Product Code Database
A database right is a sui generis property right, comparable to but distinct from copyright, that exists to recognise the investment that is made in compiling a database, even when this does not involve the "creative work" aspect that is reflected by copyright. United Kingdom implementation of the EU directive. Section . Such rights are often referred to in the plural: database rights.
The TRIPS Agreement requires that copyright protection extends to databases and other compilations if they constitute intellectual creation by virtue of the selection or arrangement of their contents, even if some or all of the contents do not themselves constitute materials protected by copyright.Article 10.5, TRIPS Agreement. See WTO Overview of TRIPS Agreement Many countries act in accordance with this requirement, as databases are protected by copyright if this condition is met, and there is no separate intellectual property right protecting databases (or any aspects of them) that do not meet the conditions for copyright protection. The database right extends protection over databases which does not depend on the condition required for copyright protection, and is recognised only in a small number of jurisdictions, most notably the European Union.
Database rights last for 15 years. Each time a database is substantially modified, however, a new set of rights are created for that database. An owner has the right to object to the copying of substantial parts of their database, even if data is extracted and reconstructed piecemeal. Database rights under the EU are created automatically, vested in the employers of creators (when the action of creation was part of employment), and do not have to be registered to have effect.
Database rights are independent of copyright: The arrangement, selection, and presentation of the data may be protected by copyright, while the database as a whole can be protected by database right. Directive 96/9/EC, Article 7, paragraph 4
The regulations extend existing copyright law to databases, to the extent that they constitute "the author's own intellectual creation".
In addition, regulations 13 and 14 create a database right. Database rights automatically subsist if there has been a "substantial investment in obtaining, verifying or presenting the contents" of the database.
Such rights remain in force under regulation 17(2) until the end of the 15th calendar year from the date on which the database was first made available to the public. During that period, database right will be infringed by any person who, without consent, "extracts or re-uses all or a substantial part of the contents of the database", whether all at once or by repeated extractions of "insubstantial" parts.
On the other hand, any lawful user of the database has a right under regulation 19(1) "to extract or re-use insubstantial parts of the data for any purpose", and that right cannot be restricted by the database owner (regulation 19(2)). The term "substantial" is defined to mean "substantial in terms of quantity or quality or a combination of both".
Under the Brexit withdrawal agreement, database rights that existed before 1 January 2021 retain reciprocal recognition between the UK and EEA for their original duration, while those created on or after that date are only protected within the creator's jurisdiction - either the EEA or the UK.
Russia generally follows the EU model, there are some differences.
|
|
