Agreement 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 and the European Community extending to the Isle of Man the legal protection of databases as provided for in Chapter III of Directive 96/9/EC
Date: 2003-03-26
Institutions: European Community, United Kingdom
Subjects: Isle of Man, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, agreement (EU), data protection, database, intellectual property

L 89/12

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

5.4.2003

AGREEMENT 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
and the European Community extending to the Isle of Man the legal protection of databases as
provided for in Chapter III of Directive 96/9/EC

A. Letter from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, on behalf of the Isle of Man

Sir,

I have the honour to propose that the following Agreement be concluded with a view to extending the sui
generis protection of databases to the Isle of Man.

Agreement 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 and the European Community extending to the Isle of Man
the legal protection of databases as provided for in Chapter III of Directive 96/9/EC

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY AND THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND ON
BEHALF OF THE ISLE OF MAN

DESIRING to enhance and stimulate trade in databases and their production and distribution,

RECOGNISING that both the European Community and the Isle of Man provide for the sui generis protection
of databases where it is shown that the obtaining, verification or presentation of the contents thereof has
entailed substantial investment,

RECOGNISING that the protection under Directive 96/9/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 11 March 1996 on the legal protection of databases (Official Journal of the European Communities L 77,
27.3.1996, p. 20) is limited to database makers and rightholders who are nationals of a Member State of
the European Union or who have their habitual residence in the territory of the European Community and
to companies and firms formed in accordance with the law of a Member State and complying with the
conditions of Article 11(2) of the said Directive, but that such protection may be extended to third country
rightholders,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The European Community and the Isle of Man (each being a ‘Relevant Party’ for the purposes of this Agree-
ment) shall provide for a sui generis protection of databases as provided for in Chapter III of Directive 96/9/
EC and shall (so far as it is not yet afforded) extend that sui generis protection to databases whose makers
or rightholders are:

(a) nationals of one of the Member States of the European Union;

(b) natural persons who have their habitual residence in the territory of the other Relevant Party;

(c) companies or firms formed in accordance with the law of the Isle of Man or the law of one of the
Member States of the European Union and having their registered office, central administration or prin-
cipal place of business within the territory of a Relevant Party.

Provided that where a company or firm as referred to in point (c) of the first paragraph has only its regis-
tered office in the territory of a Relevant Party, its operations must be genuinely linked on an ongoing basis
with the economy of a Relevant Party.

The duration of protection for databases shall be in accordance with Article 10 of Directive 96/9/EC.

Article 2

5.4.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 89/13

This Agreement shall take effect on 1 November 2003.

Article 3

I would be grateful if you would confirm the agreement of the European Community to the Agreement set
out above and I propose that this letter and your letter in reply constitute an Agreement between our two
authorities.

Please accept, Sir, the assurance of my highest consideration.

Done at Brussels,
Fait à Bruxelles, le
Hecho en Bruselas, el
Udfærdiget i Bruxelles, den
Geschehen zu Brüssel am
Έγινε στις Βρυξέλλες, στις
Fatto a Bruxelles, addì
Gedaan te Brussel,
Feito em Bruxelas, em
Tehty Brysselissä
Utfärdat i Bryssel den

For the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on behalf of the Isle of Man
Por el Gobierno del Reino Unido de Gran Bretaña e Irlanda del Norte, en nombre de la Isla de Man
For Det Forenede Kongerige Storbritannien og Nordirland på vegne af Isle of Man
Für das Vereinigte Königreich Großbritannien und Nordirland im Namen der Insel Man
Για το Ηνωµένο Βασίλειο της Μεγάλης Βρετανίας και της Βόρειας Ιρλανδίας εξ ονόµατος της Νήσου του Μαν

Pour le Royaume-Uni de Grande-Bretagne et d'Irlande du Nord, au nom de l'île de Man
Per il Regno Unito di Gran Bretagna e Irlanda del Nord, per conto dell'Isola di Man
Voor het Verenigd Koninkrijk van Groot-Brittannië en Noord-Ierland namens het eiland Man
Pelo Reino Unido da Grã-Bretanha e Irlanda do Norte, em nome da Ilha de Man
Mansaarta edustavan Ison-Britannian ja Pohjois-Irlannin yhdistyneen kuningaskunnan puolesta
För Förenade konungariket Storbritannien och Nordirland på Isle of Mans vägnar

L 89/14

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

5.4.2003

B. Letter from the European Community

Sir,

I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your letter of today's date which reads as follows:

‘I have the honour to propose that the following Agreement be concluded with a view to extending
the sui generis protection of databases to the Isle of Man.

Agreement 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 and the European Community extending to the Isle of
Man the legal protection of databases as provided for in Chapter III of Directive 96/9/EC

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY AND THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND
ON BEHALF OF THE ISLE OF MAN

DESIRING to enhance and stimulate trade in databases and their production and distribution,

RECOGNISING that both the European Community and the Isle of Man provide for the sui generis
protection of databases where it is shown that the obtaining, verification or presentation of the
contents thereof has entailed substantial investment,

RECOGNISING that the protection under Directive 96/9/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 11 March 1996 on the legal protection of databases (Official Journal of the European Commu-
nities L 77, 27.3.1996, p. 20) is limited to database makers and rightholders who are nationals of a
Member State of the European Union or who have their habitual residence in the territory of the
European Community and to companies and firms formed in accordance with the law of a Member
State and complying with the conditions of Article 11(2) of the said Directive, but that such protection
may be extended to third country rightholders,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The European Community and the Isle of Man (each being a “Relevant Party” for the purposes of this
Agreement) shall provide for a sui generis protection of databases as provided for in Chapter III of
Directive 96/9/EC and shall (so far as it is not yet afforded) extend that sui generis protection to data-
bases whose makers or rightholders are

(a) nationals of one of the Member States of the European Union;

(b) natural persons who have their habitual residence in the territory of the other Relevant Party;

(c) companies or firms formed in accordance with the law of the Isle of Man or the law of one of the
Member States of the European Union and having their registered office, central administration or
principal place of business within the territory of a Relevant Party.

Provided that where a company or firm as referred to in point (c) of the first paragraph has only its
registered office in the territory of a Relevant Party, its operations must be genuinely linked on an
ongoing basis with the economy of a Relevant Party.

The duration of protection for databases shall be in accordance with Article 10 of Directive 96/9/EC.

Article 2

5.4.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 89/15

This Agreement shall take effect on 1 November 2003.

Article 3

I would be grateful if you would confirm the agreement of the European Community to the Agreement
set out above and I propose that this letter and your letter in reply constitute an Agreement between
our two authorities.’

I have the honour to confirm that the above is acceptable to the European Community and that your letter
and this letter constitute an Agreement in accordance with your proposal.

Please accept, Sir, the assurance of my highest consideration.

Hecho en Bruselas, el
Udfærdiget i Bruxelles, den
Geschehen zu Brüssel am
Έγινε στις Βρυξέλλες, στις
Done at Brussels,
Fait à Bruxelles, le
Fatto a Bruxelles, addì
Gedaan te Brussel,
Feito em Bruxelas, em
Tehty Brysselissä
Utfärdat i Bryssel den

Por la Comunidad Europea
For Det Europæiske Fællesskab
Für die Europäische Gemeinschaft
Για την Ευρωπαϊκή Κοινότητα

For the European Community
Pour la Communauté européenne
Per la Comunità europea
Voor de Europese Gemeenschap
Pela Comunidade Europeia
Euroopan yhteisön puolesta
På Europeiska gemenskapens vägnar