• AutoCrat LLC submits an application to register a spreadsheet that contains graphs, tables of information, explanatory text, as well as various formulas, such as "SUM (bl2, cl2, dl2)/dl3." In the Author Created and New Material Included fields the applicant asserts a claim in "text," "artwork," and "computer program." In the Material Excluded/Other field the applicant explains that the spreadsheet "uses Excel 5.2." The registration specialist will conclude AutoCrat created the program using Excel 5.2 as an authoring tool. The claim will be registered.
• DentalSoft submits an application for a work titled PatientCare. In the Author Created field the applicant asserts a claim in "Report and data to help dentists manage their practices." The deposit is a spreadsheet that appears to contain fictitious data; no source code has been submitted. The registration specialist will communicate with the applicant. It is unclear whether the applicant intends to register a computer program that generates these types of reports or intends to register the selection, coordination, and/or arrangement of data that is reflected in the deposit.
726 Videogames
The U.S. Copyright Office may issue separate registrations for the audiovisual material in a videogame and the computer program that generates that material. For a discussion of the practices and procedures for registering a videogame, see Chapter 800, Section 807.7(A).
727 Databases
This Section discusses the practices and procedures for obtaining a registration for a specific version of a single-file or multi-file database. In the case of an unpublished database, an applicant may register all of the copyrightable material that appeared in the database as of the date that the registration materials are received in the U.S. Copyright Office. In the case of a published database, an applicant may register all of the copyrightable material that was first published on the date specified in the application.
A registration for a specific version of a database does not cover any previously published or previously registered content that may be included in the database. Likewise, a registration for a specific version of a database does not cover any subsequent updates or revisions that may be made to the database (regardless of whether the database is published or unpublished). Instead, the Office has established a special procedure that allows applicants to register a database together with the subsequent updates or revisions that were made to that database within a period of three months or less. The requirements for this group registration option are discussed in Chapter 1100, Section 1117.6.
727.1 What Is a Database?
For purposes of copyright registration, a "database" is defined as a compilation of digital information comprised of data, information, abstracts, images, maps, music, sound
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