Is copyright a path to take to protect data? Can data be regarded as a result of creativity and, consequently, a protected work? Does the protection of a data filing system also include the data collected in it?
Non-personal data, in particular data collected or generated by machines, has great economic and scientific value. Increasingly, it is a key business asset, providing the basis for launching new goods and services. It helps improve methods of detecting and treating diseases, determine where to set up a wind farm or where to cut down trees so they do not interfere with power lines, and helps ease traffic congestion in cities.
Do entities collecting such data or creating algorithms that harvest data, e.g. from the internet, have rights to the data? Can such data be freely traded, e.g. sold or licensed?
This issue raises many unanswered questions. This article will address whether data is protected by copyright and, as a result, whether the data “owner” can use the instruments provided by the Polish Copyright Act to protect it against infringement by third parties.
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