I run a custom web solutions company. One of my clients has paid me to
build and maintain an ecommerce solution over the past 6 years. It has
always been clear and is documented that my company owns the ecommerce
software. My client now want to change providers, and move their data
to another company. I am willing to provide a data export from mysql,
but not the mysql data dump they are asking for. My claim in the mysql
data dump is cloaked in IP - and would give them the data structure
which is our creation. Am I obligated to provide the mysql data dump?
Answers including references to legal precedent(s) preferred.

The 7th Circuit case called AT v. Wiredata located at
http://www.ca7.uscourts.gov/op3.fwx?submit1=showop&caseno=03-2061.PDF
(you have to download the file and give it a .pdf file extension to
open it) is right on point.  It holds that you cannot use copyright
law to deny access to uncopyrightable facts just because the data
structure may reveal information about the underlying intellectual
property.  Here's a statement of the issue from that case: "The
copyright case seeks to block WIREdata from obtaining
noncopyrighted data. AT claims that the data can?t be extracted
without infringement of its copyright. The copyright is of a
compilation, and the general issue that the appeal presents is the
right of the owner of such a copyright to prevent his customers (that
is, the copyright licensees)
from disclosing the compiled data even if the data are in the public domain."

The court held that the underlying data must be provided by AT to
Wiredata, but did allow that it could be done in a manner that did not
violate AT's copyrights: "To summarize, there are at least four
possible methods by
which WIREdata can obtain the data it is seeking without infringing
AT?s copyright; which one is selected is for the municipality to
decide in light of applicable trade-secret, open-records, and contract
laws. The methods are: (1) the municipalities use Market Drive to
extract the data and place it in an electronic file; (2) they use
Microsoft Access to create an electronic file of the data; (3) they
allow programmers furnished by WIREdata to use their computers to
extract the data from their database?this is really just an
alternative to WIREdata?s paying the municipalities? cost of
extraction, which the open-records law requires; (4) they copy the
database file and give it to WIREdata to extract the data from."

Based on this case, it seems like you cannot withhold the data
entirely, but they can only force you to give it to them in a manner
that does not violate your copyrights.  So, it sounds like you are
willing to give them the raw underlying data--that sounds like a
legally sound position to me.