The case you mention is one-half of the picture, and I feel it's important to mention the other half.
The White Pages are not copyright-able, which is what your case describes. But the Yellow Pages are copyright-able (somewhat). This is because grouping the businesses into categories clears the bar of "minimal degree of creativity" that you mention. However, the individual listings are still not subject to copyright so there's no problem with taking them and re-arranging them.
The White Pages are not copyright-able, which is what your case describes. But the Yellow Pages are copyright-able (somewhat). This is because grouping the businesses into categories clears the bar of "minimal degree of creativity" that you mention. However, the individual listings are still not subject to copyright so there's no problem with taking them and re-arranging them.