503.1 What Is the Work of Authorship?
503.1(A) Works of Authorship Distinguished from the Constituent Elements of the Work
The U.S. Copyright Office registers claims to copyright in works of authorship. As a general rule, the Office will issue one registration for each work that is submitted for registration.
The Office may examine the constituent elements or individual components of a work to determine if the work contains a sufficient amount of creative expression to warrant registration. But as a general rule, the Office will not issue separate registrations for the constituent elements or individual components of a work of authorship. Likewise, the Office will not issue separate registrations to each author who contributed copyrightable expression to a work of authorship (except as contributions to a collective work or derivative works).
503.1(BA) Copyrightable Subject Matter
A work may be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, provided that it falls within one or more of the categories of authorship set forth under Section 102(a) of the Copyright Act. Works that do not fall within one or more of these congressionally-established categories do not constitute copyrightable subject matter, and as such, cannot be registered.
Section 102(a) of the Copyright Act states that works of authorship include the following categories of works:
- Literary works.
- Musical works, including any accompanying words.
- Dramatic works, including any accompanying music.
- Pantomimes and choreographic works.
- Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works.
- Motion pictures and other audiovisual works.
- Sound recordings.
- Architectural works.
The following chart provides representative examples of works that may be registered and the relevant category of authorship for each work.
