20. Introduction to Rights in Data and Information

This chapter provides an overview of rights in data and information. It discusses the impetus for the creation of ‘rights’ in information, which is found in the financial investment in the gathering and the organization of the data and information. This area is entirely about the protection of investment against the ease of copying. The nature of what emerges is therefore also radically different from the traditional IP rights. Traditional IP rights such as patents, trade marks, and copyright are exclusionary rights, but they are transferable in nature. One can assign these rights. But in the area of ‘rights’ in information, non-transferability is the norm.