One of the Internet's greatest values lies in its ability to provide efficient access to information gathered from a multitude of disparate sources. Consumers can use the Internet to find airline fares and schedules, music and movie reviews, sports statistics and results, stock quotes, research and analysis, and restaurant information. Overly broad protection for compilations of information could lead to claims that Internet data collection is unlawful, threatening the very Internet activity that consumers have found so beneficial. It is important to keep in mind that effective means exist to prevent database theft. Copyright law provides valuable remedies against those who engage in the wholesale copying of databases.
Contract law allows proprietors to impose limitations on the misuse of information.
Additionally, technologies exist to prevent unlawful access to collections, and the circumvention of these technologies is unlawful. Further, federal and state laws prohibit unauthorized access to servers linked to the Internet. At the same time, as creators and publishers of databases ourselves, we recognize the concerns of database proprietors who object to pirates who steal and disseminate their databases as the pirate's own product thereby unfairly competing with the collectors of information. We understand the desire to provide a clear means of redress for such unfair activity in addition to that which already exists. As Congress considers the database issue, it must balance the objective of preventing database piracy with the equally important objective of preserving legitimate access to information, that does not conflict with the principles outlined above.