Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, Third Edition
Examples:
- An online application is submitted for a CD containing fifteen sound effects. In the Author Created field the applicant asserts a claim in the individual recordings by checking the boxes marked “production, sound recording.” In the Author Created / Other field the applicant asserts a claim in the compilation by stating “compilation of sound effects.” The registration specialist may register the claim.
- An online application is submitted for a CD-ROM containing a dozen clip art designs. A statement on the deposit copy reads “all designs created by Clipper Ships, LLC” and all of the designs contain copyrightable artwork. In the Author Created / Other field the applicant asserts a claim in the compilation by stating “compilation of clip art designs.” The applicant asserts a claim in the individual designs by checking the box marked “artwork” in the Author Created field. The registration specialist may register the claim.
- An online application is submitted for a spreadsheet containing hundreds of fields. In the Author Created / Other field the applicant asserts a claim in the compilation by stating “compilation of data.” In the Note to Copyright Office field the applicant explains that the compilation contains a “selection of product names, product numbers, sales volume, and other information arranged in tabular form.” The applicant attempts to register the individual product names and numbers by checking the box marked “text” in the Author Created field. The registration specialist will communicate with the applicant. The claim in the selection and arrangement of data is acceptable, but the claim in text is not, because product names and individual numbers are not copyrightable.
- A paper application is submitted for an article that describes a method for preparing tax returns. Three of the terms in the article are printed in bold typeface. The applicant asserts a claim in “text and compilation of highlighted terms” in the Nature of Authorship space. The registration specialist will communicate with the applicant. The claim to copyright in the text of the article is acceptable, but the number of terms selected and arranged is insufficient to support a claim in compilation.
Compilations often contain unclaimable material, such as a selection of data that has been previously registered, a coordination of data that has been previously published, or an arrangement of data that is owned by a third party. If a compilation contains an appreciable amount of unclaimable material, the applicant should exclude that material from the claim using the procedure described in Section 621.8.
Chapter 600 : 123
12/22/2014
