The position of databases in economic turnover is currently gaining importance rapidly. This process has been ongoing for almost fifteen years.
A database is, simply put, an organized collection of information. Its simplest form is a set of records arranged in a format similar to, for example, spreadsheets. Records are composed of fields into which information is entered, such as a serial number, first name, last name, city, street, and similar data. Such a database can be said to have a flat structure.
Often, it is necessary to add further information to a single field or record. In such cases, additional “flat” sheets are created, and the database becomes a multidimensional database. Individual data are correlated with each other – this is done by assigning a unique index to each record; this index is the basis for linking information in different tables present in the database. For example, the index can be information appearing in related tables. It is important that it is always entered and that it is unique for each record.
When designing a database, it is difficult to predict that this condition will always be met, which is why a separate index field is usually used in the record. Such a breakdown of information into multiple tables has another advantage. It allows records to be sorted separately in each table, making it possible to search for needed information faster according to any key. This method of data organization is used in relational databases. These include databases such as Oracle, Sybase, My-SQL, DB2, or MS SQL. Databases of this type are currently the most widespread. Their advantages include, among others, independence from programming languages, the ability to very easily search for information using complex search parameters, and the ability to efficiently manage large amounts of data and access to them.
Another type of database is object databases, in which each element of the database has certain features assigned to it. An excellent example of the application of this type of database is expert systems or CAD systems. In the latter, an object in the database can be, for example, a rack beam, which has certain features assigned to it – dimensions, material, strength, length, color, and many others. Certain characteristic concepts are associated with these types of databases, such as object and its identifier, attributes and methods, encapsulation and message passing, class, class hierarchy, and inheritance. An example of such a database is NDS used in systems produced by Novell. A similar mechanism was introduced in Windows 2000 systems, e.g., in Active Directory. In this type of database, an object is, for example, a user, to whom attributes are assigned – access rights. A given object – a user, can, for example, belong to a class – advanced users, and thus inherit the attributes of the class (e.g., access rights to specific directories or services). Classes, in turn, can form a class hierarchy with a tree structure. Access to the database is performed by sending messages to objects in order to gain access to their attributes. There is no other way to gain access except through the interface defined for it.
Collecting data without the ability to manage it makes no sense, which is why a database server must be associated with a database, whose task is primarily to manage it, but also to communicate with the client. Database servers can operate on a single computer as well as on multiple computers, and they do not have to be the same units, nor do they have to have the same operating systems. In such cases, we are dealing with distributed systems. A distributed data processing environment is invisible to the user working in it, while simultaneously offering the possibility of replicating database content between individual servers, which, among other things, allows the system to be resistant to hardware failures, enables faster access to data, and allows for the application of a heterogeneous data archiving policy in the case of different data processing centers.
DBMS mechanisms (Database Management System), operating on the database server, are used to manage the database. This mechanism is responsible for handling functions related to data management or receiving queries from users and responding to them. It is the DBMS that is responsible for organizing information in the database into structures such as records, tables, or objects. The second element is the communication system with the client. In a single-tier database model, the client directly modifies its content by entering information. In a two-tier model and higher, a query language – SQL (Structured Query Language) is commonly used. Since many manufacturers use their own versions of SQL adapted to the needs of their products, another element mediating communication with the DBMS are API interfaces. One of the better-known interfaces of this type is Microsoft ODBC. Similar ones are Borland’s IDAPI, IBM’s DRDA, Apple’s DAL, or Oracle’s Glue.
Client-server communication can take various forms. These can be local databases, in which both the client and the server (which might rather be called a database engine in such a case) are located on the same computer. These are products like MS Access. It can be a two-tier model, in which a client application is installed on the user’s computer, communicating with the database server using appropriate drivers. The three-tier model, also called a “thin client” (Thin Client), is a solution in which all elements, i.e., the server, communication interface, and client, are placed on a server (or servers in a distributed database system). The user has access to the client via a web server on the server side and a web browser on the client side. The three-tier architecture, in addition to reducing the amount of data exchanged between the database server and the client, additionally allows the same applications to be used in highly heterogeneous environments.
An element that, due to its breadth, will only be signaled, is the issue of security. The server on which the database engine is located, even if it is behind a firewall, must allow a connection to the database; otherwise, it would lose its functionality. This means, however, that in the case of an improperly designed database, it can be very easy for theft or unauthorized modification of information in that database to occur.
Apart from system security, databases as specific intangible goods – because their actual value lies in their utilitarian nature – contrast sharply with traditional artistic works protected by copyright. It is precisely this utilitarianism that makes copyright very often not cover them within its scope.
The copyright protection of this type of IT goods, which was sufficient in the 1980s, was increasingly losing its relevance and adequacy as early as the beginning of the 1990s. The lobby of database creators very quickly became concerned about a situation in which national copyright laws either began to refuse protection to their products due to difficulties in meeting the premise of the creative nature of the works, or the goods produced by them enjoyed this protection only in some countries or regions. Justified opinions of creators of non-copyright databases demanding protection for the economic expenditures incurred also began to be heard.
A novelty in this matter is the introduction, under the 1996 directive, of a sui generis protection regime for databases. It refers to both copyright and non-copyright databases due to the failure to meet the premise of the creative nature of the work. A necessary element for covering a given database with sui generis type protection is for the producer to demonstrate the fact of having made a substantial quantitative or qualitative contribution to the obtaining, verification, or presentation of the contents of such a database.
The content of the right flowing from the sui generis protection regime is significant. Namely, the entitlement of the entity holding the rights to such a good is expressed in an effective erga omnes (towards all) prohibition of both extracting the whole or a substantial part of the contents of the database, and re-utilizing such a whole or part.
Extraction is defined in the directive as the permanent or temporary transfer of all or a substantial part of the contents of a database to another medium by any means or in any form. On the other hand, frequent individual extraction of even small, insubstantial parts of the database is treated as using a substantial part of it. Re-utilization, in turn, covers all forms of making available to the public all or a substantial part of the contents of the database by the distribution of copies, by renting, by on-line or other forms of transmission.
As for the length of the protection period provided by the sui generis model, it is 15 years. This period is calculated from the beginning of the year following the year in which the database was completed. If, however, it was made available to the public in any way before the expiry of this period, the beginning of the protection period is determined by the first public disclosure. It can be clearly seen here that this period is shorter than that provided by copyright law.