Further, I don't think that companies should be able to engage in unfair competition with respect to databases. I shouldn't be able to copy a database compiled by Congressman Markey and publish it in substantially the same form and manner that competes with his database. There may be a narrow gap in the law that currently permits this in certain circumstances, and that gap should be filled. For that reason, I joined my colleagues in cosponsoring Chairman Bliley's legislation. But we must take care not to over-protect databases.
Creativity is impossible without a rich public domain.
Nothing today, likely nothing since we tamed fire, is genuinely new. Culture, like science and technology, grows by accretion, each new creator building on the works of those who came before. Overprotection stifles the very creative forces it's supposed to nurture. I look forward to hearing from the witnesses whether we have struck the right balance in H.R. 1858. Privacy Policy Copyright 1998-2001 David Carney, dba Tech Law Journal.