Traditional local operas are the crystallization of collective wisdom,and thus they possess the ethnic,inheritable and cultural characteristics of folklore.As one of the examples of dramatic works in copyright law,local operas should be interpreted as those that have met the legal requirements for the formation of works. A compilation of local opera data( a local opera database),as one of the representatives of digital cultural heritage,is a collection of data about local operas that either constitute works or do not. The prerequisite for it to be protected by copyright is that it constitutes a compilation work.Given that the local opera database also has the nature of folklore,the use of the local opera database may lead to disputes over ownership,utilization and benefit distribution.To improve the copyright protection of the local opera database and curb the erosion of the database on the public domain of copyright,it is advisable to refine the ownership and utilization rules of the database,and establish a collective management system and benefit-sharing mechanism for the database.By taking the copyright protection of local opera databases as a starting point,it is hoped to provide a legal foundation for the better governance of a wider range of digital cultural heritage.