Client Testimonials
"For us,
solicitors have to be innovative, be able to deliver on time, within budget and
most importantly provide a quick turn around when needed. I am pleased to say
that Ikonami has been using the the Waterfront Partnership since 2006 and in
them we have a legal partner we can rely on to watch our corner time and time
again."
Kubair A Shirazee, CEO, Ikonami Ltd
Database Rights
In 1998 a new right came into effect in UK, namely the (sue generis) database right. The aim of this legislation was to provide more certain protection than that already afforded by copyright. The purpose of the new database right is to protect the investment in a database. A database right arises automatically at no cost to you and last for 15 years.
A database will qualify for protection if the maker of the database is an EEA resident and the database is a "collection of individual works, data or other materials arranged in a systematic or methodical way" and either qualitatively or quantitatively there has been a substantial investment in either the getting, checking or presenting of the contents of the database, utilising either financial, human or technical resources. This is distinct from copyright which seeks to protect the creativity in the contents of the database per se. If your database qualifies for protection then you can enforce your rights against businesses that extract or reutilise a substantial part of your database, or alternatively repeatedly extract and re-utilise an insubstantial part.
If the database is continually being updated and substantial investment is being input on a continual basis then it may be that the database right is continually being refreshed, affording a rolling right which can be enforced against infringers.
If you suspect that someone is using or copying large parts of your database or repeatedly using small parts of your database on a regular basis without your permission, we can advise whether this amounts to database right and/or copyright infringement and recommend a appropriate strategy for you, be it to litigate or to settle.