- “interior design” or may register the claim with an annotation, such as: “Regarding author information: interior design not copyrightable. Compendium 923.2. Copy states ‘Text by Candy Cooper; Illustrations by Willy Wilkinson.’”
618.8(C)(4) Claim in Uncopyrightable Material: Acceptable Authorship Statement Used to Describe Uncopyrightable Material
If the applicant uses a term in the Author Created field or the Nature of Authorship space that normally would be used to describe copyrightable authorship, such as “text” or “artwork,” and if it appears that the applicant is using that term to describe material that is uncopyrightable under the Copyright Act, Section 202.1 of the regulations, or this Compendium, the specialist may communicate with the applicant or may register the claim with an annotation indicating that the registration does not cover the uncopyrightable material.
Examples:
- Claim in uncopyrightable material under 37 C.F.R. §202.1. An application is submitted for an album. The applicant asserts a claim in “music and text.” The only text that appears in the deposit copy is the title of each track and a list of credits. The registration specialist may register the claim with an annotation, such as: “Regarding author information: liner notes consisting of a listing of titles and/or credits not copyrightable. 37 C.F.R. § 202.1.”
- Claim in uncopyrightable material under 37 C.F.R. §202.1. An application is submitted for a website. The applicant asserts a claim in “2-D artwork and text.” The deposit copy contains copyrightable artwork, but the only text is a calendar and a football season schedule. The registration specialist may register the claim with an annotation, such as: “Regarding author information: text is calendar and schedule of sporting events; not copyrightable. 37 C.F.R. § 202.1.”
- Claim in uncopyrightable material under the Compendium. An application is submitted for an advertising brochure. The applicant asserts a claim in “2-D artwork, text, map.” The deposit copy contains copyrightable artwork, text, and a simple outline of the state of Oregon. The registration specialist may communicate with the applicant to ask for permission to remove the reference to “map” or may register the claim with an annotation, such as: “Regarding author information: map is outline map; not copyrightable. Compendium 918.2.”
618.8(C)(5) Claim in Uncopyrightable Material: Works Created by Two or More Authors
If two or more authors are named in the application, and if it appears that one or more of the authors did not contribute copyrightable authorship to the work, the specialist will ask for permission to remove that author’s name from the registration record.
