Example:
• A slide of a famous work of art is displayed with extensive aural commentary. This would not be considered an audiovisual work, because it does not contain a series of related images. The aural commentary may be registrable as a sound recording.
807.5(C) Human Authorship
An audiovisual work must contain creative human authorship. An audiovisual work created through a purely mechanical process, or generated solely by preexisting software is not copyrightable.
Example:
• A screen displays a preexisting image that flashes. There is no sound. Preexisting software automatically generates the flash movement. The claim will be refused.
807.6 Derivative Audiovisual Works
An audiovisual work is considered a derivative work if it recasts, transforms, or adapts one or more preexisting works. See 17 U.S.C. § 101 (definition of "derivative work"). The preexisting material may or may not be audiovisual material. For example, a videogame may be based on a motion picture or a graphic novel. The author of the derivative work must have permission to use the preexisting material if that material is protected by copyright, and the author must contribute a sufficient amount of new original authorship in order to register the new work as a derivative work. See Chapter 300, Sections 311.2 and 313.6(B).
Examples:
• A CD-ROM that combines archival footage and photographs from the Korean War with a newly created narration, new interviews with veterans, and new textual information about the conflict.
• A karaoke disc that combines new pictorial displays with the lyrics and music of a preexisting song.
A new version of a preexisting audiovisual work also may qualify as a derivative work, provided that the revisions, additions, deletions, or other modifications, taken as a whole, constitute a new work of authorship.
Examples:
• Revising a published website by adding new updates consisting of text and video clips.
• Writing new computer code for a published videogame so that the work can be released on a different platform.
Chapter 800 : 98
12/22/2014
