Database Right
This is not a right which arises from the existence of copyright. It is entirely separate from copyright, and relates only to computer databases.
Database right was created in 1996. Prior to that, under the 1988 Act, a computer database was treated as a literary work. In databases created before 27 March 1996 the copyright rules are the same as for any other literary work, and copyright lasts for the normal term of such a work. The effect of this is that copyright exists in the database if, and only if, the database's creation is the original work of the author.
For databases created after 27 March 1996, in addition to the ordinary literary copyright, a separate database right also exists. Database right exists if a substantial amount of work was required by the maker of the database to obtain the data in the database, to verify the data, or to present the database's contents. Database right is independent of any copyright in the contents of the database.
The maker of a database is the person who compiles the database. The maker of a database is the first owner of any database right arising. As with copyright, if an employee makes a database, then the employer is the first owner of any database right. The Crown owns a database right to databases compiled by an officer of the Crown in the course of his duties, and databases made under the direction of Parliament have the right assigned to the appropriate chamber of Parliament. If two or more people make a database, then the database right is jointly owned by those people.
Database right does not exist unless the makers of the database are EEA nationals; are resident in an EEA state; are incorporated bodies, with their central operations or principal place of business in the EEA, and the body has a registered office in an EEA state, or the legal entity's operations are linked to the economy of an EEA state; or are unincorporated bodies or partnerships with their central operations or principal place of business in the EEA.
Database right lasts for 15 years from the completion of the making of a database. If a database is made available to the public during that period, then the 15 year period lasts for 15 years from the time of making it available to the public. Any substantial change to a database causes the 15 year period to begin anew, as the changed database is regarded as effectively a fresh creation. Therefore, in theory, databases which regularly undergo substantial changes could enjoy (effectively) perpetual database right protection. If a database was created on or after 1 January 1983, and the database qualified for database right on 1 January 1998, that right lasts for 15 years from that date.
Database right is infringed if most or all of a database is extracted and reused without the consent of the owner, or if small portions of a database are repeatedly extracted and reused without the consent of the owner.
Read more about this topic: Copyright Law Of The United Kingdom