databankrecht

Databankrecht, or the sui generis database right, is a form of intellectual property protection in the European Union that also applies in the Netherlands. It guards databases that show a substantial investment in obtaining, verifying or presenting their contents. The protection concerns the database as a whole and the way its contents are organized, not the data or ideas contained within.

The right is held by the maker of the database—the person or organization that made the substantial investment—and arises automatically without registration. It grants exclusive rights to prevent extraction or re-utilization of a substantial part of the database’s contents by others. The protection does not extend to the data or information itself in the sense of copyright, nor to ideas or methods underlying the data.

Duration and renewal: protection typically lasts 15 years from the database’s completion. This term can be renewed or extended if there is a new substantial investment in obtaining, verifying or presenting the contents that justifies a fresh term.

Limitations and scope: national laws implementing the directive set specific exceptions and limitations. In practice, legitimate use provisions may allow certain non-commercial extraction or use of data under conditions, but unauthorized extraction of a substantial part of a database is generally actionable.

Relation to other rights: databankrecht is distinct from copyright and neighboring rights, though a database can be protected by both where applicable. It is commonly invoked for large compilations such as directories, catalogs, lists of stock quotes or other data-centric collections that require considerable investment to assemble.