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Adams, John --- "Originality in copyright: a solution to the database problem?" [2007] ELECD 293; in Torremans, Paul (ed), "Copyright Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2007)

Book Title: Copyright Law

Editor(s): Torremans, Paul

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781845424879

Section: Chapter 1

Section Title: Originality in copyright: a solution to the database problem?

Author(s): Adams, John

Number of pages: 27

Extract:

1 Originality in copyright: a solution to the
database problem?
John Adams1



Introduction
This chapter examines the concept of originality in copyright law in the US,
the UK and civil law systems. For reasons of convenience, it is proposed to
start with US law. Then the historical derivation of both systems will be
traced. It will be argued that UK and US law, being derived from a common
source, share a common concept of `originality' which, unlike authors' rights
systems, can be supported by a rigorous philosophical analysis. This concept
of `originality' means that copyright attaches to many databases. The require-
ments will be examined, but certainly had copyright protection been argued, it
is possible that the database involved in British Horseracing Board v William
Hill 2 might have been held to be covered.

Originality in US law
The source of Congress's power to enact copyright laws is Article 1(8)8 of the
Constitution. This authorises Congress to `secure for limited Times to Authors
. . . the exclusive Right to their respective Writings'. In The Trade Mark
Cases3 and Burrow-Giles Lithograph Co v Sarony4 the Court defined the key
terms `authors' and `writings' in terms which presupposed a degree of origi-
nality. These cases were relied on in the well-known case of Feist Publications
Inc v Rural Telephone Service.5
Because readers may be unfamiliar with the Constitutional aspects of these
cases, I propose first to deal with them. Congress relies on Article 1(8) of the
US ...