DMCA doesn’t protect databases


Even after the DMCA, copyright does not protect databases. News.com: Court doesn’t extend database protection

U.S. District Judge Naomi Buchwald said in an opinion released this week that Berkshire Information Systems did not run afoul of the controversial 1998 copyright law by allegedly downloading up to 85 percent of a proprietary advertising-tracking database from the Web site of competitor Inquiry Management Systems (IMS).

Update (3/1/04): Ernest Miller has read through the decision (Inquiry Management Systems v. Berkshire Information Systems) and finds: Confusing DMCA “Database” Decision Not About Databases

Andrew Raff @andrewraff