Re: Academics and coursepacks

This sounds like what we have as a result of the EC directive on the legal protection of databases (and acording to my understanding what the US is now about to get). However:

1. Person A only has copyright in the collection of data if it is his own intellectual creation.
2. Person A as the operator of the database ("a collection of independent works, data or other materials arranged in a systematic or methodical way and individually accessible by electronic or other means") has the right to prevent unauthorised acces to the database and unauthorised reutilisation of the material. So, he can stop B looking at the material (perhaps requiring payment before permission is granted), and can stop B making the photocopies (depending on the terms on which A allows access to the database) _regardless_ of the ownership of copyright (if any) in those materials.

English law also protects tables and compilations (like databases, species of literary works). I can't easily distinguish between a compilation and a database, except that a higher standard of originality is required if you call it a database, but you do get the rights described in 2 above. It would be interesting to hear if anyone can distinguishbetween the two concepts.

Incidentally, the compilation in the example would appear to fall squarely within the judgment in Grehound Raconf Association v Challis [1923-28] McG CC 370, where copyright protection was refused to lists of runners in greyhound races compiled by pulling their numbers out of a hat.

Peter Groves
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