Database Rights | The Law Explained
Databases regularly sit at the heart of a company’s operations and may comprise of any information from customer and marketing data to vendor information and financial records. Given that their development normally reflects the expenditure of considerable time and capital, they can constitute a valuable commercial asset.
The law protects a database under the general law of copyright, the rules covering databases, and the Copyright and Rights in Databases Regulations 1997 (the ‘Regulations’), which implemented the provisions of European Directive 96/9/EC into UK law.
Accordingly, any misuse of a database may breach the intellectual property rights of the owner of the database, who may seek to defend their rights of ownership and recover any financial loss arising from a breach.
KANGS is regularly approached by directors and business owners seeking advice following misuse of their database, from a breach of contract or a fundamental breakdown in a trading relationship.
Stuart Southall of KANGS explains the nature and various aspects of a database.
What is a Database?
The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, defines databases as a collection of independent works, data or other materials which are:
- arranged in a systematic or methodical way, and
- individually accessible by electronic or other means.
A liberal interpretation of this definition has been made by the courts to include databases such as those containing mailing lists, lists of customers, telephone directories and card indexes.
How Does a Database Right Arise?
Database Rights arise automatically under the Regulations, without the need for registration, with the only requirement being that a database contains all the qualifying elements and is in a written form.
Furthermore, section 13 of the Regulations provides that a ‘database’ subsists if:
‘…there has been a substantial investment in obtaining, verifying or presenting the contents of the database’
A database right lasts for either fifteen years from the end of the year in which the making of the database was completed or, if it was published during that period, fifteen years from the end of the year in which the database was first made available to the public.
How Can a Database Right be Infringed?
Section 16 of the Regulations provides that:
‘a person infringes a database right in a database if, without the consent of the owner of the right, he extracts or re-utilises all or a substantial part of the contents of the database.’
Extracts - means the permanent or temporary transfer of those contents to another medium by any means or in any form.
Re-utilises - means making those contents available to the public by any means.
Exceptions to Database Right
Section 20 of the Regulations provides that a database right in a database which has been made available to the public in any manner is not infringed by fair dealing with a substantial part of its contents if:
- that part is extracted from the database by a person who is a lawful user of the database,
- it is extracted for the purpose of illustration for teaching or research and not for any commercial purpose, and
- the source is indicated.
Schedule 1 of the Regulations specifies that a database right is not infringed by anything done for the purposes of:
- Parliamentary and judicial proceedings,
- Royal Commissions and statutory inquiries,
- Public inspections or display on an official register,
- Communicating material to the Crown in the course of public business,
- Maintenance of public records,
- Acts done under a statutory authority.
How Can We Help?
Any unlawful use of a database can be extremely costly to any business and, potentially, difficult to adequately rectify.
The team at KANGS possesses the experience to identify where a database right exists, where those rights may have been breached and assist in seeking the appropriate remedy. Our intellectual property lawyers will act to stop any infringement and protect your database from unauthorised misuse.
If you need assistance, please contact our team using the details below.
Tel: 0333 370 4333
Email: info@kangssolicitors.co.uk
We provide initial no obligation discussion at our three offices in London, Birmingham, and Manchester. Alternatively, discussions can be held through video conferencing or telephone.
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