1605 Preregistration for a Sound Recording Distinguished from a Preregistration for a Musical Composition
As a general rule, a preregistration for a motion picture extends to any sounds that may accompany that work, because a soundtrack falls within the statutory definition of a “motion picture.” See 17 U.S.C. § 101 (stating that: “‘Motion pictures’ are audiovisual works” and that “‘Audiovisual works’ are works that consist of a series of related images which are intrinsically intended to be shown by the use of machines or devices such as projectors, viewers, or electronic equipment, together with accompanying sounds, if any”). A preregistration for a sound recording does not, in and of itself, constitute a preregistration of the musical works that may be embodied in that recording. See H.R. REP. NO. 109-33, pt. 1, at 5 (2005), reprinted in 2005 U.S.C.C.A.N. 220, 224. However, a claimant that owns the copyright in both a sound recording and a musical work embodied within that recording may preregister both the sound recording and the musical work with the same application. See Preregistration of Certain Unpublished Copyright Claims, 70 Fed. Reg. 42,286, 42,288, 42,290 (July 22, 2005).