Slide 23 of 24
Notes:
Now that you are all experts on intellectual property, letÆs take a look at a special problem.
How do we protect information in our databases?
Patents may cover the GUI, and perhaps a computer memory containing the information, but only if it is Novel and non-obvious.
Is copyright protection available? Well, the Supreme court already addressed this issue in a case called Feist v. Rural Telephone. Feist copied parts of RuralÆs telephone book. At issue was whether RuralÆs telephone book was protected by copyright. The court said no. The court stated that some ôoriginalityö was required as to the arrangement or selection of the information in a compendium work in order for it to be copyrighted.
TM could protect the service mark associated with providing the database. In our example, Reuters
Trade Secret is only useful if you donÆt let anyone use the database
