date: Tue Jul 21 14:02:47 2009 from: Phil Jones subject: Re: McIntyre EIR request (FOI_09-44; EIR_09-03) - Draft response to: "Palmer Dave Mr \(LIB\)" , "Mcgarvie Michael Mr \(ACAD\)" Dave, The letter is fine. Your idea about 'copyright' of the database is an excellent one. Over the last 30 years we have reworked the database on a number of occasions - every 3-5 years, so re-extending for another 15 years is fine. I'll have retired by then anyway! Do we need to come up with a form of words elaborating on database rights? Or can we just declare this? I'm presuming we don't have to register this with anybody as would be the case with a patent? Can we go with the letter then invoke this copyright, or should the letter be modified to encompass your 'copyright' and 'database right' ? I wouldn't want to have to put this 'copyright' to the test in a Canadian court. If we send them the file and they break the copyright, can we then refuse thereafter? Apologies that nothing is ever simple. Cheers Phil At 13:22 21/07/2009, Palmer Dave Mr \(LIB\) wrote: Phil/Michael, A draft response along the lines discussed yesterday. I would expect an almost immediate appeal of this decision by Mr. McIntyre. Phil, as your concern is the publication of the requested information, I wonder if a possible alternative is to release it but place conditions on it's use. This will ONLY work if UEA has some rights in the data itself or in the database. 'Copyright' in the contents of a database would require some personal creative input by ourselves to the data or database that would render it different from preceding external versions and 'original'. However, even if the contents aren't 'original', there is a 'database right' where the contents of the database are assembled as the result of substantial investment in obtaining, verifying, or presenting it's contents. It is the framework, not the contents, that attracts the rights. These rights exist for 15 years from the completion of the database BUT any substantial change to contents will 'renew' the database rights for another 15 years. The owner of database rights has the right to prevent the extraction or reuse of all or a substantial portion of the database. There is 'fair dealing' in database rights to the extent that anyone has a right to extract & reuse an insubstantial portion of the database (not really defined in law but it's very small) for any purpose, or where the portion is substantial, extract and use data for non-commercial research or private study. What can't be done is re-issuing this information to the public under a different guise. The upshot of all of this is that, if we have a 'database right' in this information, then we can release it BUT insist on our exclusive right to re-use the information - BUT the issue is actually 'enforcing' those rights more difficult in practice than in law or theory. Just thought I would proffer this as an option in place of the refusal and the inevitable appeal. Cheers, Dave <> ____________________________ David Palmer Information Policy & Compliance Manager University of East Anglia Norwich, England NR4 7TJ Information Services Tel: +44 (0)1603 593523 Fax: +44 (0)1603 591010 Prof. Phil Jones Climatic Research Unit Telephone +44 (0) 1603 592090 School of Environmental Sciences Fax +44 (0) 1603 507784 University of East Anglia Norwich Email p.jones@uea.ac.uk NR4 7TJ UK ----------------------------------------------------------------------------