Protection of Digital Heritage Database Mahmud Zuhdi Mohd Nor 1 , Nazura Abdul Manap 2 and Safinaz Mohd Hussein 1 + 1 Law Faculty, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2 Law Faculty, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Abstract. The main objective of this paper is to look at protection of database involving digital heritage materials in Malaysia. This is done by looking at the definition of relevant key terms, the significance criteria and problems of database protection in the copyright regime. This paper argues that not only copyright regime fails to give adequate protection for database and heritage database materials, that heritage law also does not correspond well to copyright issues. Keywords: Digital heritage, database, protection. 1. Introduction Cultural heritage law is increasingly making its mark in various legal regimes including the law of environment, development law, intellectual property, law of the sea and others. Within these legal regimes, there exist mechanism designed for the protection of subject matter of concern, but none are designed for the protection of heritage matters. Thus, there exists a need to have specific law dealing with various aspects of cultural heritage issues. In Malaysia, this need is addressed by National Heritage Act 2005, which came into force in 2006. However, does heritage law correspond well to other regimes? The main purpose of this paper is to look at the protection of digital heritage database. To recall the work done at UNESCO, that UNESCO has placed the need for preservation of digital heritage within the context of common heritage of mankind. The UNESCO’s ‘Memory of the World’ Programme for example, which aims to ensure the preservation, by the most appropriate means, of the world’s documentary heritage. In sum, the idea is to make this heritage as accessible as possible to people of the world by using the most appropriate technology. However, there is limit to what heritage laws can do. Beyond its reach, other regimes would apply. 2. Key Concepts and Terms 2.1 Heritage Defining ‘heritage’ is a laborious task for the term ‘heritage’ is susceptible to subjective interpretation. For the purpose of this paper, ‘heritage’ may be broadly termed as ‘our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations.’ There are two main domains of cultural heritage law; tangible and intangible heritage. The tangible heritage includes but not limited to the protection of historical or cultural buildings, sites, monuments and even moveable objects. Tangible heritage may also be further divided into underwater and terrestrial heritage. Intangible heritage refers to various forms of expressions and practices. Under the National Heritage Act 2005 (NHA 2005), intangible heritage is defined as: ‘any form of expressions, languages, lingual utterances, sayings, musically produced tunes, notes, audible lyrics, songs, folk songs, oral traditions, poetry, music, dances as produced by the performing arts, theatrical plays audible compositions of sounds and music, martial arts that may have existed or exist in relation to the + Corresponding author. Tel.: +603 89216370; fax: + 603 89253217. E-mail address: zuhdi@ukm.my . 2011 International Conference on Telecommunication Technology and Applications Proc .of CSIT vol.5 (2011) © (2011) IACSIT Press, Singapore 183