DATA SCRAPING AND WEB CRAWLING: COPYRIGHT PROTECTION OF ONLINE DATABASES

The exponential growth of digital information has engendered unprecedented legal challenges regarding the protection of online databases against unauthorized data extraction. This paper examines the complex interplay between copyright law and the practices of web scraping and web crawling, with particular emphasis on the extent to which copyright protection can effectively regulate automated data extraction while maintaining a balance between intellectual property rights and technological innovation. Through a comprehensive analysis of copyright principles including originality, compilation protection, and substantiality, this study demonstrates that copyright law provides limited protection to online databases, as it safeguards only the creative structure and arrangement of data rather than the factual content itself. The research further reveals that legal frameworks governing data scraping remain fragmented across jurisdictions, with significant variations between the United States' fair use doctrine, the European Union's sui generis database rights, and India's copyright regime. The paper concludes that an effective regulatory approach necessitates the development of clearer legal standards for database protection, coupled with harmonized international frameworks, while ensuring that legitimate research activities and technological innovation remain unimpeded.