803.9(F)(1) Preexisting Liner Notes, Artwork, and Photographs
The registration specialist will require the applicant to complete the Material Excluded field if the authorship statement refers to element(s) other than the sound recording (such as the underlying work or artwork on the record jacket) and if it appears that those elements have been previously published, previously registered, or are owned by a third party.
For example, when registering an entire album together with the text and photographs in the liner notes, and when two of the photographs are previously published, the two photographs should be identified in the Material Excluded field and the entire sound recording and the text and additional photographs in the liner notes should be identified in the New Material Included field.
803.9(F)(2) Samples
Where a sample has been used that is more than de minimis, the sampled music and/or the sampled sound recording should be identified in the Material Excluded field/space and the new material should be described in the New Material Included field/space. Any amount of preexisting material may be identified in the Material Excluded field for clarity.
Example:
• Safya produces a recording and uses a sample (with permission) from a preexisting sound recording as part of her instrumental track. The applicant should name Safya as author of the sound recording, should identify the preexisting track from which the sample is taken in the Material Excluded field, and should state "additional sound recording" in the Author Created and New Material Included fields.
803.9(F)(3) Unclear Authorship Terms for Derivative Sound Recordings
The terms "equalization," "reverberation," "reprocessing," and "re-engineering" refer to contributions that may involve sufficient creative authorship, or may be either mechanical in nature or too minimal to be copyrightable. If the applicant uses one or more of these terms on the application as the sole basis for the claim, the registration specialist will request a more detailed explanation or clarification.
Similarly, the term "remastering" may refer to authorship that is mechanical or too minimal to be copyrightable. To avoid correspondence and to facilitate examination, an applicant should describe the authorship involved in the remixing, editing, or remastering in the Note to Copyright Office field or the New Material Included/Other field. If the applicant simply states "remastering," "remixing," or "editing" on the application, the registration specialist may request a detailed explanation of the authorship involved and will request that any registrable authorship be described with appropriate copyrightable terms.
Chapter 800 : 59
12/22/2014
