[tinus_hn]

It’s like company A collects everyone’s phone number and then publishes it as a phone book. And then company B copies the phone book and publishes it as their own.

It’s not a straightforward copyright issue but in many jurisdictions that is not allowed. Company A did the work, they should be allowed to profit.

[ghaff]

In the US, company B would probably be in the clear--at least for the list of names and numbers. You don't necessarily get copyright protection just because something was a lot of work ("sweat of the brow"). The most relevant US Supreme Court case is Feist.

[tinus_hn]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Database_right

There is protection in a few notable jurisdictions so a violation would make the product illegal in those jurisdictions, which is a problem if it’s an online product.