The Right to Know?: Delimiting Database Protection at the Juncture of the Commerce Clause, the Intellectual Property Clause, and the First Amendment

Malla Pollack, American Justice School of Law

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Abstract

The people of the United States have a constitutional right to know; the government has a duty not to block access to information. The First Amendment and the Intellectual Property Clause cabin the Commerce Clause. Congress cannot create a quasi-property right to exclude others from information without clearly demonstrating market failure. Sui generis protection of data bases does not meet this threashold requirement.