European Commission: Public consultation on the database directive – application and impact

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the application and impact of the Database Directive 96/9/EU on legal protection of databases. 

The Directive offers two-tier protection to databases: copyright protection to the databses which are considered original; and sui generis protection to databases on which major investments have been made. In its evaluation, the Commission is assessing whether the Directive still fulfils its policy goals and is fit-for-purpose in a digital, data-driven economy. 

The main objectives of the consultation are to collect up-to-date information on: the evolution of the market related to databases; the use and the impact of the copyright and the sui generic protection regimes on the database makers and users; and the application of the Directive and possible needs of adjustment. 

The Commission will publish a summary of the consultation results, and a synopsis report with a qualitative analysis of all consultation activities will be issued.

For more details, and to contribute to the consultation, visit the dedicated webpage.