The European Union’s Database Directive: An International Antidote to the Side Effects of Feist?

This Article traces the origins of the Database Directive and asks whether the Directive is a model that should be applied at the international level. Part I examines the background to the Directive. Such an examination is pertinent because the Commission went from a position in 1988 of limiting its proposal to copyright protection, to one of a “copyright plus” approach in 1992. Part II reviews the current forms of protection at the Member State level. Part III examines the case for extended protection, while Part IV analyzes in detail the provisions of the Directive, including those which form the basis of the EU’s proposal for an international instrument. Part V reviews the international aspects of the Database Directive. THE EUROPEAN UNION'S DATABASE DIRECTIVE: AN INTERNATIONAL ANTIDOTE TO THE SIDE EFFECTS OF FIST?