The Directive on the Legal Protection of Databases was definitively adopted by the EU's Council of Ministers on 26 February. The Directive creates a new exclusive 'sui generis' right for database creators, valid for 15 years, to protect their investment of time, money and effort, irrespective of whether the database is in itself innovative. The Directive will also harmonise copyright law applicable to the structure of databases. The Directive's provisions will apply to both electronic and paper-based databases. "This innovative and comprehensive measure will ensure an appropriate level of protection for database creators and investors throughout the EU", commented Single Market Commissioner Mario Monti. "Such protection is essential to encourage the investment necessary to make the Information Society a commercially viable reality in Europe. By adopting this Directive, the EU has shown an example in this field to the rest of the world". The Directive is due to be implemented by Member States no later than 1 January 1998. With the advent of the Information Society, the protection of databases takes on added importance, as most services will be provided from an electronic database available on-line or off-line (CD-ROM, CD-i, etc). Databases will also have a major impact on the creation of new multimedia products. It is therefore essential that the EU provides a clear and well- defined level of protection for databases so as to ensure an attractive environment for investment while safeguarding users' interests. The main feature of this new Directive is the creation of a new exclusive economic right protecting substantial investments made by manufacturers of databases. This new 'sui generis' right will be granted to database creators to protect their investment of time, money and effort to establish a database, regardless of whether the database is in itself innovative. In addition, the Directive will provide for harmonisation of elements of copyright law applicable to the structure of databases. On the basis of the new Directive, manufacturers of databases will be in a position to prohibit the extraction and/or reutilisation of the entirety or substantial parts of the database by third parties. However, this new form of protection should not affect the rights of traditional rightholders, in particular of creators of works incorporated in the contents of a database. The 'sui generis' protection is valid for a period of 15 years, subject to renewal when new substantial investments take place. The same level of protection is available within the Single Market for all databases manufactured within the Community. Such protection may be extended, in the future, to databases manufactured in third countries, if their legislation provides for a similar level of protection for Community databases. The Directive strikes a balance between the interests of the manufacturers of databases and the legitimate interests of their users. Particular account has been taken of situations in which the extraction of contents of databases is required for teaching purposes as well as for scientific research. It is expected that this legal innovation will receive significant attention by the Community's most important trading partners, as well as in international fora dealing with intellectual property rights. ***
