When completing a paper application on Form TX, this information should be provided in space 2. For guidance on completing these portions of the application, see Chapter 600, Section 618.4.
If the fictionalization is based on or incorporates a preexisting work, such as a biography or other work of authorship, the applicant should exclude that preexisting work from the claim using the procedure described in Section 621.8. By contrast, if the fictionalization is based solely on historical facts, persons, or events, or other uncopyrightable material, there is generally no need to complete this portion of the application.
709.3 Abridgements
An abridgment is a shortened or condensed version of a preexisting work that retains the general sense and unity of the preexisting work. An abridgment of a nondramatic literary work may be registered if the author contributed a sufficient amount of creative authorship in the form of edits, revisions, or other modifications to the preexisting work, and if the work as a whole is sufficiently creative in adapting the preexisting work such that it constitutes an original work of authorship. See 17 U.S.C. § 101 (definition of “derivative work”). Trivial changes do not satisfy this requirement, such as merely omitting a section from the beginning or end of a preexisting work.
Examples:
- An audiobook version of Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina that has been abridged and condensed in order to fit into an eight-hour recording could be registered as a derivative work.
- A book that contains abridged and condensed editions of four novels by Joseph Conrad could be registered as a derivative work.
When submitting an application to register an abridgement, the claim should be limited to the condensed text that appears in the work, the applicant should provide the name of the author who condensed the preexisting work, and the applicant should provide the name of the claimant who owns the copyright in the condensed text. Applicants should use the term “abridged text” or the like to describe this type of authorship, rather than “text,” “edits,” or “editing.” When completing an online application, this information should be provided in the Author Created/Other field and the New Material Included/Other field. When completing a paper application on Form TX, this information should be provided in spaces 2 and 6(b). For guidance on completing these portions of the application, see Chapter 600, Sections 618.4 and 621.8.
709.4 Editorial Revisions, Annotations, Elaborations, or Other Modifications
Editorial revisions, annotations, elaborations, or other modifications to a preexisting work or the addenda or errata sheets for a published work may be registered as a derivative literary work if the author contributed a sufficient amount of new material to the work, and if the derivative work as a whole sufficiently modifies or transforms the preexisting work such that it constitutes an original work of authorship. See 17 U.S.C. § 101 (definition of “derivative work”). Specifically, the author must contribute new text
