- may register the claim without communicating with the applicant, because the word “conceived” is clearly being used as a synonym for “created” (although “music” and “lyrics” would be a more appropriate authorship statement).
- An application is submitted for a website. Molly Callaghan is named as the author of “artwork” and Sally Mavory is named as the author of “conception and text.” The statements in the application clearly indicate that Molly and Sally contributed copyrightable text and artwork to this website. The registration specialist may register the claim with an annotation, such as: “Regarding author information: concepts not copyrightable. 17 U.S.C. § 102(b).”
- An application is submitted for a set of blueprints. Sloan Peterson is named as the author of a “technical drawing” and Cameron Rooney is named as the author of “conception.” A statement on the deposit copy reads “by Sloan Peterson.” The registration specialist will communicate with the applicant to determine if Cameron contributed copyrightable authorship to the work. If he contributed only ideas, concepts, or the like, the specialist will ask for permission to remove all of Cameron’s information and the term “conception” from the registration record.
618.8(A)(7) Plot
As a general rule, the applicant should use one or more of the terms set forth in Section 618.4(C) to describe the copyrightable authorship that the applicant intends to register.
The applicant should not use the term “plot” in the Author Created field or the Nature of Authorship space, because it suggests that the applicant may be asserting a claim in the plan, scheme, or main idea for the work (which is not copyrightable), rather than the text, dialog, or other copyrightable expression that appears in the work.
Example:
- An application is submitted for a political thriller with a complicated plot. Tori Taylor is named as the author of the “text.” The specialist will register the claim.
If the applicant uses the term “plot” together with another form of copyrightable authorship in the Author Created field or Nature of Authorship space, the registration specialist may register the claim without communicating with the applicant. In this situation, the specialist will add an annotation to the record stating that ideas are not copyrightable.
Example:
- An application is submitted for a script naming Patrick White as the author of “plot, text” and Jane Watson as the author of “text.”
