Sui generis database protection 2.0: judicial and legislative reforms

Derclaye, Estelle; Husovec, Martin

Abstract

The Database Directive confers investment protection (so-called sui generis database protection) on makers of some types of databases. It represents a unique top-down policy experiment of the EU legislature with little national precedent prior to its adoption in 1996. The Directive aimed to encourage investment in the making and improvement of databases in Europe. Its ultimate goal was the development of an EU information market. Two decades later, the results are not very encouraging. The newly created exclusive right did not deliver the intended benefits. The European Commission is therefore keen on reforming the protection in the context of its Data Act in 2022. Coincidentally, in June 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued a seminal judgment, CV Online Latvia v Melons, that significantly alters the scope of the protection. This article looks at the original and persisting criticism of the sui generis database protection, how it is addressed by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), and what should be done by the European Commission in its upcoming reform. It offers suggestions for how to further develop the sui generis database protection of the second generation.

Citation

Derclaye, E., & Husovec, M. (2022). Sui generis database protection 2.0: judicial and legislative reforms. European Intellectual Property Review, 44(6), 323-331

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 21, 2021
• Publication Date: 2022-06
• Deposit Date: Mar 16, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 1, 2023
• Print ISSN: 0142-0461
• Publisher: Sweet and Maxwell
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 44
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 323-331
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/7170076
• Additional Information: This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in European Intellectual Property Review following peer review. The definitive published version Sui generis database protection 2.0: judicial and legislative reforms / Estelle Derclaye; E.I.P.R. 2022, 44(6), 323-331 is available online on Westlaw UK.