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Data and Copyright

Data can refer to many different types of materials, and the copyright situation is different depending on what particular type of data is meant. In this module we will consider the different potential types of data, the rights associated with each one, and the copyright considerations involved when using data. We will look carefully at how fair use applies in various data-use situations.

Copyright questions about different formats (data, images, music and video) can be especially difficult. Sometimes the law specifically distinguishes between these different formats, and in most cases there are media-specific considerations that impact a copyright analysis. In this course we will look at four different media, paying special attention to the unique issues for each one and the kinds of information that is important when making copyright decisions for each type of material. We will work through fair use issues for each multimedia format, look at format-specific exceptions in the law, and consider unique issues for seeking permission for film, music, images and data. At the end of this course, participants will have a deeper understanding of how to apply our framework for making copyright decisions, and will be more comfortable with assessing multimedia issues. They will have gained more and more diverse experience for considering fair use.

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Ministrado por

Kevin Smith, M.L.S., J.D.
Former Director, Copyright and Scholarly Communication
Lisa A. Macklin, J.D.,M.L.S.
Director, Scholarly Communications Office
Anne Gilliland, JD, MLS
Scholarly Communications Officer

Transcrição

Hello everyone.

Today we're going to be talking about data.

So data is commonly defined as a collection of facts or information, and

I personally tend to think of data as a bunch of numbers on a spreadsheet.

But data can actually be a bunch of different things in teaching and research.

It could be archaeological notes from an archaeological dig, it could be

images from the Hubble Telescope, or even ocean tide measurements.

So under US copyright law, facts are not given copyright protection.

Therefore data as a compilation of data or

an arrangement of facts, are not protected.

The US also doesn't recognize what is sometimes called sweat of the brow.

So even if took you a lot of time and effort to collect the data,

that's not enough for it actually to get copyright protection.

So one of the reasons that we are so

certain about data is there was a Supreme Court case called Feist Publications,

Inc versus Rural Telephone Service from 1991.

And in that case, the Feist Publications had extracted whitepages

listings from the rural telephone director, and as you can imagine,

the rural telephone directory objected to this extraction of their information.

So, in that case, the US Supreme Court found that it was originality and

not effort that was the touchstone of copyright protection in directories and

other works that are basically fact-based.

So if you look at the whitepages, as the example in that case,

whitepages are arranged in a very logical order by last name.

So that is not enough in of itself to get copyright protection.

>> So hard work isn't enough in order to have a copyright.

>> No, it's really not.

>> But, just because data as facts doesn't get a copyright protection,

there are some additional things to think about around data.

One is that compilations are copyrightable.

And the definition of a compilation, according to US copyright law, is a work

formed by the collection of preexisting materials or of data that are selected,

coordinated, or arranged in such a way that the resulting work, as a whole,

constitutes an original work of authorship.

So the component pieces, not copyrightable, but

perhaps when compiled, you have something that can be copyrighted.

In addition, spreadsheets of numbers are facts but

they also can be arranged in different ways that may entail a copyright.

For example, if arranged on a bar chart or graph that may be sufficient

expression to have a copyright in the bar chart or graph at that point.

And finally, the data can become a trade secret.

So it may be that you have facts that are not copyrightable but

if they are maintained by a business and maintained as a secret or confidential.

And that there is economic value to that secret, then

you may have a protected type of data even though it's not copyrightable.

So for example, a client list.

Kind of like the phone book, phone numbers, names,

might be not copyrightable, but might be maintained as a trade

secret if it were very valuable and confidential for that business.

>> Seems that's related in some ways to privacy,

which can also be something that comes up with data.

Data may have personally identifiable information

that may have privacy concerns.

It may have health information, which may be protected under HIPAA regulations,

which is the Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

Or it may be that it involves human subjects in which case it would need IRB,

or Institutional Review Board, approval.

So there are other things, as you say,

in addition to trade secrets with privacy that might govern how data can be shared.

It's also possible that someone who creates a collection of data

may actually put contractual provisions on how that data set can be used.

So while the data set itself may not be protected by copyright, there may be

contractual provisions in place that will dictate how that data can be used.

And generally because we have a freedom to contract in US law, those contract

provisions would trump essentially anything under potentially copyright law.

>> And conversely, there are times when people want data to be open.

Many advocates in the open-access community are suggesting

that people apply a Creative Commons Zero license to data.

And that shows the world, including jurisdictions that may protect data

is copyrightable, that you are waving all the rights to the data and

you are anxious for it to be used and reused by others.

Perhaps to replicate an experiment or

in order that someone can do further research.

>> So thank you for watching and listening.

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