Section explains what types of works are considered useful articles and how to determine if they contain sufficiently separable elements to warrant registration.
924.1 What Is a Useful Article?
The Copyright Act defines a useful article as "an article having an intrinsic utilitarian function that is not merely to portray the appearance of the article or to convey information." 17 U.S.C. § 101. An item or object is considered a useful article if it performs any inherent or intrinsic utilitarian function other than to inform, entertain, or portray its appearance to human beings. Examples of useful articles include automobiles, household appliances, furniture, lighting fixtures, work tools, dinnerware, food, clothing, shoes, personal computers, and carrying cases for laptops.
The statute also states that "[a]n article that is normally part of a useful article is considered a 'useful article.'" Id. For example, the bezel on a wristwatch or the handle on a casket would be considered useful articles, because they are inherently useful and because they are typically used as part of a larger useful article.
The mechanical or utilitarian aspects of a three-dimensional work of applied art are not copyrightable. For example, the serrated edge of a knife cannot be registered, even if the pattern of the serration is original.
A work of authorship that does not have an intrinsic utilitarian purpose is not considered a useful article, even if that work could potentially be used in a functional manner. For example, a sculpture does not become a useful article simply because it could be used as a doorstop or paperweight.
924.2 Separability Tests for Useful Articles
Sections 101 and 102(a) of the Copyright Act provide the guiding principles for determining whether the decorative or ornamental features of a useful article may be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. Section 102(a)(5) of the Act states that the copyright law protects "pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works," which are defined by section 101 to include "two-dimensional and three-dimensional works of fine, graphic, and applied art" as well as "works of artistic craftsmanship insofar as their form but not their mechanical or utilitarian aspects are concerned." The statute also states that "the design of a useful article . . . shall be considered a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work, only if, and only to the extent that, such design incorporates pictorial, graphic, or sculptural features that can be identified separately from, and are capable of existing independently of, the utilitarian aspects of the article." 17 U.S.C. § 101 (definition of "pictorial, graphic and sculptural works").
When examining a useful article, the Office must determine whether the article contains any pictorial, graphic, or sculptural features that are separable from its utilitarian function. If the article does not contain any features that can be separated from its utilitarian function, the Office will refuse to register the claim, because Congress has made it clear that the Copyright Act does not cover any aspect of a useful article that cannot be separated from its functional elements. H.R. Rep. No. 94-1476, at 55 (1976), reprinted in 1976 U.S.C.C.A.N. 5659, 5668-69. If the Office determines that the work contains one or more features that can be separated from its functional elements,
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