47-36-01. Definitions

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ND Code › Title 47 › Chapter 47-36 › Section 47-36-01

This text was captured on Aug 14, 2026. It is a snapshot, not a live feed, so check the official code before relying on it.

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47-36-01. Definitions

For purposes of this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. "Account" means an arrangement under a terms-of-service agreement in which a

custodian carries, maintains, processes, receives, or stores a digital asset of a user or

provides goods or services to the user.

2. "Agent" means an attorney in fact granted authority under a durable or nondurable

power of attorney.

3. "Carries" means engages in the transmission of an electronic communication.

4. "Catalog of electronic communications" means information that identifies each person

with which a user has had an electronic communication, the time and date of the

communication, and the electronic address of the person.

5. "Conservator or guardian" means a person appointed by a court to manage the estate

of a living individual. The term includes a limited conservator or guardian.

6. "Content of an electronic communication" means information concerning the

substance or meaning of the communication which:

a. Has been sent or received by a user;

b. Is in electronic storage by a custodian providing an electronic communication

service to the public, or is carried or maintained by a custodian providing a

remote computing service to the public; and

c. Is not readily accessible to the public.

7. "Court" means a district court with jurisdiction over matter that relates to this chapter.

8. "Custodian" means a person that carries, maintains, processes, receives, or stores a

digital asset of a user.

9. "Designated recipient" means a person chosen by a user using an online tool to

administer digital assets of the user.

10. "Digital asset" means an electronic record in which an individual has a right or interest.

The term does not include an underlying asset or liability unless the asset or liability is

itself an electronic record.

11. "Electronic" means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless,

optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities.

12. "Electronic communication" means any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images,

sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire,

radio, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system that affects interstate

or foreign commerce, but does not include:

a. Any wire or oral communication;

b. Any communication made through a tone-only paging device;

c. Any communication from an electronic or mechanical device which permits the

tracking of the movement of a person or object; and

d. Electronic funds transfer information stored by a financial institution in a

communications system used for the electronic storage and transfer of funds.

13. "Electronic communication service" means a custodian that provides to a user the

ability to send or receive an electronic communication.

14. "Fiduciary" means an original, an additional, or a successor personal representative,

conservator or guardian, agent, or trustee.

15. "Information" includes data, text, images, videos, sounds, codes, computer programs,

software, and databases.

16. "Online tool" means an electronic service provided by a custodian that allows the user,

in an agreement distinct from the terms-of-service agreement between the custodian

and user, to provide directions for disclosure or nondisclosure of digital assets to a

third person.

17. "Person" means an individual, estate, business or nonprofit entity, public corporation,

government or governmental subdivision, agency, instrumentality, or other legal entity.

18. "Personal representative" means an executor, administrator, special administrator, or

person that performs substantially the same function under the laws of this state other

than this chapter.

19. "Power of attorney" means a record that grants an agent authority to act in the place of

a principal.

20. "Principal" means an individual who grants authority to an agent in a power of attorney.

18. "Personal representative" means an executor, administrator, special administrator, or

person that performs substantially the same function under the laws of this state other

than this chapter.

19. "Power of attorney" means a record that grants an agent authority to act in the place of

a principal.

20. "Principal" means an individual who grants authority to an agent in a power of attorney.

21. "Protected person" means an individual for whom a conservator or guardian has been

appointed. The term includes an individual for whom an application for the

appointment of a conservator or guardian is pending.

22. "Record" means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in

an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.

23. "Remote computing service" means a custodian that provides to a user computer

processing services or the storage of digital assets by means of any wire, radio,

electromagnetic, photo-optical, or photoelectronic facilities for the transmission of wire

or electronic communications, and any computer facilities or related electronic

equipment for the electronic storage of such communications.

24. "Terms-of-service agreement" means an agreement that controls the relationship

between a user and a custodian.

25. "Trustee" means a fiduciary with legal title to property under an agreement or

declaration that creates a beneficial interest in another. The term includes a successor

trustee.

26. "User" means a person that has an account with a custodian.

27. "Will" includes a codicil, a testamentary instrument that only appoints an executor, and

an instrument that revokes or revises a testamentary instrument.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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47-36-01. Definitions · N.D. Cent. Code § 47-36-01 | Frix