Case Nos: IL-2023-000080 and IL-2024-000038 - [2025] EWHC 2561 (Ch)

Fecha: 10-Oct-2025

Regulation 19 of The Database Regulations

Regulation 19 of The Database Regulations

74.

Reg.19 of the Database Regulations provides:

‘Avoidance of certain terms affecting lawful users

19.—(1) A lawful user of a database which has been made available to the public in any manner shall be entitled to extract or re-utilise insubstantial parts of the contents of the database for any purpose.

(2)

Where under an agreement a person has a right to use a database, or part of a database, which has been made available to the public in any manner, any term or condition in the agreement shall be void in so far as it purports to prevent that person from extracting or re-utilising insubstantial parts of the contents of the database, or of that part of the database, for any purpose.’

75.

Reg.19(1) appears to go no further than reinforcing reg.16(1): a database right can only be infringed if there is extraction or re-utilisation of all or a substantial part of the contents of the database. An insubstantial part will not suffice. Reg.19 is derived from art.8 of the Database Directive. I was referred to the Statement of Reasons in paragraphs 15 and 16 of the EC Council’s Common Position (EC) No. 20/95, at 26-27, which indicates that indeed the provision was intended to be clarificatory.

76.

Reg.19(2) goes further by providing that a party may not rely on a contractual term to prevent the extraction or re-utilisation of an insubstantial part. Nothing in reg.19 detracts from the effect of reg.16(2).