Vol 7 No 1 - Roger Williams University School of Law

shall be null and void.65 Member states may (but are not requiredto) create exceptions, allowing lawful users of a database madeavailable to the public to extract or re-utilize a substantial part ofits contents for three limited purposes.66 The term of protection isfifteen years from the first day of the next calendar year followingcompletion of the database, or if it is made available to the public,fifteen years from the first day of the next calendar year followingpublication.67 Any substantial change in the contents of thedatabase that would result in the database being considered asubstantially new investment would be entitled to its own term ofprotection.68 Finally, in stating that protection will be accorded todatabases whose makers are not nationals, habitual residents, orlegal persons established in a member state only if the country oforigin of the database offers “comparable protection” to databasesproduced by nationals, habitual residents or legal personsestablished in a member country of the European Community, theDirective seems to place those segments of the U.S. databaseindustry that do not have an established presence in the EU at apotentially serious competitive disadvantage in the EU.69Not surprisingly, promulgation of the EU Database Directiveimmediately generated demands for sui generis databaseprotection in the United States and stimulated a series ofproposed legislative responses. Thus far, however, the only resulthas been a legislative stalemate. As we have seen, the two billsmost recently considered by the United States Congress—H.R.354 and H.R. 1858—reflect two competing approaches to suigeneris database protection. H.R. 354 would accord a databasedeveloper a limited-term right,70 somewhat analogous to that65. Id. at art. 8.66. Id. at art. 9. Lawful users of a database made available to the public mayextract or re-utilize as substantial part of its contents: (a) in the case of extraction forprivate purposes of the contents of a non-electronic database; (b) in the case ofextraction for the purposes of illustration for teaching or scientific research, as long asthe source is indicated and to the extent justified by the non-commercial purpose to beachieved; and (c) in the case of extraction and/or re-utilization for the purposes ofpublic security or an administrative or judicial purpose. Id.67. Id. at art. 10.68. Id.69. See id. at art 11(3) and recital 56; but see infra note 184 and accompanyingtext.70. H.R. 354 § 1409(c), 106th Cong. (1999). For a detailed discussion of theinteresting way H.R. 354 manages to create a limited term of protection and yetmaintain its credentials as an antipiracy act see infra notes 168-71 and accompanying