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ARTICLE · 15 MARCH 2010

Copyright in Databases – No Copyright in White and Yellow Pages

Truman Hoyle
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There has for a long time been a fierce debate as to whether databases should be protected by copyright. Developers of databases argue that protection is required to encourage them to invest.

AustraliaIntellectual Property
Steven Goodman
Steven Goodman

1. Background

There has for a long time been a fierce debate as to whether databases should be protected by copyright. Developers of databases argue that protection is required to encourage them to invest. Users of databases argue that copyright should not protect factual information because it prevents that information being used efficiently.

There has also been a great deal of uncertainty as to whether certain databases are in fact protected by copyright.

The policy debate and legal uncertainty has not been confined to Australia. In the US the pendulum seems to have swung against protecting databases (Fiest Publication v Rural Telephone Service Co Inc [1991] USSC 490). In Europe protection has been provided via a separate EU Directive (EU Directive on the Legal Protection of Databases 96/9/EC of 11 March 1996). In Australia the position is still unclear.

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