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[JSonnabend]

Tangotiger, this company worked to collect the data, and they agreed to give it to you in exchange for certain promises on your part.  They were under no obligation to give you the data, but did so in exchange for certain consideration.  The contract therefore should have more than adequate consideration to be enforceable.  In this context, I'm afraid, "sweat of the brow" does mean something.  Think of it as consideration for their work, not the underlying data.

You can certainly make the arguments you've propounded here if and when you're sued for breach of contract, but I wouldn't advise one of my clients to go that route.

- Jeff

[tangotiger]

Just to establish, I have not entered into any agreement.

Thank you all for the illuminating discussion.

[tangotiger]

For those interested in more, I have found the ProCD case interesting (and supports what is being said here).

In one hearing:
http://www.freibrunlaw.com/articles/articl22.htm

Further, the court held, even if the agreement were enforceable, copyright law would pre-empt the provision of the agreement prohibiting copying of the uncopyrightable telephone listings.

The statement that the judge is making above is the one that I am making as well.

However, on appeal:

http://www.freibrunlaw.com/articles/articl24.htm

It seems that contract theory supercedes any pre-emption that copyright would grant you.  

[Isaac]

ProCD provides some support yes, but ProCD is not without its
detractors and it is possible to find contrary cases in some
jurisdiction.

I don't think it's correct to say that contract law pre-empts
copyright law.  State law never really pre-empts federal law.
It's more accurate to say that in this case contract law is
not pre-empted.  But again, there is case law contrary to
ProCD out there.  Vault v. Quaid is one example.

[tangotiger]

Thanks for that citation.  That case eventually brought me to this site:

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/media/uploads/53/GreenPaperiTunes03.04.pdf

The discussion in that paper is about the gray area of copyright law preempting, or not preempting, contract law, and using Apple's iTunes as the discussion case.

The only thing clear to me is that nothing is clear on this subject.