Mark Davison examines several legal models designed to protect databases, and specifically, the E.U. Directive--the history of its adoption and its transposition into national laws. Davison compares the Directive with various American legislative proposals, as well as the principles of misappropriation that are behind them. In addition, the book contains a commentary on the appropriateness of the various models in the context of arguments for international agreement on the topic.

Mark Davison is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law at Moash University. He has published articles on intellectual property and restrictive trade practices in England, Germany, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand and China.

Foreword William R. Cornish; Acknowledgements; Table of cases; Table of legislation; Table of European Union legislation; Table of treaties, conventions, other international international and regional instruments; 1. Introduction; 2. Some basic principles; 3. Protection of databases in the EU; 4. Transposition of the Directive; 5. Protection of databases in the United States of America; 6. International aspects of protection of databases; 7. The appropriate model for the legal protection of databases; Glossary; Bibliography; Index.