical analysis of property rights and their protection.