High Court rules ex-employees infringed database right by copying electronic files

The High Court has held that ex-employees who copied and retained various documents belonging to their ex-employer, such as customer contact details and sales figures, had not acted in breach of confidence, because the information was available in the public domain or their gathered skills and expertise, so that it was not confidential so as to prevent them from using it after the termination of their employment contracts. However, Peter Smith J held, among other things, that the ex-employees had infringed their ex-employer's database right by copying various customer sales figures and electronic files from its computer system to the computer system of a competing company set up by the ex-employees. The case illustrates the potential utility of claims for database right infringement where ex-employees have copied and retained information without authorisation, in particular where such information may not be protected by confidentiality.

Case: Crowson Fabrics Ltd v Rider and others, 20 December 2007.