• Dance Hits of 2012 (selection and arrangement of twenty-five tracks from multiple sources).
803.7(B) Unregistrable Compilations
A re-issue of several previously released or registered sound recordings cannot be registered as a compilation unless the author contributed a sufficient amount of original authorship in selecting or arranging the preexisting sound recordings. For instance, taking all the works by a particular artist and arranging them in chronological order would not be registrable, because there is no original selection and arrangement where all of an artist's works are included and the calendar determines the order. Similarly, a recording of a live performance could not be registered as a compilation unless the author of the recording created the selection and ordering of the songs.
Examples:
• Two previously released albums are combined onto a single CD and rereleased; the tracks are not reordered. The registration specialist will refuse a claim in compilation because the author merely combined two preexisting albums together which does not represent enough original authorship to support a copyright claim in a compilation of sound recordings.
• Kalorama Records released box sets of all of the singles that the label released in a particular calendar year, presented in chronological order. The registration specialist will refuse a claim in compilation because the order of the singles was predetermined by the order of the calendar year.
803.8 Registration Issues
This Section discusses frequent registration issues that arise in connection with sound recordings.
803.8(A) Registration for a Sound Recording Distinguished from a Registration for a Musical Work or Literary Work
As discussed in Section 803.2, a sound recording and the music, lyrics, words, or other underlying content embodied in that recording are two separate works.
A registration for a sound recording covers the performance and production authorship involved in creating that recording, but does not cover the music, lyrics, words, or other underlying content embodied in that recording. Likewise, a registration for a musical work covers the music and lyrics embodied in that composition, and a registration for a dramatic work or a literary work covers the text and music embodied in that work, but it does not cover a particular recording of those works.
To register a sound recording, the applicant must select "Sound Recording" when completing the online application and must use Form SR when completing a paper application. By contrast, when registering a musical work, a dramatic work, or a literary
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12/22/2014
