621.8 (E) Examples for Identifying Unclaimable Material and the New Material That the Applicant Intends to Register
This Section provides representative examples for completing the Author Created and New Material Included/Material Excluded fields in the online application and spaces 2, 6 (A), and 6 (B) in the paper application.
Examples:
• Online application for a motion picture based on the novel Little Women.
Author Created: Entire Motion Picture.
Material Excluded: Text.
New Material Included: Entire Motion Picture.
• Online application for a music book containing some original compositions and arrangements of Beethoven’s piano concertos.
Author Created/Other: Some original music and arrangement of public domain music.
Material Excluded/Other: Some public domain music. New Material Included/Other: Some original music and arrangement of public domain music.
• Online application for a new edition of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet with a new introduction.
Author Created/Other: Text of introduction.
Material Excluded/Other: Public domain play, Romeo and Juliet. New Material Included/Other: Text of introduction.
• Online application for a reissue of a previously published album containing remixed sound recordings, new photographs, and a previously unreleased bonus track.
Author Created/Other: One new sound recording, remixing of previously published sound recordings, some new photographs. Material Excluded/Other: Previously published sound recordings and photographs.
New Material Included/Other: One new sound recording, remixing of previously published sound recordings, some new photographs.
• Online application for a new catalog containing new artwork and new text, combined with text and artwork that appeared in a previous catalog.
Author Created: 2-dimensional artwork.
Author Created/Other: New text.
Material Excluded/Other: Previously published text and artwork.
New Material Included: 2-dimensional artwork.
New Material Included/Other: New text.
• Online application for a children’s book containing text by the author, as well as illustrations and clip art by a third party.
Author Created: Text.
Material Excluded/Other: Illustrations, clip art used with permission.
New Material Included: Text.
• Online application for an interview submitted by the interviewer.
Author Created/Other: Text of interviewer’s questions.
Material Excluded/Other: Text of interviewee’s answers.
New Material Included/Other: Text of interviewer’s questions.
• Online application for an illustrated edition of a children’s story by Hans Christian Anderson.
Author Created: 2-D artwork.
Material Excluded/Other: Text.
New Material Included: 2-D artwork.
• Online application for a revised version of a previously registered computer program.
Author Created/Other: New program code.
Material Excluded/Other: Previously registered version.
New Material Included/Other: New program code.
• Online application for a holiday ornament containing logos and artwork that are not owned by the copyright claimant.
Author Created: Sculpture, 2-D artwork.
Material Excluded/Other: Preexisting logos, 2-D artwork.
New Material Included: Sculpture, 2-D artwork.
• Online application for a revised map of downtown San Juan, Puerto Rico that shows the location of the new central business district.
Author Created: Map.
Material Excluded/Other: U.S. Geological Survey map, San Juan municipal maps.
New Material Included: Map.
• Paper application for a lithographic print of a nineteenth- century oil painting.
Space 2: Reproduction of work of art.
Space 6 (A): Artwork.
Space 6 (B): Reproduction of work of art.
• Paper application for a U.S. Geological Survey map with additional maps and text added.
Space 2: Maps, text.
Space 6 (A): Public domain map.
Space 6 (B): Maps, text.
• Paper application for a revised version of a previously registered screenplay.
Space 2: Revised text.
Space 6 (A): Previously registered screenplay.
Space 6 (B): Revised text.
For examples that illustrate how to complete an application to register a compilation, a collective work, or a contribution to a collective work, see Section 621.8 (D). For additional examples, use this link to access the “help” section of the U.S. Copyright Office’s electronic registration system.