Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2010
Abstract
“Web 2.0" and "User Generated Content (UGC)" are the new buzzwords in cyberspace. In recent years, law and policy makers have struggled to keep pace with the needs of digital natives in terms of online content control in the new participatory web culture. Much of the discourse about intellectual property rights in this context revolves around copyright law: for example, who owns copyright in works generated by multiple people, and what happens when these joint authored works borrow from existing copyright works in terms of derivative works rights and the fair use defense. Many works compiled by groups are subject to creative commons licenses and may only be reproduced on similar terms. Although many of the copyright questions have yet to find solutions in the Web 2.0 generation, little attention has been paid to the role of the European Union Database Directive in the context of wikis and other forms of UGC. This paper will examine this issue, bearing in mind that although much criticism has been brought to bear on the Directive, its provisions remain operational throughout Member States of the European Union. This article will take Wikipedia as a case study to examine the extent to which the Directive may impact on the operations of online services based on UGC.
Recommended Citation
Jacqueline D. Lipton,
Wikipedia and the European Union Database Directive,
26
Santa Clara Computer & High Technology Law Journal
631
(2010).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.pitt.edu/fac_articles/470
Included in
Communications Law Commons, Communication Technology and New Media Commons, Databases and Information Systems Commons, E-Commerce Commons, Intellectual Property Law Commons, International Law Commons, Internet Law Commons, Law and Society Commons, Science and Technology Studies Commons