World Data Center System Roster

Airglow

Dr. Takashi Sakurai, Director

WDC for Airglow

National Astronomical Observatory

Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588

JAPAN

Astronomy

Prof. ZHAO Yongheng, Director

WDC for Astronomy

Beijing Astronomical Observatory

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Beijing, 100080

CHINA

Atmospheric Trace Gases

Mr. Thomas Boden, Director

WDC for Atmospheric Trace Gases

Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

P.O. Box 2008

Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6335

USA

Aurora

Dr. Akira Kadokura , Director

WDC for Aurora

National Institute of Polar Research

Kaga 1-9-10, Itabashi-ku

Tokyo, 173-8515

JAPAN

Biodiversity

Dr. John Hill, Director

WDC for Biodiversity and Ecology

U.S. Geological Survey Center for Biological Informatics

Building 810 DFC, MS302

Denver, CO 80225

USA

Climate

Dr. Michael Lautenschlager, Director

WDC for Climate

Model and Data Max-Planck-Institute for Meteorology

Bundesstrasse 55

D-20146 HAMBURG

GERMANY

Cosmic Rays

Prof Takashi Watanabe, Director

WDC for Cosmic Rays

Solar-Terrestrial Environment Laboratory

Toyokawa 442-8507

JAPAN

Earth Tides

Dr. Bernard Ducarme, Director

WDC for Earth Tides

Observatoire Royal de Belgique

Avenue Circulaire 3

Brussels, B-1180

BELGIUM

Geology

Prof. WANG Anjian, Director

Mr. Dai Aide, Vice Director

WDC for Geology

Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences

Ministry of Geology and Minerology

26 Baiwanzhuang Road

Beijing, 100037

CHINA

Geomagnetism

Dr. Juergen Matzka

WDC for Geomagnetism, Copenhagen

Lyngbyvej 100

DK-2100, Copenhagen

DENMARK

Dr. David Kerridge, Director

WDC for Geomagnetism, Edinburgh

British Geological Survey

Murchison House, West Mains Road

Edinburgh, EH9 3LA

UNITED KINGDOM

Prof. Toshihiko Iyemori, Director

WDC for Geomagnetism, Kyoto

Data Analysis Center for Geomagnetism and Space Magnetism

Graduate School of Science

Kyoto University

Kyoto, 606-8502

JAPAN

Prof. Archana Bhattacharyya, Director

WDC for Geomagnetism, Mumbai

Indian Institute of Geomagnetism

Colaba, Mumbai 400 005

INDIA

Glaciology

Dr. Roger G. Barry, Director

WDC for Glaciology, Boulder

CIRES, Campus Box 449

University of Colorado

Boulder, CO 80309

USA

Mr. Rick Frolich , Manager

WDC for Glaciology, Cambridge

Scott Polar Research Institute

Lensfield Road

Cambridge, CB2 1ER

UNITED KINGDOM

Prof. CHENG Guodong, Director

WDC for Glaciology and Geocryology, Lanzhou

Lanzhou Institute of Glaciology and Geocryology

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Lanzhou, 730000

CHINA

Human Interactions in the Environment

Dr. Robert S. Chen, Director

WDC for Human Interactions in the Environment

CIESIN/Columbia University

P.O. Box 1000

61 Rt 9W

Palisades, NY 10964

USA

Ionosphere

Mr. Kiyoshi Igarashi, Manager

WDC for Ionosphere

Communications Research Laboratory

4-2-1 Nukui-kitamachi

Koganei-shi

Tokyo, 184-8795

JAPAN

Land Cover Data

Mr. Christopher A. Barnes, Director

WDC for Land Cover Data

U.S. Geological Survey, EROS Data Center

47914 252nd Street

Sioux Falls, SD 57198

USA

Marine Environmental Sciences

Prof. Dr. Gerold Wefer, Co-Director

Center for Marine Environmental Sciences (MARUM)

Prof. Wolfgang Hiller, Co-Director

Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research

WDC for Marine Environmental Sciences

Klagenfurter Str.

D-28359 Bremen

GERMANY

Marine Geology and Geophysics

Dr. Christopher Fox, Director

WDC for Marine Geology & Geophysics, Boulder

NOAA Code E/GC

325 Broadway

Boulder, CO 80303-3328

USA

Valeri S. Shcherbakov, Director

WDC for Marine Geology & Geophysics, Moscow

Glav NIVC MNR RF

32A, Marshal Tukhachevski Street

Moscow, 123585

RUSSIA

Meteorology

Mr. August L. Shumbera, Director

WDC for Meteorology, Asheville

National Climatic Data Center

151 Patton Avenue

Asheville, NC 28801-5001

USA

Prof. SHI Peiling, Director

Wang Guofu, Vice Director

WDC for Meteorology, Beijing

National Meteorological Information Center

46 Zhongguanchun Nandajie Road

Beijing, 100081

CHINA

Dr. Marsel Z. Shaimardonov, Director

WDC for Meteorology, Obninsk

All-Russian Research Institute of Hydrometeorological Information

6 Korolev Str

Obninsk

Kaluga Reg., 249020

RUSSIA

Nuclear Radiation

Mr. Hideyuki Sasaki, Director

WDC for Nuclear Radiation

Atmospheric Environment Division

Japan Meteorological Agency

1-3-4 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku

Tokyo, 100-8122

JAPAN

Oceanography

Dr. Vyacheslav I. Smirnov, Director

WDC for Oceanography, Obninsk

All-Russian Research Institute of Hydrometeorological Information

6 Korolev Str

Obninsk

Kaluga Reg., 249020

RUSSIA

Mr. Sydney Levitus, Director

WDC for Oceanography, Silver Spring

NOAA/NODC, E/OC5

1315 East-West Highway

Silver Spring, MD 20910-3282

USA

Prof. Lin Shaohua, Director

WDC for Oceanography, Tianjin

National Marine Data & Information Service

State Oceanic Administration

93 Liu Wei Road, Hedong District

Tianjin, 300171

CHINA

Paleoclimatology

Dr. David Anderson, Director

WDC for Paleoclimatology

NOAA/NGDC Code E/GC3

325 Broadway

Boulder, CO 80303

USA

Remotely Sensed Data

Mr. Lyndon Oleson , Director

WDC for Remotely Sensed Land Data

U.S. Geological Survey

EROS Data Center

Sioux Falls, SD 57198

USA

Dr. Michael Bittner, Director

WDC for Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere

DLR-DFD

Oberpfaffenhofen

D-82234 Wessling

GERMANY

Renewable Resources and Environment

Prof. SUN Jiulin, Director

WDC for Renewable Resources and Environment

Commission for Integrated Survey of Natural Resources

Chinese Academy of Sciences

P.O. Box 9717

Beijing, 100101

CHINA

Rockets and Satellites

Dr. Alex M. Sterin, Director

WDC for Rockets and Satellites

All-Russian Research Institute of Hydrometeorological Information

6 Korolev Str

Obninsk

Kaluga Reg., 249020

RUSSIA

Dr. Edwin J. Grayzeck, Director

WDC for Satellite Information

NSSDC Code 633

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Greenbelt, MD 20771

USA

Dr. Iku Shinohara, Director

WDC for Space Science Satellites

Institute of Space & Astronautical Science

3-1-1 Yoshinodai

Sagamihara

Kanagawa, 229-8510

JAPAN

Rotation of the Earth

Dr. Nikolai P. Kovalev, Director

WDC for Rotation of the Earth, Obninsk

All-Russian Research Institute of Hydrometeorological Information

World Data Center (RIHMI-WDC)

6 Korolev Str

Obninsk, Kaluga Reg., 249020

RUSSIA

Ms. Merri Sue Carter, Director

WDC for Rotation of the Earth, Washington

U.S. Naval Observatory

3450 Mass Ave., NW

Washington, DC 20392-5100

USA

Seismology

Dr. Stuart Sipkin

WDC for Seismology, Denver

U.S. Geological Survey

Denver Federal Center MS 967

P.O. Box 25046

Denver, CO 80225-0046

USA

Dr. LIU Refeng, Director

WDC for Seismology, Beijing

China Earthquake Networks Center

No. 63, Fuxing Avenue

Beijing, 100036

CHINA

Soils

Dr. David L. Dent, Director

WDC for Soils

Intl Soil Reference and Information Center

P.O. Box 353

6700 AJ Wageningen

THE NETHERLANDS

Solar Activity

Dr. Jean Aboudarham, Director

WDC for Solar Activity

Observatoire de Meudon

5 place Janssen

92195 Meudon Cedex

FRANCE

Solar Radio Emissions

Assoc. Prof. Kiyoto Shibasaki, Director

WDC for Solar Radio Emissions

Nobeyama Solar Radio Observatory

National Astronomical Observatory

Minamimaki, Minamisaku

Nagano, 384-1305

JAPAN

Solar Terrestrial Physics

Dr. William Denig, Director

WDC for Solar Terrestrial Physics, Boulder

NOAA/NGDC E/GC2

325 Broadway

Boulder, CO 80303

USA

Dr. Michael Lockwood, Director

Matthew Wild, Manager

WDC for Solar Terrestrial Physics, Chilton

Rutherford Appleton Lab

Chilton

Didcot Oxon, OX11 0QX

UNITED KINGDOM

Dr. Evgeny P. Kharin, Director

WDC for Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Moscow

Molodezhnaya 3

Moscow, 117296

RUSSIA

Dr. David Cole, Director

WDC for Solar-Terrestrial Science, Sydney

IPS Radio and Space Services

PO Box 1386

Haymarket, NSW 1240

AUSTRALIA

Solid Earth Geophysics

Prof. TANG Keyun, Director

WDC for Geophysics, Beijing

Institute of Geology and Geophysics

Chinese Academy of Sciences

P.O. Box 9825

19 Beitucheng West Road, Chaoyang District

Beijing, 100029

CHINA

Ms. Susan McLean, Director

WDC for Solid Earth Geophysics, Boulder

NOAA/NGDC E/GC1

325 Broadway

Boulder, CO 80305-3328

USA

Dr. Natalia A. Sergeyeva, Director

WDC for Solid Earth Physics, Moscow

Molodezhnaya 3

Moscow, 117296

RUSSIA

Space Science

Prof. ZOU Ziming, Director

WDC for Space Science

Chinese Academy of Sciences

P.O. Box 8701

Beijing, 100080

CHINA

Sunspot Index

Dr. Ronald van der Linden, Director

WDC for Sunspot Index

Observatoire Royal de Belgique

3 Avenue Circulaire

Brussels, B-1180

BELGIUM

---

WDC COORDINATION OFFICES

---

Dr. Anne M. Linn, Director

WDC Coordination Office, USA

National Research Council, KC-670

500 Fifth Street, NW

Washington, DC 20001

USA

Tel: +1 202 334 2744

Fax: +1 202 334 1377

E-mail: alinn@nas.edu

Prof. Yuri Tyupkin, Director

WDC Coordination Office, Russia

National Geophysical committee

Molodeznaya, 3

117296 Moscow

Russia

Tel: +7 095 930 5629

Fax: + 7 095 930 5509

E-mail: tyupkin@wdcb.ru

Prof. CHEN Panqin, Director

Dr. FENG Renguo

WDC Coordination Office, China

Bureau of Science and Technology for Resources
and Environment

Chinese Academy of Sciences

52 Sanlihe Road

Beijing, 100864

CHINA

Tel: +86 10 685 97 538

Fax: +86 10 685 97 583

E-mail: pqchen@office.cashq.ac.cn or rgfeng@cashq.ac.cn

E-bay and Database Protection

Aybey Boran

E-Bay and Database Protection

1. How important to eBay is the protection of its database from auction aggregators and other search engines? In what ways do auction aggregators harm eBay?

Ebay being the leader in online auction is entirely dependent upon online auction activities. Therefore, its database is its most valuable and precious asset. The information gathered by eBay from its online auction is its main source of success. This information is later integrated with other internet service providers. eBay auction being unique due to its convenience of use and other features such as serving as a largest online bidding site. An estimated of 15.8 million users are registered with its site. To protect such a large flow of online bidders it is must of it to protect itself from its data being copied and used by other auction aggregators. Database collected by eBay is due to its sole efforts, whereas the data used by auction aggregators is the one that is either copied or their users being diverted to eBay site once the search doesn’t show the required items or category on their respective websites. All these actions by aggregators not only undermine eBay efforts but also can also endanger its patent and its uniqueness as the only site to offer 4320 categories.

2. What strategies should eBay adopt to protect its intellectual property?

So far the efforts made by eBay faced resistance due to incomplete Intellectual property laws and insufficient provisions in them. For example, according to CADP which is The Coalition against Database Piracy, “copyright laws only protects database to the extent that it is creative in the selection, arrangement or coordination of the facts. Copyright law doesn’t protect factual database from thievery.” Keeping in view such complications in copyright law the protection of its database from aggregators becomes very difficult. EBay used a very effective strategy by lobbying and legislating through policymakers and helping it bring its case to Washington and Congress, still the opposition to its cause and protection affected its purpose of stopping the data from being copied and used unfairly.

In the view of all these events, there isn’t much eBay can do to stop its data from being pirated or stolen. EBay’s’ strategy for working with auction aggregators is the best solution to this problem so far in which, for a small fee the aggregators were allowed to use its database but not copy it. Bidder’s Edge so far is the biggest pirate of eBay’s data. Some of the ways that eBay considered using was to establish intellectual property rights through courts to the data it generated from its websites or to use Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Another option considered by it was to seek a preliminary injunction against Bidder’s Edge and other aggregators. But it realized that all these strategies are costly, time consuming and could divert attention of government and other related agencies toward its business and would affect it severely. It is difficult for eBay to come up with a perfect solution to this problem.

3. Should Ebay take legal action against Bidder’s Edge, if so on what grounds should it file?

Since eBay had different options for taking legal action against Bidder’s Edge. The basic grounds on which it could file a case against it had already been weighed and thought-over by eBay. One of the grounds was to establish through courts Intellectual and property rights but The Feist decision was the major obstacle in it. Another one was to use Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Also it could seek a permanent injunction against it. But by doing all these things, it would jeopardize its own position. Government agencies could come after it due it size and its status as the largest online auction site. Government could raise issues of unfair business practices, the exercise of market power and use of courts to stifle competition. Therefore, whatever step it considers taking, it should always beware of the consequences of such actions.

4. Should eBay use technology to thwart the aggregators?

This sure is the best option for eBay besides all the legal actions it considered taking earlier. But there hasn’t been any such technology that would thwart aggregators. There was an option of using firewalls to stop its data from being stolen but it would also cause inconvenience to its users as well. This would fuel a race against overcoming those hurdles. Presently, the biggest aggregator against eBay, Bidder’s Edge was already using a robotic program to copy 80,000 pages every day. It is understood that the information it copied was obsolete but it for Bidder’s Edge it was serving the purpose.

5.What are the possible consequences for the Internet and electronic commerce of H.R.354 and H. R. 1858?

There are some upsides and downsides of both H.R. 354 and H.R. 1858. If H.R. 354 is enacted it would cause problems for a lot of online companies. For example, Yahoo, one of the biggest online stock analysis site would be impacted due to its inability to update the information periodically. The main opponents of H.R. 1858 were those in Commerce, who argued that this legislation would stifle the Commerce since it is dependent upon the information gathered from various sources. Search engines would specifically be impacted by H.R.354. Yahoo argues that although it does a great effort to gather information, disseminating such information is crucial to its business. The biggest fear among people opposing H.R. 354 was the monopolization of databases. Bidder’s Edge compares its position to that of Yahoo and Msn who it thinks are doing the same job. According to the provisions of this bill, the bill provides substantial protection to database companies and levies severe penalties for violating it.

H.R. 1858 on the contrary protects the users interests. It prohibited the copying of the data produced by database companies and selling of such database for the purpose of competition of other database. This bill was supported by companies such as Yahoo, American online, etc. Since most of these companies business was directly dependent upon the information they gathered and provided to their users, they strongly supported it. According to CADP, “H.R. 1858 only bars the thefts that result for duplicative processes”.

6. What specifically should eBay do to move H.R. 354 to move it through the House? Should it attempt to mobilize eBay community in support of H.R. 354?

CADP already did the job of releasing a public opinion in favor of H.R. 354. As it is discussed earlier that eBay involvement into this matter directly could jeopardize its position in the eyes of government and other related institutions so it should avoid being too prominent. Of course, public opinion matters a lot to policymakers but it still would again raise the issue of monopolizing the market. The approach that eBay adopted by collectively opposing the issue of database piracy is the best approach. As far as moving H.R. 354 through House is concerned, this effort had already been made and didn’t turn out to be too effective. Since H.R. 1858 was also introduced to counterbalance H.R. 354 its effectiveness was reduced. Net Coalition and other major online commerce industries backing H.R. 354 would make it extremely difficult for eBay to enact this bill. The best way for eBay is to wait and to try to gain more support from other online industries whose business is directly related or dependent upon such database businesses. Businesses such as NAR, National Association of Realtors, which favoured H.R. 354 and opposed the database piracy are a good example of such a effort. In order for eBay to move this bill through the House it would need more support from other database companies, its online users’ opinion matters a lot too but in order for its proposal to be effective it would need a joint effort by all its supporters specifically companies.

7. Would enactment of H.R. 354 establish monopoly rights to information and limit the availability of information to Internet Users?

H.R. 354 would not completely impair the usage of internet. Of course there will still be information available to other users but only some users such stock analysis companies will be at disadvantage. If there is some middle ground found on this issue, it can solve the problem for both database industries and internet users. The companies opposing this bill are basically the ones that have a fear of losing the information available to their users through internet. Database companies can gain an advantage or monopolize such markets as stocks and stuff. But since the motive of eBay is to stop the business that is already in the same field to copy the data compiled and collected by it, it wouldn’t have a too much damaging effect on the normal users.