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| Patent Group | |
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| Computer Software and Intellectual Property Law | ||
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Computer Software and Copyright10. Databases Are CompilationsA compilation is a work made from the collection and organization of preexisting materials or data that are chosen, collected, and arranged in such a manner that the resulting work constitutes an original work of authorship. Therefore, the database program may be subject to one copyright and the database itself may be subject to another.In other words, a database application program such as FoxPro is subject to copyright protection and the database that is contained in the application may be subject to another separate copyright. In this context, the database is the particular organization of a set of data or information. If you collect the names of all the original Berkeley UNIX programmers and place them in a database, that particular arrangement of names may be subject to copyright protection. However, the template or layout you used within the database to organize
the information is not subject to protection. It constitutes a data structure,
which is not protected by copyright law. Note also that the information
itself, which is based on pre-existing materials, is also not protected.
Only the particular arrangement can be copyright-protected.
*Written by John E. Wehrli, formerly of the Patent Department, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Available as LBL Report No. 38995. |
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