Are data collections protected by copyright?

With the rapid development of technology and digital data, the collection and creation of data collections are becoming increasingly common in many fields. However, many people still mistakenly believe that data collections are protected by copyright. Let’s explore this in the article below!

What is a data collection?

Currently, Vietnamese law does not have a specific definition of “data collection.” However, it can be understood that a data collection is a collection of individual data (numbers, information, symbols, text, images, etc.) that are collected, selected, arranged, and systematized according to a certain principle, for the purpose of research, management, business, or information exploitation.

Data collections can exist in many forms such as:

• Customer databases;

• Statistical datasets;

• Catalogs of specialized information;

• Digitized databases;

• Collections of information compiled and categorized with a specific purpose.

Note: Individual data (events, numbers, pure information) are generally not original. Therefore, the issue of protection does not lie in the individual data itself, but in the way the data is selected, arranged, and presented.

Are data collections protected by copyright?

Based on the provisions of Clause 1, Article 14 of the 2022 Intellectual Property Law:

“Literary, artistic, and scientific works protected include:

…

m) Computer programs, data collections.”

Thus, it can be affirmed that data collections are a type of work protected by copyright law. However, not all data collections are automatically protected.

Note:

• Clause 3, Article 14 of the 2022 Intellectual Property Law emphasizes that a protected work must be directly created by the author through their intellectual labor and not copied from another person’s work. This means that the law does not protect raw data, factual data, or isolated objective information, because these elements exist objectively and are not the result of creation. Instead, the protected element lies in the method of selecting, classifying, arranging, and systematizing the data—that is, the form of expression bearing the author’s personal imprint.

• Copyright protection for data collections also needs to be correctly understood in terms of its scope. Copyright only protects the creative form of expression of the data collection, not the content of information, numbers, or individual data within it. Therefore, others may still collect and use similar data from legitimate sources, but they are not allowed to copy, reproduce the structure, organization, or innovative presentation methods of the protected data collection.

From the above analysis, it can be affirmed that data collections are protected by copyright under Vietnamese law if they fully meet the conditions regarding creativity, independence, and form of expression as stipulated in Article 14 of the 2022 Intellectual Property Law.

Recognizing and protecting this type of work is not only consistent with the development trend of the digital economy, but also contributes to protecting intellectual labor achievements and encourages individuals and organizations to invest seriously in the legal collection and exploitation of data.

Regulations on copyright for data collections

According to Clause 2, Article 22 of the 2022 Intellectual Property Law:

“A data collection is a creative compilation expressed in the selection and arrangement of materials in electronic or other forms.

Copyright protection for a data collection does not encompass the materials themselves and does not infringe upon the copyright of the materials themselves.”

From this regulation, it can be seen that the law does not assess the creativity of a data collection based on the individual content of each material, because data, information, or events can exist independently and objectively. Instead, the decisive factor for a data collection to be protected by copyright is the way the data is organized, systematized, classified, and presented, reflecting the intellectual imprint and unique creativity of the author in the compilation process.

Furthermore, the Intellectual Property Law affirms an important principle to avoid overlapping and conflicts of rights: protecting a data collection does not equate to possessing or creating rights to the materials within it. Therefore, if the materials used in the data collection are works that have already been independently protected by copyright, the author’s legitimate rights and interests in those materials remain intact and are not affected by the protection of the data collection.

These regulations aim to ensure a balance between protecting the creative work of the data collection compilers and respecting the legitimate rights and interests of authors with respect to each individual material, in line with the nature and objectives of copyright law in the digital environment.

The above is an article titled “Are data collections protected by copyright?“. Hopefully, the information shared above will help individuals and organizations be more proactive in exploiting, using, and protecting their intellectual property, while also minimizing legal risks arising from data usage in today’s digital environment.

Sincerely,

FAQ