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How does copyright apply to data/information?

I'm curious to know how information products such as contacts databases and market research can be copyrighted. How can direct marketers sell mailing lists for hefty amounts? What's to stop someone from simply replicating the list and selling it themselves? After all, it is simply a list of people who exist. Similarly, are newspaper listings and classifieds also copyrighted? Would I be violating copyright if I took the TV listings from a newspaper and published them on my website?

Public Comments

1. I can answer the direct marketing part! It's honor among thieves! When a list is 'rented' out, it is seeded with fake people at real addresses, If they get more than one mailing (or whatever the rental agreement is) they get penalized and chastised by peers in the DMA. As for the tv listing, it would be illegal to wholesale copy it. But since the information is public, it's not against the law to take the information, edit it, and include it on your site.