Judgement of the Regional Appeal Court in Hamburg of 6th May 1999 – 3 U 246/98 – “Compilation of stock data”1. A compilation of stock data concerning the expected dividend and the expected result of German shares which is based on individual evaluation and calculations of economic factors by expert stock analysts is not eligible for protection as a compilation work, if neither the selection nor the arrangement of elements constitute a personal intellectual creation within the meaning of § 2 (2) of the Copyright Act; this applies also to database works (§ 4 (2) Copyright Act). Individual data is not protected, unless it has its own character of a work. 2. Such numeric data concerning the expected dividend and the expected result of German shares being mere numbers does not have the character of a work within the framework of copyright law (§ 2 (1) No. 1,7 of the Copyright Act). Being individual expert accomplishments of competitive character, such data is, however, eligible for protection within the framework of law of industrial property protection and copyright protection (§ 1 of the Unfair Competition Act). |