The Legal Protection of Databases: A Comparative Analysis

The protection of the investment made in collecting, verifying or presenting database contents is still not harmonised internationally. Some laws overprotect database contents, whilst others under-protect them. This book examines and compares several types of methods available for the protection of investment in database creation (intellectual property, unfair competition, contract and technological protection measures) in order to find an adequate type and level of protection. To this effect, the author uses a criterion based on a combination of the economics of information goods, the human rights to intellectual property and to information and the public interest, and proposes a model that can be adopted at international and national level.