This chapter discusses database protection and database right under European Parliament and Council Directive on the protection of databases [1996] OJ L 77/20.1, better known as the Database Directive. Long before the advent of digital technology various forms of databases were around in analogue format, such as telephone directories. Digital technology opened up opportunities of scale in this area and made data easy to search. But at the same time it impeded the mere consultation or reading of the data, that are now hidden in a digital format. The real value of a database lies in the comprehensive nature of the information it contains, rather than in the originality of the information itself. Thus, granting an exclusive right in a collection of data or information, without any requirement of originality in relation to the data or information, not only risks interfering with the right of access to information, but also risks interfering with the freedom of competition, since the only workable access to information and data that are themselves in the public domain and freely available will now pass via the rights holder and its database. The database right has the difficult task of striking the right balance between the various interests involved, and the Directive has been accused of putting in place the least balanced and most anti-competitive exclusive right in the EU.
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This chapter deals with copyright in computer programs and databases for which the EU Software and Database Directives set special rules, which are implemented in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA). In addition, it deals with database right, also created by the Directive, which is implemented by the Copyright and Rights in Databases Regulations 1997. There are particular defences to copyright infringement in relation to computer programs that allow decompilation and the development of compatible software. Database right is intended to protect the investment in gathering the data into a database; it does not protect data that is created by the database owner. Database right protects against the extraction or re-utilization of the contents of the database for a period of 15 years.
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This chapter examines database right, a sui generis form of intellectual property protection, the roots of which are to be found in copyright law. It first compares copyright and database rights before turning to cases in which the UK’s Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 was applied to listings of information in the form of a simple database. The chapter then considers the European Union’s Database Directive and analyses the Fixtures Marketing, British Horseracing Board Ltd v William Hill, and Football Dataco v Yahoo! cases. Finally, it looks at databases, along with the intellectual property issues that they generate, within the framework of the information society.
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Databases form a vitally important part of the information society. The traditional approach in the United Kingdom has been to protect their contents as compilations under the law of copyright. This contrasts with the approach adopted in civil law states which have historically required a more significant qualitative element as a condition for the award of copyright than has been the case in the United Kingdom. Databases would not meet this requirement – although many states would offer protection under unfair competition laws. The European Union’s database directive strikes something of a compromise between the two approaches. The chapter will consider the extent of the sui generis database right and consider its practical application in the, albeit limited, number of cases in which it has been considered by the courts.
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This chapter first explains the nature of different books, journals, and articles encountered in the study of criminology. It introduces textbooks, edited collections, books of key readings, monographs, and dictionaries, together with journals as a key source of latest developments, research findings, criticism, and commentary. It moves on to consider how to find books and articles specified on a reading list. It then considers more generally how to find materials on a particular topic by developing a search strategy and using databases to locate relevant literature.
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Systems of intellectual property law date back many centuries and play a very important role in the information technology field. The main forms of intellectual property law are patents, copyright and trade marks. All play important roles and are considered in this section of the book. Patents and copyright have been applied in an IT context from the early days of the computer whilst trade marks have come to assume more significance with the commercialization of the Internet and its use by major manufacturers who typically own many trade marks developed for use in the course of their activities in the physical environment. As with many areas, the connection between the real and virtual words is not exact. The application of the law of copyright to software has seldom been in doubt. It is clear that the unauthorized copying of all of a work is unlawful. What is not clear is the extent of the protection. The famous scientist Isaac Newton is quoted as saying “If I have seen further, it is because I stood on the shoulders of giants”. Most later works build to some extent on their predecessors and there is a difficult dividing line between fair and unfair use of such works. Somewhat different issues apply in relation to patents – a branch of the law which offers the strongest protection but does require that works be innovative and produce a technical effect – that they should do something. This can be difficult to assess in respect of very fast-moving technologies.
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This chapter discusses the skills needed to carry out legal research. It covers understanding the importance of legal research; establishing an overall strategy in undertaking legal research; using primary sources; doing library-based research; analysing the problem; reviewing the subject matter; searching primary and secondary sources; updating the search; using online databases; and reporting the results of research.
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This chapter considers two rights similar to copyright in many ways, in terms of both subject matter and the substantive contents of the rights: (1) the special or sui generis database right, which operates alongside the copyright in databases; and (2) performers’ rights. Both rights have been relatively recently introduced into the armoury of intellectual property law. The chapter gives an account of each of these rights, comparing them with copyright but also underlining the differences between the regimes, and the reasons behind these differences. The chapter considers relevant the relevant international and EU frameworks and also highlights the nature and importance of these rights.
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This chapter discusses five issues: the availability of patent protection for computer hardware and for computer software (computer programs); copyright in computer software; databases and the sui generis right; the Internet; and semiconductor chip protection.
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This chapter examines intellectual property rights (IPRs) in relation to the information society. The discussion begins with an overview of IPRs involving copyright, patents, trademarks, and the database right, and then considers IPRs and the process of digitization within the framework of cyberlaw. It mentions the criticism received for overprotecting content or systems in the information society and discusses the idea of an over-reliance on models developed for a previous age and for different challenges in dealing with the information economy and society. It concludes by highlighting the tension between the information society and the intellectual property industry in terms of what each wants and expects: liberty, free use of content, and unfettered free expression for the former; and protection, control over use, and abuse and reward for the latter.
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4. Copyright III
Infringement, Exceptions, and Database Right
All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing able students with a stand-alone resource. This chapter discusses the circumstances in which an owner’s economic rights may be infringed; the exceptions and limitations to copyright infringement; changes to the exceptions regime recently introduced into UK copyright law and how technological protection measures interrelate with copyright exceptions; and database right.
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This chapter addresses related rights. These are related to, but fall outside, the protection afforded by copyright law. They include performer's rights; the sui generis database right; rights relating to technological protection measures and rights management information; and the artist's resale right. Each one of these rights is specific in terms of rightholders or the subject matter concerned. The chapter then considers a related right for press publishers that is currently in the agenda of the EU Commission. Following a public consultation on the Role of Publishers in the Copyright Value Chain and on the ‘Panorama Exception’ (23 March 2016), the Commission published on September 14, 2016 a proposal for a Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market, which suggests granting press publishers the exclusive rights of reproduction and making their press publications available for digital use.
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L. Bently, B. Sherman, D. Gangjee, and P. Johnson
This chapter deals with regimes that are related to, but fall outside of, the remit of copyright law: performers’ rights; database right; public lending right; rights relating to technological protection measures and rights management information; the so-called droit de suite (artist’s resale royalty right); and proposals for a new press publishers right.
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L. Bently, B. Sherman, D. Gangjee, and P. Johnson
This chapter is concerned with the subject matter, or types of creation, protected by copyright law as stipulated by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Eight categories of work are examined: literary works, dramatic works, musical works, artistic works, films, sound recordings, broadcasts, and published editions (or typographical works). The chapter considers the definitions of these categories of work in the case law and through the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice. It also discusses three important issues. First, that legal categories do not necessarily correspond to the objects usually associated with copyright law. Second, that all types of subject matter that are protected by copyright are referred to as ‘works’. The third issue, and the most problematic, is whether the list of works must be treated as an exhaustive list.
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All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing able students with a stand-alone resource. This chapter discusses the circumstances in which an owner’s economic rights may be infringed and the exceptions and limitations to copyright infringement, including fair dealing for research and private study, reporting current events, criticism or review, and quotation. The chapter explores recent cases relevant to these exceptions and how the UK’s departure from the EU may affect judicial interpretation and how technological protection measures interrelate with copyright exceptions. It also examines the sui generis database right.
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L. Bently, B. Sherman, D. Gangjee, and P. Johnson
This chapter deals with regimes that are related to, but fall outside of, the remit of copyright law: performers’ rights in their performances (recognized internationally and often designated as a ‘neighbouring right’ or, in the EU, a ‘related right’); database right, sometimes referred to as the sui generis database right; public lending right (that is, an author’s right to claim remuneration from a public fund, the remuneration being calculated by reference to the frequency with which a given author’s book is loaned by public libraries); rights relating to technological protection measures (‘TPMs’); rights management information (which, along with TPMs, are sometimes designated ‘para-copyright’); and the so-called droit de suite (artist’s resale royalty right, that is, the right to claim a proportion of the sale price when an artwork is publicly resold). The chapter discusses each regime in turn, considering relevant factors such as the subsistence, types of rights available, duration, infringement, exceptions, defences, and remedies.
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L. Bently, B. Sherman, D. Gangjee, and P. Johnson
This chapter is concerned with the subject matter, or types of creation, protected by copyright law as stipulated by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Eight categories of work are examined: literary works, dramatic works, musical works, artistic works, films, sound recordings, broadcasts, and published editions (or typographical works). The chapter considers the definitions of these categories of work in the case law and through the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice. It discusses whether the list of works must be treated as an exhaustive list.
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Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. It discusses European Convention law and relates it to domestic law under the HRA. Questions, discussion points and thinking points help readers to engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress and knowledge can be tested by self-test questions and exam questions at the chapter end. This chapter focuses on the authority of the police in the United Kingdom and on issues which are affected by human rights law under the HRA. Police powers are exercised with the authority of both common law and statute – the latter (e.g. the Police and Public Evidence Act 1984) must be interpreted for compatibility with Convention rights so far as section 3 HRA allow. The police are considered a ‘core’ public authority, and policing is self-evidently a public function. The following sections also discuss the extensive powers of the police in relation to, in particular, Article 5, regarding arrest and detention, and Article 8, regarding searches and seizure. English and Welsh courts adjudicating on these powers have generally found them to be compatible with Convention rights at the general level. Some important cases, such as over the retention, storage and use of personal data, have led to disagreements with Strasbourg and consequential changes to the law.
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Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. It discusses European Convention law and relates it to domestic law under the HRA. Questions, discussion points, and thinking points help readers to engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress and knowledge can be tested by self-test questions and exam questions at the chapter end. This chapter focuses on the authority of the police in the United Kingdom and on issues which are affected by human rights law under the HRA. Police powers are exercised with the authority of both common law and statute—the latter (e.g. the Police and Public Evidence Act 1984) must be interpreted for compatibility with Convention rights so far as section 3 HRA allows. The police are considered a ‘core’ public authority, and policing is self-evidently a public function. The following sections also discuss the extensive powers of the police in relation to, in particular, Article 5, regarding arrest and detention, and Article 8, regarding searches and seizure. English and Welsh courts adjudicating on these powers have generally found them to be compatible with Convention rights at the general level. Some important cases, such as over the retention, storage and use of personal data, have led to disagreements with Strasbourg and consequential changes to the law.
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Scott Slorach, Judith Embley, Peter Goodchild, and Catherine Shephard
This chapter first explains the purpose of legal research. It then discusses approaches and strategies for carrying out legal research in both academia and practice, which include planning, research techniques, updating, and recording and presenting research. It also considers primary and secondary sources of legal material.
