back to article Database rights are no 'impediment' to Europe's data-driven economy

The existence of database rights does not hold back EU businesses from developing innovative new uses for data, despite what a recent report backed by two European Parliament committees says. Examples from the sporting world show that database rights can in fact support innovation in uses of data and, in contrast, highlight …

  1. clean_state

    Clarification ?

    Can someone clarify if database rights prevent you from independently reconstructing the database ? I guess not. Football DataCo might have database rights on the data they collect, but it's not a monopoly on this kind of data, is it ? I can set up an independent operation to monitor football matches and provide the data as a stream. In other words, to prove that you are breaking someone database rights, it needs to be proven not only that you have the data, but also that you hase stolen it in bulk from him, correct ?

    1. Dr Who

      Re: Clarification ?

      Good point. My understanding is the same as yours, but this article appears to suggest the opposite i.e. that you cannot idependently collect and distribute the same data as Football DataCo. If anyone from Outlaw is reading it would be interesting to know the answer.

  2. Stevie

    Bah!

    Will this mean the end of google searches that return dozens of pages to a tech question, all of which have identical text scraped from the first hit on the search?

  3. danny_0x98

    If people keep claiming a right incorrectly, then it's a sign that infringement is similarly vague. The sorting will be done in one of the most expensive venues, the courts. History suggests that some will build business models on threatening to take others to court.

    If this right was recently outlined and creates innovation, then how do we explain prior innovation?

    Copyright on publications of facts is protection enough. I'm from the USA and my opinion on European law does not matter, but there you have it.

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