an application to register Android Write and in the Author Created/Other field he states that he "adapted this program to run on a different operating system." The registration specialist will communicate with the applicant, because it is unclear whether the author contributed a sufficient amount of copyrightable authorship to this work.
• Shell Games LLC submits two applications for the same computer program, one specifically for the source code and the other for the object code. Because there are no copyrightable differences between the source code and the object code, there is no basis for issuing a separate registration for each representation of the program. Moreover, if the object code was created by a computer program, there would be no human authorship in the object code, and no authorship that is distinct from the source code. The registration specialist will recommend that the applicant withdraw the application for the object code and proceed with the application for the source code.
Each version of a computer program that contains new, copyrightable authorship is considered a separate work. See 17 U.S.C. § 101 [definition of "created;" stating that "where the work has been prepared in different versions, each version constitutes a separate work"). A registration for a specific version of a computer program covers the new material that the author contributed to that version, including any changes, revisions, additions, or other modifications that the author made to that version. See H.R. Rep. No. 94-1476, at 57 (1976), reprinted in 1976 U.S.C.CA.N. at 5670; S. Rep. No. 94-473, at 55 (1975) (explaining that "copyright in a 'new version' covers only the material added by the later author, and has no effect one way or the other on the copyright or public domain status of the preexisting material."). However, a registration for a specific version of a computer program does not cover any unclaimable material that may appear in that version. For purposes of registration, unclaimable material includes:
• Previously published material.
• Material that has been previously registered with the U.S. Copyright Office.
• Material that is in the public domain.
• Copyrightable material that is owned by a third party (i.e., an individual or legal entity other than the claimant who is named in the application).
If the program contains an appreciable amount of unclaimable material, the applicant should identify that material in the application and should exclude it from the claim using the procedure described in Section 721.9(G) below. See 17 U.S.C. § 409(9) (stating that "[t]he application for copyright registration... shall include... in the case of a compilation or derivative work, an identification of any preexisting work or works that it is based upon or incorporates, and a brief, general statement of the additional material covered by the copyright claim being registered...").
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12/22/2014
