THE LEGAL QUALIFICATION OF HYBRID DIGITAL-PHYSICAL INTERNATIONAL SALES CONTRACTS UNDER THE LEX FORI

This article explores the profound challenges that the Internet of Things (IoT) and "smart" products pose to the traditional taxonomies of private international law. As commercial transactions increasingly involve hybrid bundles of tangible hardware, embedded software, and continuous digital services, the threshold step of legal "characterization" or "qualification" has become highly complex. Operating primarily under the doctrine of the lex fori , courts apply domestic legal definitions to categorize these atypical contracts as either sales of goods or provisions of services. This study analyzes how the lex fori approach inevitably leads to conflicts of characterization across different jurisdictions, resulting in "limping" legal relationships. By examining comparative frameworks—such as the Predominant Purpose Test in the U.S., the "Goods with Digital Elements" paradigm in the EU, and the international regime of the CISG—this research highlights the urgent need to modernize domestic legal categories to prevent jurisprudential fragmentation and safeguard predictability in global digital trade.