idea for a painting may be a copyrightable fixation of the text, but it is not a fixation of the painting described therein.
As a general rule, applicants do not have to submit an original or unique copy of a visual art work in order to register that work with the Office. In most cases, applicants may submit photographs or other identifying materials that provide the Office with a sufficient representation or depiction of the work for examination purposes.
When completing an application, applicants should accurately identify the work that is being submitted for registration, particularly when submitting identifying material. For example, if the applicant intends to register a sculpture and submits a photograph of the sculpture as the identifying material, the applicant should expressly state "sculpture" in the application. Otherwise, it may be unclear whether the applicant intends to register the photograph or the sculpture shown in the photograph.
Before submitting identifying material for a published visual art work, applicants should consult the best edition requirements, which are listed in the "Best Edition Statement" set forth in Appendix B to Part 202 of the Office's regulations. The Best Edition Statement is also posted on the Office's website in Circular 7B: Best Edition of Published Copyrighted Works for the Collections of the Library of
Congress (www.copyright.gov/circs/circ07b.pdf). For specific deposit requirements for different types of visual art works, see Chapter 1500, Section 1509.3.
905 Copyrightable Authorship in Visual Art Works
The U.S. Copyright Office may register a visual art work (i] if it is the product of human authorship, (ii) if it was independently created (meaning that the work was not merely copied from another source), and (iii) if it contains a sufficient amount of original pictorial, graphic, sculptural, or architectural authorship. The Office reviews visual art works consistent with the general principles set forth in Chapter 300 (Copyrightable Authorship: What Can Be Registered), as well as the guidelines described in this Chapter.
In the case of two-dimensional works, original authorship may be expressed in a variety of ways, such as the linear contours of a drawing, the design and brush strokes of a painting, the diverse fragments forming a collage, the pieces of colored stone arranged in a mosaic portrait, among other forms of pictorial or graphic expression.
In the case of three-dimensional works, original authorship may be expressed in many ways, such as carving, cutting, molding, casting, shaping, or otherwise processing material into a three-dimensional work of sculpture.
Likewise, original authorship may be present in the selection, coordination, and/or arrangement of images, words, or other elements, provided that there is a sufficient amount of creative expression in the work as a whole.
In all cases, a visual art work must contain a sufficient amount of creative expression. Merely bringing together only a few standard forms or shapes with minor linear or spatial variations does not satisfy this requirement.
Chapter 900 : 8
12/22/2014
