Abstract
Databases in India are mostly owned by the government and are not easily accessible. Even privately owned databases are not widely available. The government came up with the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL), a documentation of traditional knowledge existing in India and preparation of a database of traditional knowledge. The growth of digital technology has contributed exponential growth in the information industry, which has positively influenced not only compilation of information but also its dissemination. Legislations like the Information Technology Act 2000 have come up as an added protection for electronic databases. This protection under Information Technology Act 2000 does not require proving originality and it is also not subjected to fair use exception. This chapter, while critiquing existing protections for databases goes on to propose new legal provisions for protection of databases on one hand and increasing access on the other.
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A Study on the Impact of Protection of Unoriginal Databases on Developing Countries: Indian Experience, World Intellectual Property Organization, Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights, Seventh Session, Geneva, May 13 to 17 2002.
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Id.
- 3.
NASSCOM (2009) Strategic Reform. http://blog.nasscom.in/nasscomnewsline/2009/03/nasscom-launches-strategic-review-2009-at-the-india-leadership-forum/. Accessed 30 May 2006.
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Copinger and James, Law of Copyright, 8th Edition, p. 124.
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Macmillan and Co. was the proprietor of copyright of a selection of songs and poems, composed by numerous well known authors. The compilation was prepared by Palgrave. These poems were arranged not in chronological order of their production but in gradation f feelings and subjects and at the end of the book some critical and explanatory notes were given. Suresh Chunder Deb published a book containing same selection of poems and songs but the arrangement was different as poems of each author were placed together in order of their composition. The plaintiff contended that although copyright in the works of original authors had long lapsed but they were entitled to copyright in the selection and complained that defendant’s book constituted breach of their copyright and prayed for relief by way of injunction and damages. It was held that defendant’s book constituted piracy of plaintiff’s book and had infringed their copyright. 1890 ILR 17 Cal 952.
- 6.
Lesile v. Young, (1894) AC 335.
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(1857) 3 K & J 708.
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(1889) I.L.R. 13 Bom. 358—The plaintiff, a book seller brought out a new and annotated edition of a certain well known Sanskrit work on religious observances entitled “Vrtraj”, having for that purpose obtained the assistance Pandits who recast and rearranged the work, introduced various passages from other old Sanskrit books on the same subject and added footnotes. The defendant printed and published an edition of the same work, the text of which was identical with that of the plaintiff’s work, which moreover contained the same additional passages and the same footnote at the same places with slight differences.
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AIR 1955 Mad 392. The plaintiff Gopalkrishna, a publisher of Madurai published English—English Tamil dictionary in 1932. The defendant Govindan, the proprietor of Sakti Karyalayam of Madras published English—English Tamil Dictionary in 1947. It was alleged that the defendant infringed plaintiff’s copyright. The lower court decided that the defendant‘s book was a piratical reproduction of plaintiff’s reproduction as it was found that pages after pages, word after word slavishly copied including errors. It was also found that sequence, meaning, arrangements and everything else practically the same except for some deliberate differences introduced here and there in order to cover up piracy.
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1982 PTC 85. Tambola Ticket book used in a game is called by different names like Tambola, Housie etc. Broadly there are three horizontal rows of 9 spaces in each row ie total 27 spaces. Of 9 spaces five in each row have numbers. Numbers are called out and whosoever is first able to score out of fifteen numbers is declared the winner. Tambola Ticket book of the plaintiff contained 1500 different tickets which were in the form of tables for which the skill ability and originality were necessary. The defendant brought out Tambola ticket book containing 600 different tickets in the forms of tables which have been copied identically from 600 tickets of the plaintiff.
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1944 A.C. 329.
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(1857) 3 K & J 708.
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AIR 1938 All 266. The plaintiffs were publishers of “Sachitra Bara Kok Shastra” and the defendant published “Asli Sachitra Kok Shastra”. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant’s book was a colourable imitation of their book and had infringed plaintiff’s copyright. The defendant admitted plaintiff’s copyright in its book but not in the passages and ideas which they had borrowed from previous works. The trial court found that the defendant infringed plaintiff’s work. The Commissioner’s report also went against the defendant. There was a great deal of similarity in both the books. The defendant attributed similarity to common source from which both the books must have been compiled and the common ideas dealt with in them. Some of the similarities might be attributed to the defendant’s own labour but there were good many similarities which had evidently been copied from plaintiff’s work with but a slight colourable variation or addition of some new material. Same mistakes were found in both the works which led to the position that the defendant copied plaintiff’s work which amounted to infringement.
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AIR 1971 All 192.
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1995 PTC (15) 278.
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1992 FSR 409.
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(2008) 1 SCC 1.
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Article 2(3), Berne Convention—a derivative work means translations, adaptations arrangement s of music and other alterations of a literary work that shall be protected as original work without prejudice to the copyright in the original work. S. 101 US Copyright Law—A work based upon one or more pre existing work such as a translation, fictionalization, motion picture version, condensation or any other form in which a work may be recast, transformed or adapted. A work consisting of editorial version, annotation, elaboration or other modifications which as a whole, represent an original work of authorship is a derivative work.
- 19.
Emergent Genetics Pvt Ltd. v. Shailendra Shivam and Others, I.A No. 388/2004.
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Akuate Internet Services Pvt. Ltd. v. Star India Pvt. Ltd., FAO(OS) 153/2013, CM APPL. 4665/2013.
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It is believed that existing legal, contractual and technological protections are sufficient incentive for investment. Yen A C (1991) The Legacy of Feist: Consequences of the Weak Connection Between Copyright and the Economics of Public Goods. Ohio State LJ52: 1343.
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These are databases which contains more than 60,000 complete details of Companies/ Industries including Exporters all over India. Details include Company Name, Product Profile, Full Postal Address, Phone No., Fax No., Email Address (about 21,000), website Address (wherever available). Along with Over 9000 Records with full details viz Name, Address, Phone, Fax, E-mail, Website, Product, Year of establishment, no. of employees, Capital, Turnover, Banker, Key Person, Membership of Association. http://www.books-directory-projectreports.com/database.html. Accessed 18 Oct 2008.
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Mazumder, A. (2016). Indian Database Industry and Its Aspirations and Existing Legal Regime. In: Database Law. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2200-5_6
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