503.1 (A) Works of Authorship Distinguished from the Constituent Elements of the Work
The U.S. Copyright Office registers claims to copyright in works of authorship. As a general rule, the Office will issue one registration for each work that is submitted for registration.
The Office may examine the constituent elements or individual components of a work to determine if the work contains a sufficient amount of creative expression to warrant registration. But as a general rule, the Office will not issue separate registrations for the constituent elements or individual components of a work of authorship. Likewise, the Office will not issue separate registrations to each author who contributed copyrightable expression to a work of authorship (except as contributions to a collective work or derivative works).