Protection of databases - The sui generis right

Abstract

Member States' national law, which had provided a different  protection of  databases according to their level of originality determined the adoption of a communitarian directive, namely the European Parliament and the Council Directive 96/9/EC of 11 March 1996 on the legal protection of databases. The scope of this directive was to ensure legal protection for the so called "non-original" databases (simple lists of information). However, ECJ did not change its jurisprudence after the directive, refusing legal protection for "non-original" databases, which fact curtailed significantly the scope of the provision, inducing legal uncertainty on the EU and national level as well.