Database

A database is a collection of independent works, data or other materials, arranged in a systematic or methodical way and individually accessible. This definition appears in Article L. 112-3 of the French Intellectual Property Code, derived from Directive 96/9/EC. In practice, a database benefits from two distinct and cumulative protections.

The database and copyright

First, the structure of the database may be protected by copyright where the selection or arrangement of the contents constitutes an original intellectual creation. That protection does not however extend to the data themselves. A directory ordered alphabetically is thus not original, whereas a reasoned selection of annotated decisions may be.

The sui generis right of the database producer

Second, the producer of the database benefits from a right of its own, provided for in Articles L. 341-1 et seq. of the Code. The producer must show a substantial financial, material or human investment in the obtaining, verification or presentation of the contents. The investment devoted to creating the data, by contrast, is not taken into account, according to the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. This right makes it possible to prohibit the extraction or reuse of a substantial part of the contents, as well as repeated extractions of insubstantial parts. It lasts fifteen years from the completion of the database, and each new substantial investment starts a new period.

The litigation stakes

Database litigation concerns the proof of the investment, the substantial character of the extraction and automated harvesting practices. It likewise meets trade secrets where the database is not public, and contract law where terms of use frame access. Contractual protection and statutory protection must therefore be designed together.

The firm advises and litigates on the protection of databases and technical data. See our pages trade secrets attorney and contracts, and the Intellectual Property Code on Légifrance.