registration. For information concerning this procedure, see Chapter 1800, Section 1806.4(D).
804.8(D) Publication Issues
If the applicant provides a date of publication in the application, but states that the date refers to a performance of the work, the registration specialist will communicate with the applicant, because a performance, in and of itself, does not constitute a publication.
Publication of a motion picture or other audiovisual work publishes all of the components of that work. Once a dramatic work has been published as part of a motion picture or television show, the dramatic work may not be registered as an unpublished work. See Maljack Productions Inc. v. UAVCorp., 964 F. Supp. 1416, 1421 (CD. Cal. 1997) (finding that publication of the 1963 film McLintock! published all underlying works embodied in the film, including screenplays).
804.9 Application Tips for Dramatic Works
This Section provides basic information on how to complete an online or paper application for a dramatic work, as well as terms to use and terms to avoid when describing the authorship in such works.
For detailed information on how to complete an application, see Chapter 600.
804.9(A) Type of Work
When registering a claim in a dramatic work using the online application, the applicant should select "Work of the Performing Arts" as the "Type of Work." When registering a claim using a paper application, the applicant should complete Form PA.
804.9(B) Joint Authors
If the dramatic work is a joint work, the applicant should name all of the joint authors and describe the contributions of each author, but should name only the authors who contributed copyrightable, tangible expression to the work. For instance, if one person contributed the story idea and a second person contributed the script, the applicant should name only the author of the script.
Examples:
• The work is a screenplay which states "screenplay by Tom Lamb and Susan French." The applicant should name both individuals as the authors of this work.
• The work is a script which states "story idea by Tina Black, script by Eric Wright." The applicant should name Eric as the author of the script, but should not name Tina in the application unless she contributed copyrightable expression to the script.
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