What is the best protection, from an economic point of view, for the investments in databases? This is the general question addressed in this article. In particular, one asks whether a database producer can, and should, use contractual arrangements to obtain an additional protection on top of the protection already given by IP law. Combining an economic and a legal approach, the article examines
... [Show full abstract] to which extent IP law and contract law are complements or substitutes, and how they should be combined so as to promote the optimal level of investment in database creation.
JEL code – L51, L63, L88, 034.