Case C-46/02

Fixtures Marketing Ltd

v

Oy Veikkaus Ab

(Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Vantaan käräjäoikeus)

(Directive 96/9/EC – Legal protection of databases – Sui generis right – Definition of investment in the obtaining, verification or presentation of the contents of a database – Football fixture lists – Betting)

Summary of the judgment

Approximation of laws – Legal protection of databases – Directive 96/9 – Definition of investment in the obtaining, verification or presentation of the contents of a database – Resources used to draw up a football fixtures list – Not included

(Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council 96/9, Art. 7(1))

The expression ‘investment in … the obtaining … of the contents’ of a database in Article 7(1) of Directive 96/9 on the legal protection of databases must be understood to refer to investment in the creation of that database. It thus refers to the resources used to seek out existing materials and collect them in the database but does not cover the resources used for the creation of materials which make up the contents of a database.

In the context of drawing up a fixture list for the purpose of organising football league fixtures, the resources used to establish the dates, times and the team pairings for the various matches in the league do not constitute such investment. Moreover, finding the data which make up such a list does not require any particular effort on the part of the professional leagues, which participate directly in the creation of those data. Nor should the resources used for the verification or presentation of the data making up the list be considered to represent substantial investment independent of the investment in the creation of those data.

(see paras 33-34, 41-42, 44-46, 49, operative part)

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Grand Chamber) 9 November 2004 (1)

(Directive 96/9/EC – Legal protection of databases – Sui generis right – Definition of investment in the obtaining, verification or presentation of the contents of a database – Football fixture lists – Betting)

In Case C-46/02,REFERENCE for a preliminary ruling under Article 234 EC,from the Vantaan käräjäoikeus (Finland), by decision of 1 February 2002, received at the Court on 18 February 2002, in the proceedings

v

THE COURT (Grand Chamber),,

composed of: V. Skouris, President, P. Jann, C.W.A. Timmermans, A. Rosas and K. Lenaerts (Rapporteur), Presidents of Chambers, J.-P. Puissochet, R. Schintgen, N. Colneric and J.N. Cunha Rodrigues, Judges,

Advocate General: C. Stix-Hackl,

having regard to the written procedure and further to the hearing on 30 March 2004,after considering the observations submitted on behalf of:

after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 8 June 2004,

gives the following

‘Object of protection

1.

2.Public lending is not an act of extraction or re-utilisation.

3.

4.

5.‘The author

has the exclusive right to stipulate the use of the whole or a substantial part, evaluated qualitatively or quantitatively, of the contents of the work by reproducing it and placing it at the disposal of the public.’

On those grounds, the Court (Grand Chamber) rules as follows:

Signatures.