1. What is Protected Database rights are protectable under the Copyright and Rights in Databases Regulations (SI 1997 No 3032). A database is defined as a collection of independent works, data or other materials which are arranged in a systematic or methodical way and are individually accessible by electronic or other means. A property right (‘database…
Social networking sites such as MySpace and FaceBook are becoming increasingly popular. Most adults between the age of 18 and 30 seem to be registered on either or both of these social networking sites. FaceBook was among the fastest growing websites (according to comScore) last year – it saw a staggering 2,167% growth in the…
The following details are taken from the judgment of the court. The full judgment can be accessed here. Promusicae is a non-profit-making organisation of producers and publishers of musical and audiovisual recordings. By letter of 28 November 2005 it made an application to the Juzgado de lo Mercantil No 5 de Madrid (Commercial Court No…
Read More… from ISPs and File-exchangers’ IDs: Promusicae v Telefonica
Deloitte & Touche LLP, the business advisory firm, announced on 31 January details of a survey looking at security in the consumer business industry. Key findings from the survey reveal 80% of companies do not have an information security strategy formally defined and 86% have never performed an inventory to understand where their data is…
In a paper published by the ICO on its Web site, the Information Commissioner sets out the case for changes to be made to the Data Protection Act 1998. The changes seek to create: • a penalty for knowingly or recklessly failing to comply with the data protection principles so as to create a substantial…
Read More… from Reform of Data Protection Powers and Penalties
Brief but important note, via the Asociated Press: the EU Art 29 Working Party group working on privacy, DP and Internet search engines (notably Google) has issued an early press release. ‘Germany’s data protection commissioner, Peter Scharr, leads the EU group preparing a report on how well the privacy policies of Internet search engines operated…
Read More… from Blog Taster: IP Addresses are Personal Data – Official
Carphone Warehouse and sister company TalkTalk have been found in breach of the Data Protection Act 1998. The Information Commissioner made the ruling after investigating complaints concerning the way in which both organisations processed and stored personal information. The ICO has now issued Carphone Warehouse and TalkTalk with an enforcement notice. The two companies must…
Read More… from ICO Enforcement Action against Carphone Warehouse and TalkTalk
From Roger Bickerstaff, Partner at Bird & Bird and SCL Trustee: www.twobirds.com 1. I predict an increasing focus on open source software in the business applications environment for major corporate users – not for cost or ideological reasons but more for vendor independence reasons. Open source gives major corporate users an opportunity to develop and…
Organisations must get cleaner, smarter and more focussed to meet their ever-increasing responsibilities towards the environment and a sustainable economy. Yet, in doing so they should still stay competitive and harness the benefits of IT to drive up business value. They will require the services of professional innovators who, by measured activities, can transmute disjointed…
The review is said to be a response to the request of the Prime Minister in October that a review be conducted of the framework for the use of information in the private and public sector. It may well have had an increased urgency in the light of subsequent events. In their opening request for…