database
A database is a compilation of information arranged and stored systematically to facilitate access and retrieval. Today, databases exist most commonly in electronic form. In Myspace, Inc. v. Graphon Corp. , a court in California defined database as “a collection of data with a given structure that can be stored and retrieved.”
Unless the information itself is original or the structure and organization of the database qualify as an original work of authorship , the database will not be protected by U.S. copyright law.
[Last reviewed in September of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team ]
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