If the motion picture was published before the album and if the sounds on the album are taken directly from the motion picture soundtrack and have been reprocessed without change, the specialist will refuse to issue a separate registration for the album, because all of those sounds are covered by the registration for the motion picture.
808.10(H)(2)(d) Multimedia Kits
A multimedia kit is a work that combines authorship in two or more forms of media (excluding the container for the work). The authorship in a multimedia kit may include:
• Text
• Music
• Sounds
• Cinematography
• Photography
• Artwork
• Sculpture
The forms of media in a multimedia kit may include:
• Printed matter, such as a book, charts or posters, or sheet music.
• Audiovisual material, such as a video disc.
• A phonorecord, such as an audio disc.
• A machine-readable copy, such as a computer-read disc.
If the applicant submits an application for a multimedia kit that contains sounds fixed on a CD as well as sounds and video fixed on a DVD, and if the applicant asserts a claim in both "sound recording" and "motion picture," the registration specialist will communicate with the applicant to determine if the CD and DVD contain the same fixation of sounds.
If the CD and DVD contain the same fixation, the specialist may ask the applicant to delete the term "sound recording" or replace it with the term "sounds" if they appear to be "sounds accompanying a motion picture" rather than a "sound recording."
By contrast, if the CD and DVD contain different fixations, the specialist may ask the applicant to exclude the motion picture soundtrack from the claim by revising the authorship statement to read "sound recording and motion picture excluding sounds."
For more information regarding the registration of multimedia kits, see Circular 55, Copyright Registration for Multimedia Works (www.copyright.gov/circs/circ55.pdf).
Chapter 800 : 120
12/22/2014
