Examples:
• A motion picture based on a preexisting play.
• A new arrangement of a musical work.
Copyright protection provides exclusive rights to the author and/or owner of the copyrighted work. One of those exclusive rights is the right to create derivative works. See 17 U.S.C. § 106(2). Generally, if the author of the derivative work is not the copyright owner of the preexisting work, and the preexisting work is still under copyright protection, the author of the derivative work may not use the preexisting copyrighted work as the basis for a new work, unless a copyright exception applies. See, e.g., 17 U.S.C. § 115 (providing a compulsory license for the creation of a new sound recording of a preexisting nondramatic musical work).
Example:
• A director may not register the stage directions for a play unless he or she has obtained permission to use the dramatic work.
For more information on derivative works, see Chapter 500, Section 507.
801.9 Compilations
Compilations are works "formed by the collection and assembling of preexisting materials or of data that are selected, coordinated, or arranged in such a way that the resulting work as a whole constitutes an original work of authorship." 17 U.S.C. § 101.
For more information on compilations, see Chapter 500, Section 508.
801.10 Collective Works
A collective work is a "work in which a number of contributions, constituting separate and independent works in themselves, are assembled into a collective whole." 17 U.S.C. § 101.
For more information on collective works, see Chapter 500, Section 509.
801 .11 Completing the Application for Works of the Performing Arts
The Copyright Office may register a claim to copyright in a work of the performing arts only if the material deposited constitutes copyrightable subject matter and if the other legal and formal requirements of Title 17 have been met. 17 U.S.C. § 410(a).
Detailed information on how to complete an application is set forth in Chapter 600. Additional tips on how to complete applications for particular types of works of the performing arts are provided in the following Sections:
• Section 802.9: Musical Works.
• Section 803.9: Sound Recordings.
Chapter 800 : 19
12/22/2014
