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Vol 7 No 1 - Roger Williams University School of Law

Vol 7 No 1 - Roger Williams University School of Law

Vol 7 No 1 - Roger Williams University School of Law

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determining the fate <strong>of</strong> database protection on the global scale.II. THE CHANGING FACE OF THE DATABASE INDUSTRYA. Databases and Digital TechnologyDigital technology is radically changing the face <strong>of</strong> thedatabase industry. The number <strong>of</strong> files in electronic databaseshas increased from four billion in 1991 to eleven billion in 1997, astaggering 200+% increase.76 The number <strong>of</strong> searches <strong>of</strong> suchinformation grew comparably, roughly doubling during any fiveyearperiod during the past decade.77 Likewise, the source <strong>of</strong>database development has dramatically shifted. In the late 1970s,78% <strong>of</strong> all databases were produced by government, academic andother non-pr<strong>of</strong>it providers, while the commercial sector accountedfor the remaining 22%. By 1997, the percentages were exactlyreversed.78While the database industry has long been producingdatabases in the absence <strong>of</strong> sui generis protection, the digitalrevolution has both enhanced the utility <strong>of</strong> databases and exposedthe vulnerability <strong>of</strong> investments in their production. Althoughprinted databases, such as telephone directories and retailcatalogs, remain important in certain industries, digitizedmultimedia databases have far more utility than printedcompilations. Because electronic databases can be navigated moreefficiently than printed publications, they are <strong>of</strong> growingimportance to the database industry and have made the creation<strong>of</strong> exhaustive factual compilations practical.79 Internet searchengines allow users to engage in their own selection andarrangement <strong>of</strong> the contents <strong>of</strong> mega-databases into smaller,individually tailored databases.The limitation <strong>of</strong> copyright to the original selection andarrangement <strong>of</strong> a database was developed with printed databasesin mind. The selection and arrangement <strong>of</strong> data in a printeddatabase creates value to the user because a random collection <strong>of</strong>76. O’Neal, supra note 2, at 109.77. Id.78. Id.79. See Kirk Statement, supra note 3, at 2 (noting that <strong>of</strong> the approximately11,000 databases listed in the Gale Directory <strong>of</strong> Databases, almost all are in electronicform—5,950 are made available online, 3,000 are on CD-ROM, 1,000 on diskette, and700 on magnetic tape).

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