As discussed in Section 710, a registration for a compilation covers the author's selection, coordination, and/or arrangement of information, but it does not cover any of the information that appears in the deposit copyfies]. See 17 U.S.C. § 103 fb]. It does not cover the authoring tool that was used to create the work, nor does it cover any "idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery" that is reflected or implemented in the work. 17 U.S.C. § 102(b). In some cases, it may be unclear whether the applicant intends to register a spreadsheet, report, or other document as a compilation or simply intends to register the information that appears in the document itself. The fact that the deposit copyfies] contain fictitious data may indicate that the applicant is asserting a claim in selection, coordination, and/or arrangement authorship, rather than a claim in any copyrightable material in the deposit copyfies]. By contrast, if the deposit copyfies] contain data that has been entered by an actual user, it may be unclear whether the applicant is asserting a claim in a compilation or a claim in any copyrightable text or artwork that may appear in the deposit.
In all cases, the authorship that the applicant intends to register should be clearly identified in the application, and the claim to copyright in that authorship should be clearly stated. Examples of unclear terms that will prompt the registration specialist to annotate the application or to communicate with the applicant include "template" and "data."
Examples:
• The Office receives an application to register a report titled 201 3 Annual Report ofTanley Corporation. In the Author Created field the applicant asserts a claim in "text," "artwork," and "coordination and arrangement of financial data." The registration specialist will register the claim. The application is clearly limited to the text, artwork, and compilation that appears in the report itself, but does not extend to the authoring tool used to create that report.
• The Concordia Company submits an application to register a spreadsheet that contains various graphs and tables of information. In the Author Created and New Material Included fields the applicant asserts a claim in "text" and "artwork." The applicant excludes the authoring tool from the application by checking the box for "computer program" in the Material Excluded field. The registration specialist will register the claim.
• Olympian Human Resources submits an application to register a report containing dozens of columns and rows. In the Author Created field the applicant asserts a claim in "text." In the Note to Copyright Office field, the applicant explains that the report was "created using Microsoft Access." The registration specialist may add this information to the Material Excluded field and register the claim with an annotation, such as: "Regarding material excluded: information added from Note to CO."
Chapter 700 : 59
12/22/2014
