COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
C0M(93) 464 final - SYN 393 
Brussels, 4 October 1993 
Amended proposal for a 
COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 
ON THE LEGAL PROTECTION 
OF DATABASES 
(presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 149(3) 
of the EEC-Treaty) 
-2-
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 
On 13 May 1992 the Commission presented to the Council its proposal for 
a Council Directive harmonising the legal protection of databases. 
The Economic and Social Committee delivered its opinion on the proposal 
on 24 November 1992. 
The European Parliament, consulted under the co-operation procedure, 
discussed the proposal in detail in its Committees. On 21 June 1993 it 
debated the report drawn up on behalf of the Committee on Legal Affairs 
and citizens' rights by Mr Garcia Amigo, voting in support of the 
proposed Directive as amended by Parliament in its Plenary Session of 
23 June 1993. 
The amended proposal for a Directive presented by the Commission is 
intended to take into account the Opinion of the Parliament. 
It contains one modification of substance and a number of amendments to 
the original proposal which are intended to give greater precision and 
clarity to the text. 
The one modification of substance proposed by the Parliament is the 
extension of the period of protection under the sui generis regime from 
the ten years proposed by the Commission to fifteen years. 
The modifications of a redactional nature include the following: 
a) the term 'database' is to be clarified as including collections of 
data 
b) the term 'owner of the rights' is to be used to cover both the 
author who owns any copyright right in the database and the maker 
of the database where there is a sui generis right in the contents 
of the database but no copyright in the selection or arrangement 
c") the definition of "substantial" and "insubstantial" change in 
relation to the term of protection is clarified 
d) the term 'unauthorised' extraction is to be used throughout the 
text in place of 'unfair' extraction 
e) the terms under which licences to use the contents of a database 
are to be issued are more clearly defined in the text. 
The Commission accepts, in whole or in part and subject in some 
instances to re-alignment of the various language versions, thirty two 
out of thirty seven amendments of Parliament. 
(2) 
-3-
The amendments which were not adopted by the Commission concerned: 
a) a definition of database as including a "large number or amount of 
data or other material". This amendment was rejected because it 
would have given rise to problems of interpretation and is 
inconsistent with definitions proposed in the context of GATT Trips 
and on-going discussions in the World Intellectual Property 
Organisation on a possible Protocol to the Berne Convention. 
b) a definition of 'author' of a database as the person "who undertook 
to and assumed responsibility for creating" the database. In the 
view of the Commission such an extensive definition of authorship 
should not be introduced into a Directive dealing with the legal 
protection of a specific type of work. 
c) a definition of "non-commercial purposes" as including non-profit 
making purposes of teaching, research or humanitarian aid. The 
Commission, while accepting that private non-profit making 
activities including private research might fall within the scope 
of Article 8(5) of the original proposal, has doubts about the 
validity of the argument that teaching and humanitarian aid should 
fall under the heading of private use. The absence of profit is 
not the only criterion as to whether teaching or research is to be 
considered private or commercial since much commercial research 
could be said to be carried out without a direct profit-making 
objective, and teaching for private purposes would more correctly 
be defined as "private use". 
d) additional language proposed to Article 6(1) stipulating that the 
lawful user of a database could be bound by contractual clauses 
reducing his ability to carry out acts necessary in order to use 
the database: any contractual restrictions which rendered the 
database unusable would in any event cause the contract to be of 
questionable validity. 
e) additional restrictions on the use for private/personal purposes of 
the contents of the database under Article 8(5) of the original 
proposal: these restrictions would have obliged the user to quote 
the source of an insubstantial extract even for his own private 
purposes. 
f) a requirement that databases should be protected against 
unauthorised extraction in accordance with the terms of 
international treaties. The Commission rejected this amendment as 
creating unnecessary ambiguity since the unauthorised extraction 
right is acknowledged in the report of the Legal Affairs Committee 
to be a sui generis right, subject to its own specific provisions 
as set out in the proposed Directive and not linked to any existing 
legal regime or international Convention, unlike the copyright 
protection of databases which is clearly linked in the proposal to 
that provided for internationally by the Berne Convention. 
Amendment 2 _4_. 
COMMENTARY ON THE PREAMBLE 
This amendment was accepted since it expresses a non-binding and 
qualified wish that database distributors would take into account the 
specific requirements of users to use the contents of databases for 
personal private purposes and the special needs of education and 
research in concluding licence contracts with these groups of users. 
-5-
COMMENTARY ON THE ARTICLES 
Structure of the amended proposal 
In its amended proposal the Commission has re-grouped all the Articles 
of the original proposal which relate to the copyright right in Chapter 
II and those which relate to the sui generis right in Chapter III. 
Although the Parliament's amendments did not specify this re­
arrangement, the report of the Legal Affairs Committee makes reference 
to the complexity of the text as did the Opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee. The Commission has therefore taken the decision to 
make the separation between copyright and sui generis provisions in 
order to make the amended text more comprehensible. This separation 
does not in any way change the substance of the proposal and is purely 
redact ionaI. 
Article 1 
The addition of the word 'data' to the definition of database is a 
useful clarification consistent with both the draft GATT Trips text and 
the proposed text of the Protocol to the Berne Convention. Article 
1(2) and 1(3) are deleted from Article 1 and re-located in Articles 10 
and 11 respectively with some minor drafting clarifications. 
Article (1)(4) is relocated in Article 9 (3). 
The Parliament sought to clarify by a number of amendments, of which 
some presented linguistic inconsistencies, that the "owner of the 
rights in a database" can be the author or his successor in title in 
the case of the copyright right, or the maker or his successor in title 
in the case of the sui generis right, or a combination of both author 
and maker if the database benefits from both copyright and sui generis 
protection. These have inserted in a new paragraph 2. 
Art icle 4 
This amendment corresponds in spirit to the equivalent provision set 
out in Article 3 of Directive 91/250 on the legal protection of 
computer programs. It is not to be considered as implying any new 
obligation on the Member States or as requiring any acts of compliance 
with international agreements in respect of copyright. 
-6-
Art icle 5 
The order of paragraphs has been reversed to give first the rule and 
second the limitation, and clarifications to the text on limitations 
have been made to ensure that only those works or materials which are 
not subject to copyright (references), which do not infringe copyright 
in the pre-existing work (short abstracts) or which fall within Article 
10 of the Berne Convention (quotations) can be incorporated into a 
database without authorisation. It is not intended that a database 
creator could incorporate abstracts written by third parties into his 
database without authorisation if such abstracts are themselves subject 
to copyright protection. The database creator may however make his own 
abstracts of pre-existing works and incorporate them into his database 
providing that the abstracts do not infringe the copyright in the pre­
existing work by being "substantial descriptions or summaries of the 
content or the form". 
Art icle 6 
This change corresponds to the definition in Article 1 paragraph 2 of 
the amended proposal. 
Art icle 8 
The amendments to this Article were accepted by the Commission as being 
purely intended to give greater precision to the text. Since the 
amendments of the Parliament speak only of "author" and "work", a new 
paragraph 3 has been added which corresponds to the coverage of 
neighbouring rights provided for in Article 7 of the original proposal 
by the terms "rightholder" and "other rights". 
Art icle 9 
The amendment of the Parliament seeks to re-group in this Article all 
of the provisions of the original proposal which dealt with the term of 
copyright protection and the definitions of "substantial" and 
"insubstantial change". The Commission accepted the need to clarify 
the terminology and to define the starting point in time of the period 
of protection of databases which are being constantly updated. 
Art icle 10 
The amendments of the Parliament to Article 2(5) aim at clarifying the 
nature of the sui generis right and include the term "part or all of 
the material" in the definition of the right and have been introduced 
in a new Article 10(1). That right was then limited by Article 10(2) 
and by Article 11. The Commission can accept these amendments since 
they correspond to the spirit of the original proposal and do not 
create rights in information as such. 
-7-
Art icle 11 
The amendments to this Article are largely clarifications of the 
original text and have been accepted for the reasons set out above in 
respect of Article 10. In particular, the clarifications in respect of 
public bodies and their exclusive concessionaires, and the definition 
of "publicly available" are considered useful precisions. 
Paragraph 7 and 8 contain clarifications of "commercial purposes" and 
"insubstantial part". To a large extent they represent language 
already existing in the Commission's original proposal but incorporate 
additional clarifications. Article 11(1) last sentence also applies to 
Art icle 11(2). 
Article 12 
The amendments to this Article correspond in intention to the 
amendments to Article 9 (on the term of copyright protection). These 
amendments re-group existing definitions of when a period of protection 
under the sui generis right arises in respect of constantly up-dated 
databases and defines "substantial" and "insubstantial" changes. As to 
the modification of the period of protection from ten to fifteen years 
the Commission has accepted the argument that the increased period 
corresponds better to the needs of industry to recover initial 
investments in the creation of databases, and is more proportionate to 
the term of 70 years for copyright protection provided for in the 
proposal for a Council Directive COM(92)33 final - SYN 395 on which a 
Common Position of the Council was reached in July 1993. 
Art icle 13 
These changes are purely drafting improvements and have been accepted 
by the Commission as such. 
Art icle 15 
The amendment to this Article correspond to the wish of the Parliament 
that protection should be available for all databases in existence on 
the date of entry into force of the Directive or created thereafter. 
As there will be in all probability no electronic databases in 
existence for which the period of copyright protection has elapsed, 
there is not a problem of calling works which have fallen into the 
public domain back into protection or extending the period of 
protection under copyright. 
Article 16 
The Commission agrees to the later date of 1 January 1995 given that 
the date set out in the original proposal has already passed. The 
Commission also accepts that in this fast-moving area of technology it 
is appropriate to review the contents of the Directive in due course. 
Amended proposal for a 
COUNCIL DIRECTIVE . 
ON THE LEGAL PROTECTION 
OF DATABASES 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic 
Community, and in particular Articles 57(2), 66, 100a thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
In cooperation with the European Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee, 
1. Whereas databases are at present not clearly 
protected in all Member States by existing 
legislation and such protection, where it exists, has 
different attributes; 
2. Whereas such differences in the legal protection 
offered by the legislation of the Member States 
have direct and negative effects on the 
establishment and functioning of the Internal 
Market as regards databases and in particular on 
the freedom of individuals and companies to 
provide on-line database goods and services on an 
equal legal basis throughout the Community ; 
whereas such differences could well become more 
pronounced as Member States introduce new 
legislation on this subject, which is now taking on 
an increasingly international dimension; 
3. Whereas existing differences having a distort!vc 
effect on the establishment and functioning of the 
Internal Market need to be removed and new ones 
prevented from arising, while differences not at 
the present time adversely affecting the 
establishment and functioning of the Internal 
Market or the development of an information 
market within the Community need not be 
addressed in this Directive; 
4. Whereas copyright protection for databases exists 
in varying forms in a number of Member States 
according to legislation or case-law and such 
unharmonized intellectual property rights, being 
territorial in nature, can have the effect of 
preventing the free movement of goods or services 
within the Community if differences in the scope, 
conditions, derogations or term of protection 
remain between the legislation of the Member 
States; 
5. Whereas although copyright remains an 
appropriate form of exclusive right for the legal 
protection of databases and in particular an 
appropriate means to secure the remuneration of 
the author who has created a database, in addition 
to copyright protection, and in the absence as yet 
of a harmonized system of unfair competition 
legislation or of case-law in the Member States, 
other measures are required to prevent unfair 
extraction and re-utilization of the contents of a 
database; 
6. Whereas database development requires the 
investment of considerable human, technical and 
financial resources while such databases can be 
copied at a fraction of the cost needed to develop 
them independently : 
7. Whereas unauthorized access to a database and 
removal of its contents constitute acts which can 
have the gravest economic and technical 
consequences; 
8. Whereas databases are a vital tool in the 
development of an Information Market within the 
Community; whereas this tool will be of use to a 
large variety of other activities and industries; 
9. Whereas the exponential growth, in the 
Community and worldwide, in the amount of 
information generated and processed annually in 
all sectors of commerce and industry requires 
investment in all the Member States in advanced 
information management systems; 
10. Whereas a correspondingly high rate of increase in 
publications of literary, artistic, musical and other 
works necessitates the creation of modern 
archiving, bibliographic and accessing techniques, 
to enable consumers to have at their disposal the 
most comprehensive collection of the 
Community's heritage; 
11. Whereas there is at the present time a great 
imbalance in the level of investment in database 
creation both as between the Member States 
themselves, and between the Community and the 
world's largest database producing countries; 
10 
12. Whereas such an investment in modern 
information storage and retrieval systems will not 
take place within the Community unless a stable 
and uniform legal protection regime is introduced 
for the protection of the rights of authors of 
databases and the repression of acts of piracy and 
unfair competition. 
13. Whereas this Directive protects collections, 
sometimes called compilations, of works or other 
materials whose arrangement, storage and access 
is performed by means which include electronic, 
electromagnetic or electro-optical processes or 
analogous processes; 
14. Whereas the criteria by which such collections 
shall be eligible for protection by copyright should 
be that the author, in effecting the selection or the 
arrangement of the contents of the database, has 
made an intellectual creation; 
15. Whereas no other criteria than originality in the 
sense of intellectual creation should be applied to 
determine the eligibility of the database for 
copyright protection, and in particular no aesthetic 
or qualitative criteria should be applied; 
16. Whereas the term database should be understood 
to include collections of works, whether literary, 
artistic, musical or other, or of other material such 
as texts, sounds, images, numbers, facts, data or 
combinations of any of these; 
17. Whereas the protection of a database should 
extend to the electronic materials without which 
the contents selected and arranged by the maker of 
the database cannot be used, such as, for example, 
the system made to obtain information and present 
information to the user in electronic or non­
electronic form, and the indexation and thesaurus 
used in the construction or operation of the 
database; 
18. Whereas the term database should not be taken to 
extend to any computer programme used in the 
construction or operation of a database, which 
accordingly remain protected by Council Directive 
91/250 EEC; 
(3) 
11 
19. Whereas the Directive should be taken as applying 
only to collections which are made by electronic 
means, but is without prejudice to the protection 
under copyright as collections, within the meaning 
of Article 2.5. of the Berne Convention for the 
Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, (text of 
Paris Act of 1971) and under the legislation of the 
Member States, of collections made by other 
means; 
20. Whereas works protected by copyright or by any 
other rights, which are incorporated into a 
database, remain the object of their author's 
exclusive rights and may not therefore be 
incorporated into or reproduced from the 
database without the permission of the author or 
his successors in title; 
21. Whereas the rights of the author of such works 
incorporated into a database are not in any way 
affected by the existence of a separate right in 
the original selection or arrangement of these 
works in a database; 
22. Whereas the moral rights of the natural person 
who has created the database should be owned 
and exercised according to the provisions of the 
legislation of the Member States consistent with 
the provisions of the Berne Convention, and 
remain therefore outside the scope of this 
Directive; 
23. Whereas the author's exclusive rights should 
include the right to determine the way in which 
his work is exploited and by whom, and in 
particular to control the availability of his work 
to unauthorized persons; 
24. Whereas nevertheless once the rightholder has 
chosen to make available a copy of the database 
to a user, whether by an on-line service or by 
other means of distribution, that lawful user must 
be able to access and use the database, for the 
purposes and in the way set out in the agreement 
with the rightholder, even if such access and use 
necessitate performance of otherwise restricted 
acts; 
25. Whereas if the user and the rightholder have not 
concluded an agreement regulating the use which 
may be made of the database, the lawful user 
should be presumed to be able to perform any of 
the restricted acts which are necessary for access 
to and use of the database; 
12 
26. Whereas in respect of reproduction in the limited 
circumstances provided for in the Berne 
Convention, of the contents of the database by the 
lawful user, whether in electronic or non­
electronic form, the same restrictions and 
exceptions should apply to the reproduction of 
such works from a database as would apply to the 
reproduction of the same works made available to 
the public by other forms of exploitation or 
distribution; 
27. Whereas the increasing use of digital recording 
technology exposes the database maker to the risk 
that the contents of his database may be 
downloaded and re-arranged electronically without 
his authorization to produce a database of 
identical content but which does not infringe any 
copyright in the arrangement of his database; 
28. Whereas in addition to protecting the copyright in 
the original selection or arrangement of the 
contents of a database this Directive seeks to 
safeguard the position of makers of databases 
against misappropriation of the results of the 
financial and professional investment incurred in 
obtaining and collecting data by providing that 
certain acts done in relation to the contents of a 
database are subject to restriction even when such 
contents are not themselves protected by copyright 
or other rights; 
29. Whereas such protection of the contents of a 
database is to be achieved by a special right by 
which the maker of a database can prevent the 
unauthorized extraction or re-utilization of the 
contents of that database for commercial 
purposes; whereas this special right (hereafter 
called "a right to prevent unfair extraction") is not 
to be considered in any way as an extension of 
copyright protection to mere facts or data; 
30. Whereas the existence of a right to prevent the 
extraction and re-utilization for commercial 
purposes of works or materials from a given 
database should not give rise to the creation of any 
independent right in the works or materials 
themselves; 
13 
31. Whereas in the interests of competition between 
suppliers of information products and services, the 
maker of a database which is commercially 
distributed whose database is the sole possible 
source of a given work or material, should make 
that work or material available under licence for 
use by others, providing that the works or 
materials so licensed are used in the independent 
creation of new works, and providing that no prior 
rights in or obligations incurred in respect of those 
works or materials are infringed; 
32. Whereas licences granted in such circumstances 
should be fair and non-discriminatory under 
conditions to be agreed with the rightholder; 
33. Whereas such licences should not be requested 
for reasons of commercial expediency such as 
economy of time, effort or financial investment; 
34. Whereas in the event that licences are refused or 
the parties cannot reach agreement on the terms to 
be concluded, a system of arbitration should be 
provided for by the Member States; 
35. Whereas licences may not be refused in respect of 
the extraction and re-utilization of works or 
materials from a publicly available database 
created by a public body providing that such acts 
do not infringe the legislation or international 
obligations of Member States or the Community 
in respect of matters such as personal data 
protection, privacy, security or confidentiality; 
•t 
36. Whereas the objective of the provisions of this 
Directive, which is to afford an appropriate and 
uniform level of protection of databases as a 
means to secure the remuneration of the author 
who has created the database, is different from the 
aims of the proposal for a Council Directive 
concerning the protection of individuals in relation 
to the processing of personal data (OJ N° C 277, 
5.11.1990, p.3.) which are to guarantee free 
circulation of personal data on the basis of a 
harmonized standard of rules designed to protect 
the fundamental rights, notably the right to 
privacy which is recognized in Article 8 of the 
European Convention for the Protection of Human 
Rights and Fundamental Freedoms; whereas the 
provisions of this Directive are without prejudice 
to the data protection legislation; 
37. Whereas notwithstanding the right to prevent 
unfair extraction from a database, it should still 
be possible for the lawful user to quote from or 
otherwise use, for commercial and private 
purposes, the contents of the database which he is 
authorized to use, providing that this exception is 
subject to narrow limitations and is not used in a 
way which would conflict with the author's normal 
exploitation of his work or which would 
unreasonably prejudice his legitimate interests; 
38. Whereas the right to prevent unfair extraction 
from a database may only be extended to 
databases whose authors or makers are nationals 
or habitual residents of third countries and to 
those produced by companies or firms not 
established in a Member State within the meaning 
of the Treaty if such third countries offer 
comparable protection to databases produced by 
nationals of the Member States or habitual 
residents of the Community; 
15 
39. Whereas, in addition to remedies provided under 
the legislation of the Member States for 
infringements of copyright or other rights, 
Member States should provide for appropriate 
remedies against unfair extraction from a 
database; 
40. Whereas in addition to the protection given under 
this Directive to the database by copyright, and to 
its contents against unfair extraction, other legal 
provisions existing in the law of the Member 
States relevant to the supply of database goods 
and services should continue to apply, 38a. Whereas distributors of databases should 
make appropriate provision in their contracts 
as regards the unauthorised re-utilization of 
the contents of the database by the lawful user 
where such re-utilization is for strictly private 
purposes or for the purposes of teaching or 
research, provided such re-utilization is not 
carried out for commercial purposes and does 
not prejudice the exclusive rights of the maker 
of the database to exploit that database; 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE 
16 
INITIAL COMMISSION PROPOSAI. AMENDED PROPOSAL SUBSEQUENT TO THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT OPINION OF 23 
JUNE 1993 
CHAPTER I : DEFINITIONS 
Article 1 
Definitions Article 1 
Definitions 
1. For the purposes of this Directive, 
'database' means a collection of works or 
materials arranged, stored and accessed by 
electronic means, and the electronic materials 
necessary for the operation of the database such 
as its thesaurus, index or system for obtaining or 
presenting information; it shall not apply to any 
computer program used in the making or 
operation of the database; 1. For the purposes of this Directive, 
'database' means a collection of data, works or 
other materials arranged, stored and accessed 
by electronic means, and the materials 
necessary for the operation of the database 
such as its thesaurus, index or system for 
obtaining or presenting information; it shall 
not apply to any computer program used in 
the making or operation of the database, 
'right to prevent unfair extraction' means the right 
of the maker of a database to prevent acts of 
extraction and re-utilization of material from that 
database for commercial purposes; Deleted 
[re-inserted 10(1)] 
3. 'insubstantial part' means parts of a database 
whose reproduction, evaluated quantitatively and 
qualitatively in relation to the database from which 
they are copied can be considered not to prejudice 
the exclusive rights of the maker of that database 
to exploit the database; Deleted 
[re-inserted 11(8)] 
4. 'insubstantial change' means additions, deletions or 
alterations to the selection or arrangement of the 
contents of a database which are necessary for the 
database to continue to function in the way it was 
intended by its maker to function. Deleted 
[re-inserted 12(3)] 
"Owner of the rights in a database means: 
(a) the author of a database or 
(b) the natural or legal person to whom the 
author has lawfully granted the right to 
prevent unauthorized extraction of 
material from a database, or 
(c) where the database is not eligible for 
protection by copyright the maker of the 
database. 
17 
CHAPTER 11 : COPYRIGHT 
Article 2 
Object of Protection: 
Copyright and Right to Prevent Unfair 
Extraction from a Database Article 2 
Object of Protection: 
1. In accordance with the provisions of this 
Directive, Member States shall protect databases 
by copyright as collections within the meaning of 
Article 2(5) of the Berne Convention for the 
protection of Literary and Artistic works (text of 
the Paris Act of 1971). Unchanged 
The definition of database in point 1 of Article 1 
is without prejudice to the protection by copyright 
of collections of works or materials arranged, 
stored or accessed by non-electronic means, which 
accordingly remain protected to the extent 
provided for by Article 2(5) of the Beme 
Convention. Unchanged 
A database shall be protected by copyright if it is 
original in the sense that it is a collection of works 
or materials which, by reason of their selection or 
their arrangement, constitutes the author's own 
intellectual creation. No other criteria shall be 
applied to determine the eligibility of a database 
for this protection. Unchanged 
4. The copyright protection of a database given by 
this Directive shall not extend to the works or 
materials contained therein, irrespective of 
whether or not they are themselves protected by 
copyright; the protection of a database shall be 
without prejudice to any rights subsisting in those 
works or materials themselves. Unchanged 
18 
Member States shall provide for a right for the 
maker of a database to prevent the unauthorised 
extraction or re-utilisation, from that database, of 
its contents, in whole or in substantial part, for 
commercial purposes. This right to prevent unfair 
extraction of the contents of a database shall 
apply irrespective of the eligibility of that 
database for protection under copyright. It shall 
not apply to the contents of a database where 
these are works already protected by copyright or 
neighbouring rights. Deleted 
[re-inserted 10(2)| 
Article 3 
Authorship : Copyright Article 3 
Authorship 
The author of a database shall be the natural 
person or group of natural persons who created the 
database, or where the legislation of the Member 
States permits, the legal person designated as the 
rightholder by that legislation. Unchanged 
2. Where collective works are recognized by the 
legislation of a Member State, the person 
considered by that legislation to have created the 
database shall be deemed to be its author. Unchanged 
3. In respect of a database created by a group of 
natural persons jointly, the exclusive rights shall be 
owned jointly. Unchanged 
Where a database is created by an employee in the 
execution of his duties or following the instructions 
given by his employer, the employer exclusively 
shall be entitled to exercise all economic rights in 
the database so created, unless otherwise provided 
by contract. Unchanged 
Article 4 
Entitlement to protection under copyright 
Protection under copyright shall be granted to all 
owners of rights, whether natural or legal persons, 
who fulfil the requirements laid down in national 
legislation or international agreements on 
copyright applicable to literary works. 
Article 4 
Incorporation of Works or Materials into a 
Database Article 5 
Incorporation of Works or Materials into a 
Database 
1. The incorporation into a database of 
bibliographical material or brief abstracts, 
quotations or summaries which do not substitute 
for the original works themselves1 shall not require 
the authorisation of the right owner in those 
works. The incorporation into a database of any 
works or materials shall remain subject to the 
authorisation of the owner of any copyright 
or other rights acquired or obligations 
incurred therein. 
2. The incorporation into a database of other works 
or materials remains subject to any copyright or 
other rights acquired or obligations incurred 
therein. 2. The incorporation into a database of 
bibliographical references, abstracts (with the 
exception of substantial descriptions or 
summaries of the content or the form of 
existing works) or brief quotations, shall not 
require the authorisation of the owners of 
rights in those workSj provided the name of 
the author and the source of the quotation are 
clearly indicated in accordance with Article 
10(3) of the Berne Convention. 
20 
Article 5 
Restricted Acts: Copyright Article 6 
Restricted Acts 
The author shall have, in respect of: 
- the selection or arrangement of the contents of the 
database, and 
- the electronic material referred to in point 1 of 
Article 1 used in the creation or operation of the 
database, 
the exclusive right within the meaning of Article 2(1) 
to do or to authorize : The owner of the rights in a database shall have, 
in respect of: 
Unchanged 
Unchanged 
Unchanged 
a) the temporary or permanent reproduction of the Unchanged 
database by any means and in any form, in whole 
or in part, 
b) the translation, adaptation, arrangement and any Unchanged 
other alteration of the database, 
c) the reproduction of the results of any of the acts Unchanged 
listed in (a) or (b), 
d) any form of distribution to the public, including the Unchanged 
rental, of the database or of copies thereof. The 
first sale in the Community of a copy of the 
database by the rightholder or with his consent 
shall exhaust the distribution right within the 
Community of that copy, with the exception of the 
right to control further rental of the database or a 
copy thereof. 
e) any communication, display or performance of the Unchanged 
database to the public. 
Article 6 
Exceptions to the Restricted Acts Enumerated in 
Article 5: 
Copyright in the Selection or Arrangement Article 7 
Exceptions to the Restricted Acts 
Copyright in the Selection or Arrangement 
1. The lawful user of a database may perform any of 
the acts listed in Article 5 which is necessary in 
order to use that database in the manner determined 
by contractual arrangements with the rightholder. Unchanged 
21 
2. In the absence of any contractual arrangements 
between the rightholder and the user of a database 
in respect of its use, the performance by the lawful 
acquirer of a database of any of the acts listed in 
Article 5 which is necessary in order to gain access 
to the contents of the database and use thereof shall 
not require the authorization of the rightholder. Unchanged 
The exceptions referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 
relate to the subject matter listed in Article 5 and 
are without prejudice to any rights subsisting in the 
works or materials contained in the database. Unchanged 
Article 7 
Exceptions to the Restricted Acts in Relation to 
the Copyright in the Contents Article 8 
Exceptions to the Restricted Acts in Relation to 
the Copyright in the Contents 
1. Member States shall apply the same exceptions to 
any exclusive copyright or other rights in respect of 
the contents of the database as those which apply in 
the legislation of the Member States to the works or 
materials themselves contained therein, in respect 
of brief quotations, and illustrations for the 
purposes of teaching, provided that such utilisation 
is compatible with fair practicei 1. Member States shall apply the same 
exceptions to any copyright or other rights of 
the author of a work contained in a database 
as those which apply in the legislation of the 
Member States to that work, in respect of 
brief quotations, and illustrations for the 
purposes of teaching, provided that such 
utilisation is compatible with fair practice, in 
accordance with Article 10(3) of the Berne 
Convention. 
2. Where the legislation of the Member States or 
contractual arrangements concluded with the 
rightholder permit the user of a database to carry 
out acts which are permitted as derogations to any 
exclusive rights in the contents of the database, 
performance of such acts shall not be taken to 
infringe the copyright in the database itself 
provided for in Article 5. Where the legislation of the Member States or 
contractual arrangements concluded with the 
author of a work contained in a database 
permit the user of that database to carry out 
acts which are permitted as derogations to any 
exclusive rights of the author of the work, 
performance of such acts shall not be taken to 
infringe the rights of the author of the 
database laid down in Article 6. 
3. The provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) 
above shall also apply in respect of owners of 
neighbouring rights attaching to materials 
contained in a database. 
22 
Article 8 
Acts Performed in Relation to the Contents of 
a Database - Unfair Extraction of the Contents 
1. Notwithstanding the right provided for in Article 
2(5) to prevent the unauthorised extraction and re-
utilization of the contents of a database, if the 
works or materials contained in a database which is 
made publicly available cannot be independently 
created, collected or obtained from any other 
source, the right to extract and re-utilise, in whole 
or substantia] part, works or materials from that 
database for commercial purposes, shall be 
licensed on fair and non-discriminatory terms. Deleted 
[re-inserted 11(1)] 
2. The right to extract and re-utilise the contents of a 
database shall also be licensed on fair and non­
discriminatory terms if the database is made 
publicly available by a public body which is either 
established to assemble or disclose information 
pursuant to legislation, or is under a general duty 
to do so. Deleted 
[re-inserted 11(2)] 
3. Member States shall provide appropriate measures 
for arbitration between the parties in respect of 
such licences. Deleted 
[re-inserted 11(4)] 
4. The lawful user of a database may, without 
authorization of the database maker, extract and re-
utilize insubstantial parts of works or materials 
from a database for commercial purposes provided 
that acknowledgement is made of the source. Deleted 
[rc-inscrted 11(5)] 
The lawful user of a database may, without 
authorisation of the database maker, and without 
acknowledgement of the source, extract and re-
utilise insubstantial parts of works or materials 
from that database for personal private use only. Deleted 
[rc-inscrted 11(6)] 
23 
6. The provisions of this Article shall apply only to 
the extent that such extraction and re-utilization 
does not conflict with any other prior rights or 
obligations, including the legislation or 
international obligations of the Member States or 
of the Community in respect of matters such as 
personal data protection, privacy, security or 
confidentiality. Deleted 
[re-inserted 11(9)] 
Article 9 
Terms of Protection Article 9 
Terms of Protection 
1. The duration of the period of copyright protection 
of the database shall be the same as that provided 
for literary works, without prejudice to any future 
Community harmonization of the term of protection 
of copyright and related rights. 1. The duration of the period of copyright 
protection of the database shall be the same as 
that provided for literary works. 
2. Insubstantial changes to the selection or 
arrangement of the contents of a database shall 
not extend the original period of copyright 
protection of that database. 2.(a) A substantial change to the selection or 
arrangement of the contents of a database 
shall give rise to the creation of a new data 
base, which shall be protected from that 
moment for the period recognised in paragraph 
1 of this Article. Such protection shall not 
prejudice existing rights in respect of the 
original database. 
(b) For the purposes of the term of protection 
provided for in this Article 'substantial change' 
means : 
additions, deletions or alterations, which 
involve substantial modification to the 
selection or arrangement of the contents of a 
database, resulting in a new edition of that 
database. 
3. (a) Insubstantial changes to the selection or 
arrangement of the contents of a database 
shall not entail a fresh period of copyright 
protection of that database. 
24 
3. The right to prevent unfair extraction shall run as 
of the date of creation of the database and shall 
expire at the end of a period of 10 years from the 
date when the database is first lawfully made 
available to the public. The term of protection 
given in this paragraph shall be deemed to begin on 
the first of January of the year following the date 
when the database was first made available. Deleted 
[rc-inscrted 12(1)| 
Article 10 
Remedies (b) For the purposes of the term of protection 
provided for in this Article, 'insubstantial 
change' means : 
additions, deletions or alterations to the 
selection or arrangement of the contents of a 
database which arc necessary for the database 
to continue to function in the way it was 
intended by its maker to function. 
Insubstantial changes to the contents of a database 
shall not extend the original period of protection of 
that database by the right to prevent unfair 
extraction. Deleted 
[re-inserted 12(3)] 
Member States shall provide appropriate remedies in 
respect of infringements of the rights provided for in 
this Directive. Deleted 
[re-inserted 14] 
25 
CHAPTER HI : SUI GENERIS RIGHT 
Article 10 
Object of Protection: 
Right to Prevent Unauthorized Extraction from a 
Database 
For the purposes of this Directive "right to 
prevent unauthorized extraction" means the 
right of the owner of the rights in a database 
to prevent acts of extraction and re-utilization 
of part or all of the material from that 
database. 
2. Member States shall provide for a right for the 
owner of the rights in a database to prevent 
the unauthorised extraction or re-utilisation, 
from that database, of its contents, in whole or 
in substantial part, for commercial purposes. 
This right to prevent unauthorised extraction 
of the contents of a database shall apply 
irrespective of the eligibility of that database 
for protection under copyright. It shall not 
apply to the contents of a database where 
these are works already protected by copyright 
or neighbouring rights. 
26 
Article 11 
Acts Performed in Relation to the Contents of 
a Database - Unauthorized Extraction of the 
Contents 
Notwithstanding the right provided for in 
Article 10 (2) to prevent the unauthorised 
extraction and re-utilisation of the contents of 
a database, if the works or materials contained 
in a database which is made publicly available 
cannot be independently created, collected or 
obtained from any other source, the right to 
extract and re-utilise, in whole or substantial 
part, works or materials from that database 
for commercial purposes that are not for 
reasons such as economy of time, effort or 
financial investment, shall be licensed on fair 
and non-discriminatory terms. A declaration 
shall be submitted clearly setting out the 
justification of the commercial purposes 
pursued and requiring the issue of a licence. 
2. The right to extract and re-utilise the contents 
of a database shall also be licensed on fair and 
non-discriminatory terms if the database is 
made publicly available by : 
(a) public authorities or public corporations or 
bodies which are either established or 
authorised to assemble or to disclose 
information pursuant to legislation, or are 
under a general duty to do so,: 
(b) firms or entities enjoying a monopoly status by 
virtue of an exclusive concession by a public 
body. 
For the purposes of this Article, databases 
shall not be deemed to have been made 
publicly available unless they may be freely 
interrogated. 
Member States shall provide appropriate 
measures for arbitration between the parties in 
respect of such licences. 
[previous 8(3) Unchanged] 
27 
5. The lawful user of a database may, without 
authorization of the database maker, extract and re-
utilize insubstantial parts of works or materials 
from a database for commercial purposes provided 
that acknowledgement is made of the source. 
[previous 8(4)] Unchanged 
6.The lawful user of a database may, without 
authorisation of the database maker, and without 
acknowledgement of the source, extract and re-
utilise insubstantial parts of works or materials 
from that database for personal private use only. 
[previous 8(5)] Unchanged 
7. For the purposes of this Article, commercial 
purposes' means any use, which is not : 
(a) private, personal, and 
(b) for non-profit making purposes. 
8.(a) For the purposes of paragraphs 4 and 5 of this 
Article, 'insubstantial parts' means parts of a 
database made available to the public whose 
reproduction, evaluated quantitatively and 
qualitatively in relation to the database from which 
they are copied, can be considered not to prejudice 
the exclusive rights of the owner of that database 
to exploit the database. 
(b)In both instances, it shall likewise be incumbent on 
the lawful user to demonstrate that the extraction 
and re-utilisation of insubstantial parts do not 
prejudice the exclusive rights of the owner of that 
database to exploit the database, and that such 
practices are not carried out any more than is 
necessary to achieve the desired objective. 
9. The provisions of this Article shall apply only to 
the extent that such extraction and re-utilization 
does not conflict with any other prior rights or 
obligations, including the legislation or international 
obligations of the Member States or of the 
Community in respect of matters such as personal 
data protection, privacy, security or confidentiality. 
(previous 8(6)] Unchanged 
28 
Article 12 
Term of Protection 
1. The right to prevent unauthorised extraction 
shall run from the date of creation of the 
database for 15 years, starting on 1 January 
of the year following : 
(a) the date when the database was first made 
available to the public, or 
(b) any substantial change to the database. 
(a) Any substantial change to the contents of a 
database shall give rise to a fresh period of 
protection by the right to prevent unauthorized 
extraction. 
(b) For the purposes of the term of protection 
provided for in this Article "substantial 
change" means the successive accumulation of 
insubstantial additions, deletions or alterations 
in respect of the contents of a database 
resulting in substantial modification to all or 
part of a database. 
3.(a) Insubstantial changes to the contents of a 
database shall not entail a fresh period of 
protection of that database by the right to 
prevent unauthorised extraction. 
(b) For the purpose of the term of protection 
provided for in this Article "insubstantial 
change" means insubstantial additions, 
deletions or alterations which, taken together, 
do not substantially modify the contents of a 
database. 
29 
Article 11 
Beneficiaries of Protection under Right to Prevent 
Unfair Extraction from a Database Article 13 
Beneficiaries of Protection under Right to Prevent 
Unauthorized Extraction from a Database 
1. Protection granted under this Directive to the 
contents of a database against unfair extraction or 
re-utilization shall apply to databases whose 
makers are nationals of the Member State or who 
have their habitual residence on the territory of the 
Community. Protection granted pursuant to this Directive 
to the contents of a database against 
unauthorized extraction or re-utilisation shall 
apply to databases whose makers are nationals 
of a Member State or who have their habitual 
residence on the territory of the Community. 
2. Where databases are created under the provisions 
of Article 3(4), paragraph 1 above shall also apply 
to companies and firms formed in accordance with 
the legislation of a Member State and having their 
registered office, central administration or principal 
place of business within the Community. Should the 
company or firm formed in accordance with the 
legislation of a Member State have only its 
registered office in the territory of the Community, 
its operations must possess an effective and 
continuous link with the economy of one of the 
Member States. Unchanged 
3. Agreements extending the right to prevent unfair 
extraction to databases produced in third countries 
and falling outside the provisions of paragraphs 1 
and 2 shall be concluded by the Council acting on a 
proposal from the Commission. The term of any 
protection extended to databases by virtue of this 
procedure shall not exceed that available under 
Article 9(3). Agreements extending the right to prevent 
unauthorized extraction to databases produced 
in third countries and falling outside the 
provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be 
concluded by the Council acting on a proposal 
from the Commission. The term of any 
protection extended to databases by virtue of 
this procedure shall not exceed that available 
pursuant to Article 12(1). 
CHAPTER IV : COMMON PROVISIONS 
Article 14 
Remedies 
Member States shall provide appropriate remedies in 
respect of infringements of the rights provided for in 
this Directive. 
[old Article 10)] Unchanged 
30 
Article 12 Article 15 
Continued Application of other Legal Provisions Continued Application of other Legal Provisions 
The provisions of this Directive shall be witliout 
prejudice to copyright or any other right subsisting 
in the works or materials incorporated into a 
database as well as to other legal provisions such as 
patent rights, trade marks, design rights, unfair 
competition, trade secrets, confidentiality, data 
protection and privacy, and the law of contract 
applicable to the database itself or to its contents. Unchanged 
2. Protection under the provisions of this Directive 
shall also be available in respect of databases 
created prior to the date of publication of the 
Directive without prejudice to any contracts 
concluded and rights acquired before that date. 2. Protection pursuant to the provisions of this 
Directive as regards copyright and the right to 
prevent unauthorized extraction and re-
utilization of the contents of the database shall 
also be available in respect of databases created 
prior to the date of publication of the Directive 
which on that date fulfilled the requirements 
laid down therein as regards the protection of 
databases. Such protection shall be without 
prejudice to any contracts concluded and rights 
acquired before that date. 
Article 13 
Final Provisions Article 16 
Final Provisions 
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, 
regulations and administrative provisions necessary 
to xx>mply with this Directive before 1 January 
1993. 1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, 
regulations and administrative provisions 
necessary to comply with this Directive before 
1 January 1995. 
When Member States adopt these provisions, these 
shall contain a reference to tins Directive or shall be 
accompanied by such reference at the time of their 
official publication. The procedure for such 
reference shall be adopted by Member States. Unchanged 
2. Member States shall communicate to the 
Commission the provisions of national law which 
they adopt in the field covered by this Directive. Unchanged 
31 
Not later than at the end of the filth year of 
implementation of this Directive and every two 
years thereafter the Commission shall submit to 
the European Parliament, the Council and the 
Economic and Social Committee a report on the 
application of this Directive and, where 
necessary, shall submit proposals for its 
adjustment in line with developments in the area 
of databases. 
Article 14 Article 17 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States. Unchanged. 
ISSN 0254-1475 
COM(93) 464 final 
DOCUMENTS 
EN 15 08 
Catalogue number : CB-CO-93-509-EN-C 
ISBN 92-77-59625-2 
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 
L-2985 Luxembourg