Database Rights

Database rights are a form of exclusive right. Database rights were introduced in 1997 by European Union Law to countries which follow European Union Law.

European Union decided that in order to provide greater protection to collections of information they should have a unified legal protection for databases. To do this they created a sui generis right called database right.

Databases or Database rights are covered by copyright law to some degree in many countries, as being a work that shows originality in its selection, linking, placing in due order and arrangement. The lawmakers of the European Union decided that in order to provide greater protection to collections of information they should have a unified legal protection for databases. To do this they created a sui generis right called database right. It was created by Council Directive No. 96/9/EC of 11 March 1996 (Official Journal of the European Communities No. L77, 27.3.96, page 20) on the legal protection of databases.

Database rights lasts for 15 years under this regime, but can be extended if the database is updated. As in copyright, the policy disallows copying of substantial parts of a database (including frequent extraction).

In many other respects database right is similar to copyright: it is created automatically, vests in employers, does not have to be registered.

In the UK it was introduced as "The Copyright and Rights in Databases Regulations 1997" (SI. 3032 of 1997) and came into force on January 1, 1998.

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The Legal Protection of Databases (Cambridge Studies in Intellectual Property Rights) (Hardcover)
by Mark J. Davison, William R. Cornish (Series Editor), Fran‡ois Dessemontet (Series Editor), Paul Goldstein (Series Editor), Robin Jacob (Series Editor)
'This text contains a wealth of information, is well written and uses a solid structure to analyse complex ideas and legislation in a way that is easy to follow ... it will be an invaluable resource for those readers seeking an overview of developments in the protection of databases at a national and international level as well as for readers wanting an analysis on how such developments have been implemented.' Copyright Reporter
Mark Davison examines several legal models designed to protect databases, and specifically, the E.U. Directive--the history of its adoption and its transposition into national laws. Davison compares the Directive with various American legislative proposals, as well as the principles of misappropriation that are behind them. In addition, the book contains a commentary on the appropriateness of the various models in the context of arguments for international agreement on the topic.