Student Projects:Database Protection:Conclusion

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Intro to Conclusion (collaborative -- everyone pitch in)

We've examined a number of forms that database protection has taken and may take in the future, in both the US and the EU. Each of these implementations has its good and bad points.

(Damon's stuff)

The EU's Database Directive has come under fire from many groups concerned about its effects. Libraries are concerned that it may prevent them from preserving data and making it available to the public. Scientists fear that the Directive keeps them from making use of and republishing data in their research. Based on the letter of the Directive as it stands today, these concerns are well-founded.

However, recent case law has given these groups some hope that the EU's highest court feels that the Directive's protection goes too far. Also, official analyses of the Directive point out some flaws that may well be addressed when the EU meets formally in 2006 to discuss amending the Directive. Though the Directive currently presents some very real concerns, some of its most drastic provisions may not be around forever.

(Don's stuff)

Database protection as implemented by HIPAA is being seen by clinical researchers as an additional cost of doing business. Ethical researchers understand the aim of HIPAA but its implementation confounds the already difficult task of conducting publicly funded clinical trials. They feel that protections in place prior to the implementation of HIPAA were adequately protecting patient privacy. It seems evident that while HIPAA may provide some future benefit, the researcher sees little if any benefit currently. This has left the researcher with a mainly negative opinion of HIPAA as in his mind the costs far exceed the benefits.

Conclusion of Conclusion (collaborative -- everyone pitch in)

Several pieces of current and proposed database protection legislation make it very difficult for scientists and other groups to perform their work. These kinds of database protection have enjoyed some favor in recent years.

However, the opposition to the most extreme kinds of protection is making itself heard in Europe, and support for such strong protection may be fading there. Europe may well be heading for a more balanced position. At the same time, relatively new existing legislation, and proposed legislation, may bring the United States to a situation much like that of Europe whether such new legislation is really necessary or not. In this very new area of government intervention, each country is still in the process of finding the right amount of power to place in the hands of the owners of databases.