STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS
2003 No. 2501
COPYRIGHT
RIGHTS IN DATABASES
The Copyright and Rights in Databases (Amendment)
Regulations 2003
Made - - - - - 28th September 2003
Laid before Parliament 3rd October 2003
Coming into force - - 1st November 2003
The Secretary of State, being a Minister designated for the purposes of section 2(2) of the
European Communities Act( a) in relation to measures relating to copyright( b) and measures
relating to the prevention of unauthorised extraction of the contents of a database and ofunauthorised re-utilisation of those contents( c), in exercise of the powers conferred by section
2(2) of that Act, hereby makes the following Regulations:
Citation, commencement and extent
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Copyright and Rights in Databases
(Amendment) Regulations 2003.
(2) These Regulations shall come into force on 1st November 2003.
(3) These Regulations extend to the whole of the United Kingdom.
Amendment of the Copyright and Rights in Databases Regulations 1997
2. The Copyright and Rights in Databases Regulations 1997( d) are amended as follows.
3. In regulation 2 (implementation of Directive)—
(a) in paragraph (1)(a) omit “and”;
(b) in paragraph (1)(b) replace “.” with “, and”; and
(c) after paragraph (1)(b) insert—
“(c) an Agreement( e) in the form of an exchange of letters between the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on behalf of the Isle of Man andthe European Community extending to the Isle of Man the legal protection ofdatabases as provided for in Chapter III of that Directive.”.
4. In regulation 12 (interpretation), in paragraph (5), insert, after the word “EEA” in each
place where it appears, “or the Isle of Man”.
a)( 1972 c. 68; the enabling powers of section 2(2) of this Act were extended by virtue of the amendment of section 1(2) by
section 1 of the European Economic Area Act 1993 (c. 51).
b)( S.I. 1993/595.
c)( S.I. 1996/3155.
d)( S.I. 1997/3032, amended by S.I. 2003/1398; there is another amending instrument but it is not relevant.
e)( OJ No L 89, 5.4.2003, p 12; Cm 5836 Treaty Series No 19 (2003).
15. In regulation 18 (qualiﬁcation for database right)—
(a) in paragraph (1)(b) omit “or”;
(b) in paragraph (1)(c) for “.” substitute “,”;
(c) after paragraph (1)(c) insert—
“(d) an individual who was habitually resident within the Isle of Man,
(e) a body which was incorporated under the law of the Isle of Man and which, at
that time, satisﬁed one of the conditions in paragraph (2A), or
(f) a partnership or other unincorporated body which was formed under the law of
the Isle of Man and which, at that time, satisﬁed the condition in paragraph(2A)(a).”; and
(d) after paragraph (2) insert—
“(2A) The conditions mentioned in paragraphs (1)(e) and (f) are—
(a) that the body has its central administration or principal place of business within
the Isle of Man, or
(b) that the body has its registered o Yce within the Isle of Man and the body’s
operations are linked on an ongoing basis with the economy of the Isle of Man.”.
6. For regulation 26 (introductory) substitute—
“Introductory
26. Expressions used in this Part which are deﬁned for the purposes of Part I of the
1988 Act have the same meaning as in that Part.”.
7. In regulation 27 (general rule) substitute for “commencement”, “1st January 1998”.
8. For regulation 28 (general savings) substitute—
“General savings
28.—(1) Nothing in these Regulations a Vects any agreement made before 1st
January 1998.
(2) Nothing in these Regulations a Vects any agreement made after 31st December 1997
and before 1st November 2003 in so far as the e Vect would only arise as a result of the
amendment of these Regulations by the Copyright and Rights in Databases (Amendment)Regulations 2003( a).
(3) No act done in respect of any database, in which database right subsists by virtue
of the maker of the database (or one or more of its makers) falling within one of the
provisions contained in Regulations 14(4) and 18(1)(a), (b) and (c),—
(a) before 1st January 1998, or
(b) after 31st December 1997, in pursuance of an agreement made before 1st
January 1998,
shall be regarded as an infringement of database right in the database.
(4) No act done in respect of any database, in which database right subsists by virtue
of its maker (or one or more of its makers) falling within one of the provisions containedin Regulation 18(1)(d), (e) and (f),—
(a) before 1st November 2003, or
(b) after 31st October 2003, in pursuance of an agreement made before 1st
November 2003,
shall be regarded as an infringement of database right in the database.”.
9. In regulation 29 (saving for copyright in certain existing databases) substitute for
“commencement”, “1st January 1998”.
a)( S.I. 2003/2501.
210. For regulation 30 (database right: term applicable to certain existing databases)
substitute—
“Database right: term applicable to certain existing databases
30. Where—
(a) the making of any database is completed on or after 1st January 1983, and before
1st January 1998, and
(b) either—
(i) the database is a database in which database right subsists by virtue of the
maker of the database (or one or more of its makers) falling within one ofthe provisions contained in Regulations 14(4) and 18(1)(a), (b) and (c) anddatabase right begins to subsist in the database on 1st January 1998, or
(ii) the database is a database in which database right subsists by virtue of its
maker (or one or more of its makers) falling within one of the provisionscontained in Regulation 18(1)(d), (e) and (f) and database right begins tosubsist in the database on 1st November 2003,
then database right shall subsist in the database for a period of ﬁfteen years beginning with
1st January 1998.”.
Sainsbury of Turville,
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Science and Innovation,
Department of Trade and Industry28th September 2003
3EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
The Regulations implement the provisions of an Agreement in the form of an exchange of
letters between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on behalf of theIsle of Man and the European Community extending to the Isle of Man the legal protection ofdatabases as provided for in Chapter III of Directive 96/9/EC( a), signed at Brussels on 26th
March 2003( b). This Agreement comes into force on 1st November 2003.
The Copyright and Rights in Databases Regulations 1997 (S.I. 1997/3032) (“the 1997
Regulations”) provide for a free-standing database right in some databases, a maker of whichis connected in the speciﬁed way with an EEA state (as deﬁned in section 172A of the Copyright,Designs and Patents Act 1988 (c. 48)). These Regulations extend the protection of Part III ofthe 1997 Regulations to databases, a maker of which is connected in the same way with the Isleof Man. As a result of these Regulations, the amended 1997 Regulations will apply the samedatabase right to Isle of Man databases as they do to EEA databases. Database right in Isle ofMan databases will therefore be of the same duration as that provided for EEA databases, andwill apply to databases made before and after 1st January 1998, in line with the existingprovisions in the 1997 Regulations. For qualifying Isle of Man databases made on or after 1stJanuary 1983, and before 1st January 1998, protection will run for 15 years from 1st January1998, as for qualifying EEA databases made during this period. However, in respect of Isle of
Man databases there is a general saving in relation to agreements made before 1st November
2003; in particular acts done in pursuance of such agreements whether before or after this dateare not regarded as infringing database right.
(a) OJ No L 77, 27.3.1996, p 20.
(b) OJ No L 89, 5.4.2003, p 12; Cm 5836 Treaty Series No 19 (2003).
£1.75
?Crown copyright 2003
Printed and published in the UK by The Stationery O Yce Limited
under the authority and superintendence of Carol Tullo, Controller of
Her Majesty’s Stationery O Yce and Queen’s Printer of Acts of Parliament.
E1374 10/2003 131374 19585ISBN 0-11-047950-5
9 780110 479507