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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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in them. They provide the quantitative basis for testingand confirming theories and for translating newdiscoveries into useful applications for the benefit <strong>of</strong>society. They also are the foundation <strong>of</strong> sensible publicpolicy in our democracy. The assembled record <strong>of</strong>scientific data and resulting information is both a history<strong>of</strong> events in the natural world and a record <strong>of</strong> humanaccomplishment.100When assessing the value <strong>of</strong> sui generis legislation and deciding towhat degree exclusionary rights should be granted, lawmakersmust balance the social benefits <strong>of</strong> databases that would not beavailable in the absence <strong>of</strong> protection against the loss <strong>of</strong>innovative and transformative uses <strong>of</strong> databases that might notoccur because <strong>of</strong> the existence <strong>of</strong> database protection. Thescientific community and research and development industriesfrequently conduct research by applying novel theories <strong>of</strong> analysisto existing data in order to highlight certain trends. By reviewinglarger databases and carefully organizing selected data, aresearcher may discover trends lost in the larger context <strong>of</strong> theoriginal database. By further refining the original data, secondarydatabases thus add value to the original.101Some sectors <strong>of</strong> the information technology industry itself arealso disturbed by the prospect <strong>of</strong> sui generis protection fordatabases. They claim that the imposition <strong>of</strong> increased businesscosts will drive the entire information technology industry<strong>of</strong>fshore and heighten the dangers <strong>of</strong> incipient monopoly.102 As100. Collections <strong>of</strong> Information Antipiracy Act: Hearing on H.R. 354 before theSubcomm. on Courts and Intellectual Prop. <strong>of</strong> the House Comm. on the Judiciary, 106thCong. (1999) (statement <strong>of</strong> Joshua Lederberg, <strong>No</strong>bel laureate, on behalf <strong>of</strong> NAS, NAE,IOM and the American Association for the Advancement <strong>of</strong> Science), available athttp://www.house.gov/judiciary/106-lede.htm.101. National Research Council, Preserving Scientific Data on Our PhysicalUniverse 16 (1995):In all areas <strong>of</strong> research, the collection <strong>of</strong> data sets is not an end in itself, butrather a means to an end, the first step in the creation <strong>of</strong> new information,knowledge, and understanding. As part <strong>of</strong> that process, the originaldatabases are continually refined and recombined to create new databasesand new insights. Typically, each level <strong>of</strong> processing adds value to an original(raw) data set by summarizing the original product, synthesizing a newproduct, or providing an interpretation <strong>of</strong> the original data.Id.102. Hearing 2652, supra note 88 (statement <strong>of</strong> Tim D. Casey on behalf <strong>of</strong> theInformation Technology Association Of America), available at

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