The Legal Regime of the Database in the Conditions of Informatization of Society

Abstract

The active use of information technology has been affecting all spheres of life for decades. The research examined the legal regime of the database as an object of civil circulation, which is one of the results of the informatization of society. We analyzed the features of the database as a software product and as an object of intellectual property. Proposals are formulated to improve the legal definition of the database. The dual status of the database, which can be the object of copyright (creative database) and (or) the object of related rights (investment database), is investigated. The statutory criterion used to determine the materiality of the costs incurred to create a database as an object of related rights has been recognized as biased. The study proposed an approach to determine the materiality of the costs of the database manufacturer. The judicial practice on the issue of protection of rights to databases is analyzed with focus on the conclusions made by the Court for Intellectual Property Rights. The study analyzed the legal regime of such IT development as block chain. The research did not support the thesis that the block chain is a database in the sense enshrined in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The study examined the approach, according to which the block chain is a special kind of technology that is not regulated by the norms of civil law. We concluded that for the effective use of the analyzed institution, it is necessary to improve approaches to its regulation.