Rights to Digital Databases

Abstract

This paper examines the legal rights governing digital databases. With the growth of big data, questions have arisen regarding copyright, ownership, access and control of large collections of data. Databases pose a unique challenge because they contain factual information not subject to copyright, yet represent a substantial investment in skills, labor and finances. Through analysis of relevant legislation and case law, this paper explores the protections afforded to digital database creators under copyright law, database rights, misappropriation doctrine, and trade secrecy. Issues analyzed include substantial taking of a database's contents, permissible extraction of insubstantial parts, rights to derivative works, and circumvention of digital rights management. The paper concludes with recommendations for balancing public interest in data access with providing incentives for continued database development.