Page:Compendium of US Copyright Office Practices (1973).pdf/69

2.8.3

Registration requirements(cont'd)

I.

Copyrightable subject-matter(cont-d)

a.

Pictorial or graphical material(cont'd)

1.

Minimal standards(cont'd)

a five-pointed star. Likewise, mere coloration cannot support a copyright even though it may enhance the aesthetic appeal or commercial value of a work. For example, it is not possible to copyright a new version of a textile design merely because the colors of red and blue appearing in the design have been replaced by green and yellow, respectively. The same is true of a simple combination of two or three standard symbols such as a circle, a star, and a triangle, with minor linear or spatial variations.

Examples:

 

(a)

An unpublished design for textile fabric is submitted for registra­tion in Class G. The design con­sists of a standard unembellished character of Chinese calligraphy painted upon horizontally striated grass cloth. Practice: Registration is not authorized in this case. Like typography, calligraphy is not copyrightable as such, notwithstanding the effect achieved by calligraphic brush strokes across a striated surface.

[1973]