Contents

•  Continued debate over the scope of copyright protection of the databases

• Process of Copyright protection of databases to serve database security 

A provision was made to extend the copyright protection for the databases that were dropped down from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act at the last moment to ensure database security.

Continued debate over the scope of copyright protection of the databases

One of the controversial amendments of the U.S. Copyright law which is required by the U.S. adherence for 1996 World Intellectual Property Organization or WIPO, Treaty was not at all enacted in the year 1998 despite its primitive appearance present in the bill that later on became the Digital Millennium Copyright Act or known as DMCA. A provision was made to extend the copyright protection for the databases that were dropped down from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act at the last moment to ensure database security. The security of the database was limitedly implemented by the U.S. Supreme Court in the decision taken in 1991. The Court in the Feist holding on its decision that a telephone company's copyright is present in the "white pages" directory and did not extend to any names or towns or telephone numbers.

Process of Copyright protection of databases to serve database security

The databases are generally assumed as the static warehouses that continue storing up the valuable facts and information. With the departure of e-commerce, the entire businesses are being built upon their own databases to promote database security and generating revenue streams from the subscriber fees or royalties or any advertising. To recover the primitive investment of time or money or skill put into it. To avoid parasitic competitions the database manufacturers are trying to protect their compilation efforts by ensuring 6the database security feature of copyright. So, without any kind of ability to restrict access and the uses of the databases complies a company that is effectively discouraged from any kind of participating in the information age. Though the databases have been being protected under the copyright laws are advanced in the information technology which has been enabled the potential competitors and after all these database securities will be fully provided. It also targets to engage in the market-destructive copying sins. Later in many jurisdictions, it is told that the required level of originality has been in a condition of flux in recent years. The position in India regarding the databases is being governed by the strategy of rewarding investment in the labor section, time and money are being coupled with a very low requirement of creativity in this field. A few guidelines have been suggested to develop a new law that will help in taking into account the private and the public interests and thus keeping in mind the primary motto of the intellectual property or IT regime to promote its creativity and the innovation to maintain a public domain. The Court verdict that since the pre-existing factual information did not owe of its origin to its plaintiff, the copyright protection of a database requiring a demonstration of the originality in the selection process and coordination or arrangement of the data. The listing of the subscribers to the plaintiff's telephone service mentioned in alphabetical order by their surname was not so creative. So it failed to meet the minimum standardization of originality that is required for copyright protection to ensure database security. Under the mentioned Feist the "white pages" were not a protectable database hence database security could not be established over those. The WIPO and the European countries have always disagreed with the Feist. In the year 1993, the European Community had implemented a directive way to recognize copyright protection to ensure database security that is excluded by the Feist. The WIPO Copyright Treaty of the year 1996 obligates its members that include the United States to recognize such copyright protection that gives the protection of the databases and enhances database security.

Additional resources

• Protection of copyright

• Website security

• Registering a copyright for computer programs