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Database rights

Maximising the protection of your rights, both legally and commercially

Databases are becoming increasingly important and valuable assets for business. Steps should be taken to protect what you have compiled and prevent unauthorised copying and misuse.

Make an enquiryMeet the teamDatabase rights

  • Key contact

    Patrick Wheeler

    Patrick Wheeler

    Partner - Head of IP & Data Protection

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  • The Team

    Our lawyers have the expertise and experience to provide you with creative, personalised solutions in a clear and understandable way.

    ArrowMeet the team

  • Our Publications

    Discover a wealth of invaluable guidance in the form of guides and brochures written by our expert lawyers.

    ArrowSee our downloads

  • Your IP Rights Health Check

    Are you certain your business’ IP rights are protected?

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About

How to protect your database?

A database can be protected in three different ways under English law:

  • copyright can protect literary and artistic works including tables and compilations that form part of a database, if they are original works
  • copyright can protect the structure of a database, if it is an original literary work. There must be effort spent on the selection and arrangement of the data and sufficient judgment and skill exercised in the process to make the work the author’s own intellectual creation
  • the Copyright and Rights in Databases Regulations 1997 (the “Regulations”) can protect the data in the database if the database is the result of substantial investment in obtaining, verifying or presenting its contents.

What is a database?

The Regulations define a database as a “collection of independent works, data or other materials arranged in a systematic or methodical way and individually accessible by electronic or other means.” This is a wide definition. It will cover most mailing lists, customer lists, telephone directories and other collections of information, whether they are electronic or manual paper-based systems.

A database will qualify for protection as a Database Right if there has been a “substantial investment in obtaining, verifying or presenting the contents of the database.” The investment may be financial, human or technical. However, establishing that there has been a substantial investment in the database can be a complex exercise, especially if the information was compiled haphazardly over a period of time.

Under the Regulations it’s the investment in assimilating the database that qualifies it for protection, rather than the information in the database. The contents of the database do not have to be secret or even valuable to qualify for Database Rights. As such, the Regulations offer helpful protection against wrongdoing where the contents are not classified as confidential, or where there may be doubts whether copyright exists in the content or the selection and arrangement of the data, or whether such copyright has been infringed.

How are database rights infringed?

A person infringes a Database Right if they extract or re-utilise all or a substantial part of the contents of a database without the owner’s consent. Re-utilisation means making the contents available to the public, for example, by distributing copies or putting them online.

Actions such as decompiling or reverse engineering a database in order to recreate it can also be deemed an infringement. Remedies for infringement of Database Rights broadly follow those available for copyright infringement i.e. damages, injunctions and orders for delivering up (returning) the infringing material.

How we can help you

As the summary above indicates, rights in Databases are highly technical. The best way to protect them is to look at the issue holistically and in parallel with other possible legal options, which may be contractual or based on copyright.

As a full-service Intellectual Property team, our database rights experts can help you:

  • Determine what rights exist in a database and who owns them
  • Maximise the protection of your rights, both legally and commercially
  • Take swift, decisive action if your database has been breached and copied
  • Defend you if someone else claims that you have infringed their rights in a database

Spotlight

E-Commerce Agreements

As the opportunities for digital businesses grow, so does the legislation. E-commerce regulations, distance selling regulations, consumer protection from unfair trading, electronic marketing regulations, GDPR and their international equivalents – all these regulations need to be complied with before you can sell online.

We specialise in helping businesses navigate the complex area of e-commerce law, including the additional complexities associated with operating your businesses in foreign countries over the web. Our advice includes:

  • Website and mobile app development agreements
  • Hosting agreements
  • IT services contracts
  • Software licence agreements
  • Terms and conditions of sale to consumers, including cooling-off periods and cancellation
  • Website terms of use
  • Protecting intellectual property on the site (images, content, artwork)
  • Privacy and cookies policies
  • Data processing agreements and agreements governing international transfers of personal data
  • Contracting with overseas customers, clients and suppliers
  • Compliance with industry-specific regulatory requirements, such as secondary ticketing for events
  • Agreements for platforms acting as an online intermediary service
  • Harmonisation between your terms of business and other commercial contracts, such as distribution agreements.

Our commercial solicitors have experience drafting all types of e-commerce agreements, with a thorough understanding of laws relating to online trading. Whatever your commercial objectives, we are confident we have a solution that achieves the dual goals of preserving the customer experience while ensuring your company is well protected from risk.

Database rights Publications

  • cb-checkpoint

    CB Checkpoint: overview

    There are a number of key policies, procedures and documents your business should keep up to date, to be both legally protected and in preparation for investment or exit. Our team will give your business a full check-over.

    Download now

Database rights insights

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Need some more information? Make an enquiry below



    Database rights key contacts

    Database rights

    Database rights

    Database rights

    Maximising the protection of your rights, both legally and commercially

    Databases are becoming increasingly important and valuable assets for business. Steps should be taken to protect what you have compiled and prevent unauthorised copying and misuse.

    • Key contact

      Patrick Wheeler

      Patrick Wheeler

      Partner - Head of IP & Data Protection

      ArrowView profile

    • The Team

      Our lawyers have the expertise and experience to provide you with creative, personalised solutions in a clear and understandable way.

      ArrowMeet the team

    • Our Publications

      Discover a wealth of invaluable guidance in the form of guides and brochures written by our expert lawyers.

      ArrowSee our downloads

    • Your IP Rights Health Check

      Are you certain your business’ IP rights are protected?

      ArrowTake the test

    How to protect your database?

    A database can be protected in three different ways under English law:

    • copyright can protect literary and artistic works including tables and compilations that form part of a database, if they are original works
    • copyright can protect the structure of a database, if it is an original literary work. There must be effort spent on the selection and arrangement of the data and sufficient judgment and skill exercised in the process to make the work the author’s own intellectual creation
    • the Copyright and Rights in Databases Regulations 1997 (the “Regulations”) can protect the data in the database if the database is the result of substantial investment in obtaining, verifying or presenting its contents.

    What is a database?

    The Regulations define a database as a “collection of independent works, data or other materials arranged in a systematic or methodical way and individually accessible by electronic or other means.” This is a wide definition. It will cover most mailing lists, customer lists, telephone directories and other collections of information, whether they are electronic or manual paper-based systems.

    A database will qualify for protection as a Database Right if there has been a “substantial investment in obtaining, verifying or presenting the contents of the database.” The investment may be financial, human or technical. However, establishing that there has been a substantial investment in the database can be a complex exercise, especially if the information was compiled haphazardly over a period of time.

    Under the Regulations it’s the investment in assimilating the database that qualifies it for protection, rather than the information in the database. The contents of the database do not have to be secret or even valuable to qualify for Database Rights. As such, the Regulations offer helpful protection against wrongdoing where the contents are not classified as confidential, or where there may be doubts whether copyright exists in the content or the selection and arrangement of the data, or whether such copyright has been infringed.

    How are database rights infringed?

    A person infringes a Database Right if they extract or re-utilise all or a substantial part of the contents of a database without the owner’s consent. Re-utilisation means making the contents available to the public, for example, by distributing copies or putting them online.

    Actions such as decompiling or reverse engineering a database in order to recreate it can also be deemed an infringement. Remedies for infringement of Database Rights broadly follow those available for copyright infringement i.e. damages, injunctions and orders for delivering up (returning) the infringing material.

    How we can help you

    As the summary above indicates, rights in Databases are highly technical. The best way to protect them is to look at the issue holistically and in parallel with other possible legal options, which may be contractual or based on copyright.

    As a full-service Intellectual Property team, our database rights experts can help you:

    • Determine what rights exist in a database and who owns them
    • Maximise the protection of your rights, both legally and commercially
    • Take swift, decisive action if your database has been breached and copied
    • Defend you if someone else claims that you have infringed their rights in a database

    SPOTLIGHT

    E-Commerce Agreementsopen

    As the opportunities for digital businesses grow, so does the legislation. E-commerce regulations, distance selling regulations, consumer protection from unfair trading, electronic marketing regulations, GDPR and their international equivalents – all these regulations need to be complied with before you can sell online.

    We specialise in helping businesses navigate the complex area of e-commerce law, including the additional complexities associated with operating your businesses in foreign countries over the web. Our advice includes:

    • Website and mobile app development agreements
    • Hosting agreements
    • IT services contracts
    • Software licence agreements
    • Terms and conditions of sale to consumers, including cooling-off periods and cancellation
    • Website terms of use
    • Protecting intellectual property on the site (images, content, artwork)
    • Privacy and cookies policies
    • Data processing agreements and agreements governing international transfers of personal data
    • Contracting with overseas customers, clients and suppliers
    • Compliance with industry-specific regulatory requirements, such as secondary ticketing for events
    • Agreements for platforms acting as an online intermediary service
    • Harmonisation between your terms of business and other commercial contracts, such as distribution agreements.

    Our commercial solicitors have experience drafting all types of e-commerce agreements, with a thorough understanding of laws relating to online trading. Whatever your commercial objectives, we are confident we have a solution that achieves the dual goals of preserving the customer experience while ensuring your company is well protected from risk.

    Database rights Publications

    Database rights insights

    View all insights

    Need some more information? Make an enquiry below.

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