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The relevant question is "What does copyright protect?" > Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section "What Works Are Protected." You need to argue that such a database is an original work, and not merely an uncreative collections of facts. I would at least consider simple patterns uncreative facts, but complex patterns might be considered copyrightable original works. |