{"id":1329,"date":"2017-07-18T17:54:21","date_gmt":"2017-07-18T17:54:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dekuzu.com\/en\/?p=1329"},"modified":"2018-02-20T16:38:21","modified_gmt":"2018-02-20T16:38:21","slug":"draft-third-edition-of-usa-copyright-office-compendium-the-copyrightability-of-a-derivative-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dekuzu.com\/en\/2017\/07\/draft-third-edition-of-usa-copyright-office-compendium-the-copyrightability-of-a-derivative-work.html","title":{"rendered":"Draft third edition of USA copyright office compendium \u2013 the copyrightability of a derivative work"},"content":{"rendered":"

A derivative work may be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, provided that it constitutes copyrightable subject matter. Derivative works are a subset of the subject matter categories, rather than a separate and distinct category of work. In other words, the new material that the author contributed to the derivative work must fall \u201cwithin one or more of the categories listed in section 102 of the Copyright Act.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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In addition, the preexisting work that has been recast, transformed, or adapted, \u201cmust come within the general subject matter of copyright set forth in section 102, regardless of whether it is or was ever copyrighted.\u201d For example<\/a>, a ballet based on an epic poem would be considered a derivative work, because a poem is a type of literary work. By contrast, a photograph of a lake or a sculpture of a mountain would not be considered a derivative work, because lakes and mountains do not constitute copyrightable subject matter.<\/span><\/p>\n

The fact that the author incorporated uncopyrightable elements of a preexisting work into his or her work does not necessarily mean that the author\u2019s expression qualifies as a derivative work. The author of the derivative work must recast, transform, or adapt some of the copyrightable portions of a preexisting work. Derivative works contain two distinct forms of authorship:<\/span><\/p>\n