Following a public consultation in relation to Directive 96/9/EC on the legal protection of databases, the following overall preliminary trends can be observed:
More than half of the respondents consider that the original objectives of the Directive are still in line with the needs of the EU. However, views are divided as to whether the Directive has achieved its objective to protect a wide variety of databases.
As regards the sui generis right, more than half of the respondents consider that it sufficiently protects investments made in the creation, updating and maintenance of databases. However, opinions are divided as to whether the current scope of the sui generis right is still satisfactory. Contributions received focused, among other issues, on whether the sui generis right has brought more legal certainty for database makers and users (in particular concerning in which cases databases are protected and in which cases users' acts are licit).
Views are also split as to whether the Directive achieves a good balance between the rights and interests of rightholders and users. Opinions on the impact of the sui generis right on the re-use of data are equally diverging.
Finally, there is no clear consensus on which approach should prevail to achieve an adequate balance between database owners' rights and users' needs. A number of respondents would see merits in considering amending the sui generis right, while others take the view that no policy change should be proposed.
The public consultation received a total of 113 replies: 83 from organisations and 30 from individuals. The largest number of replies came from Germany, Belgium and the United Kingdom.
As regards non-individual replies, the largest proportion of respondents were trade associations and businesses, followed by organisations representing civil society and non-governmental organisation. There were no contributions from national administrations or national regulators nor from consumers organisations.
The Commission is now analysing in-depth the replies received. A synopsis report will be published in due course. The results will contribute to the ex-post evaluation of the Database Directive and to also examine possible needs of adjustment.