7. Rights akin to copyright: database right and performers’ rights

This chapter considers two rights similar to copyright in many ways, in terms of both subject matter and the substantive contents of the rights: (1) the special or sui generis database right, which operates alongside the copyright in databases; and (2) performers’ rights. Both rights have been relatively recently introduced into the armoury of intellectual property law. The chapter gives an account of each of these rights, comparing them with copyright but also underlining the differences between the regimes, and the reasons behind these differences. The chapter considers relevant the relevant international and EU frameworks and also highlights the nature and importance of these rights.