Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, Third Edition
- Musical arrangement. This term may be used to describe new or revised harmony that has been added to a preexisting melody or song. In such cases, the work must be registered as a derivative work.
- Musical composition. This term may be used to describe the melody, rhythm, and/or harmony of a musical composition.
- Performance. This term may be used to describe a contribution to a sound recording. Specifically, it may be used to describe the creative contribution of an individual who performed the sounds that have been captured in a sound recording, such as the vocal and/or instrumental performance of a musical work or the oral reading or narration of a literary work or dramatic work. The term sound recording should be used to describe this type of authorship. A performance alone is not a category of copyrightable subject matter, but may be a component of a joint work or a work made for hire, or may be independently copyrightable as a stand-alone sound recording if the performance is individually fixed.
- Photograph(s). This term may be used to describe photographic images, photographic illustrations, photographic prints, and photographic slides. It also may be used to describe holograms. For a discussion of the specific practices and procedures for registering photographs, see Chapter 900, Section 909.
- Production (in the case of a sound recording). This term may be used to describe the editing, mixing, mastering, processing or other studio engineering that is involved in creating a sound recording. In the alternative, the term sound recording may be used to describe this type of authorship. For a discussion of the specific practices and procedures for registering sound recordings, see Chapter 800, Section 803.
- Production (in the case of a motion picture or other audiovisual work). This term may be used to describe the authorship in a motion picture or other audiovisual work. A motion picture generally embodies the contributions of many persons whose efforts are brought together to make a cinematographic work of authorship. The term production may be used to describe the contribution of an individual or entity that plays a direct, creative role in planning, organizing, and controlling the various stages of the creation of a motion picture. For a discussion of the specific practices and procedures for registering motion pictures and other audiovisual works, see Chapter 800, Sections 807 and 808.
- Reproduction of a work of art. This term may be used to describe a copyrightable reproduction of a preexisting pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work of art that has been produced through lithography, photoengraving, etching, molding, sculpting, or other creative processes. For a discussion of the specific practices and procedures for registering a reproduction of a work of art, see Chapter 900, Section 916.
- Script / screenplay. These terms may be used to describe the authorship in a work of the performing arts. Specifically, they may be used to describe a written text that is used in the production or performance of a work that is presented on stage, screen, television, radio, the internet, or any other performance medium. As a general rule, these terms should not be used to describe a brief synopsis of a play, script, or
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