Database as an object of legal protection

The article considers the legal analysis of database as an object of legal protection. The article analyzes the peculiarities of the legal regime of databases under the legislation of Ukraine, identifies the characteristics of databases as an object of copyright. It has been proven that databases are an important object of copyright, and can be used to restore Ukraine in the post-war period. It is established that the database may be subject to copyright or may be protected by sui generis law. It is substantiated that the object of copyright protection are only those databases which, due to the selection or location of their information content, are the result of the creative work of the author, and such databases are protected by copyright, while no other criteria are used to determine their right to protection It has been proven that if a database is non-original, i.e. it is not the result of creative activity in the selection and/or arrangement of its constituent parts, it is protected under the sui generis right and not under copyright provisions. It is substantiated that it is the presence of creativity that transforms a database from a simple material object protected by sui generis law into an object of copyright. It is established that the subject of copyright on databases is an individual or several individuals who created this database, or a legal entity that acquired the rights to the database as an employer or customer. The exclusive copyright to a database created jointly by a group of individuals (co-authors) belongs to them jointly. It has been proven that a database is often coupled with a computer program that provides its operation and search capabilities within the database. It is justified that the electronic form of the database is the prevailing state today, since most of the information in today’s conditions is stored in electronic format. It is substantiated that the database as an object of legal protection claims the adoption of a separate special law that could comprehensively define its legal regime as an object of legal protection. It has been proven that working with the database requires a search engine within which the necessary information in the database can be searched. It has been established that a database usually acts as digital content, since the records in the database are stored mainly on computers, servers, etc., usually with access to the Internet. It has been proven that the protection of databases in accordance with the right of a special kind (sui generis) does not prevent the exercise of the rights that exist in relation to the contents of such a database, when creating a database, the rights of the authors (subjects of property copyright) to the constituent parts of this database should be respected . The features of a database as an object of legal protection are established: a collection of works, certain data or any other independent information; these works, data, etc. are arranged in an arbitrary form; the selection and location of the constituent parts of the database and its arrangement are the result of the creative work of its author(s); the database has a special search system, usually based on electronic means (computer), thanks to which its component parts are searched; the database exists primarily in digital form.