The applicant should make this determination on the date that the work is submitted to the Office. In other words, if the work being registered includes an appreciable amount of material that is not owned by the copyright claimant as of the date that the application is filed, the applicant should exclude that material from the claim, and the application should be limited to the material that is owned by the claimant.
The date of creation and the date of publication for the work that the applicant intends to register are irrelevant to this determination. In other words, material that is owned by another party should be disclaimed, regardless of whether that material was created before or simultaneously with the work that the applicant intends to register. Likewise, it should be disclaimed regardless of whether a third party acquired the copyright in that material before or after the date of creation or the date of publication for the work that the applicant intends to register.
Example:
- Francis Toldvey wrote a book about Leonard Bernstein that contains extensive passages from the composer’s letters, diaries, and memoirs. Francis disclaims this material by stating “passages by Leonard Bernstein” in the Material Excluded field of the online application, and he limits the claim to the new authorship that appears in the rest of the book by stating “all remaining text” in the New Material Included field. The registration specialist will register the claim.
621.8 Completing the Application: Limitation of Claim
This Section provides guidance on completing the Limitation of Claim screen in an online application for works that contain an appreciable amount of unclaimable material, including derivative works. It also provides guidance on completing spaces 2, 5, 6(a), and 6(b) of a paper application. For specific guidance on completing an application to register a compilation or a collective work that contains an appreciable amount of unclaimable material, see Section 621.8(D).
621.8(A) Identifying the Material That the Author Created
To register a claim to copyright, the applicant should identify all the copyrightable material that the applicant intends to register.
When completing an online application, the applicant should provide this information on the Authors screen by checking one or more of the boxes that appear under the heading Author Created. When completing a paper application, the applicant should provide this information in space 2 of the application under the heading Nature of Authorship.
For guidance on completing this portion of the application, see Sections 618.4(A) and 618.4(B). For guidance on completing this portion of the application for a compilation or a collective work, see Sections 618.6 and 618.7.
