# Compendium of US Copyright Office Practices, II (1984)/300

Chapter 300
* COPYRIGHTABLE MATTER: NONDRAMATIC LITERARY WORKS
Outline of Topics
301Applicability of this chapter. 302Definition: literary works. 303Definition: nondramatic literary works. 304Copyrightable literary expression. 305Noncopyrightable material. 305.01Names, titles, slogans, and other shortphrases. 305.02Ideas, methods, or systems. 305.03Measuring and computing devices. 305.04Works consisting entirely of information that is common property. 305.05Blank forms. 305.06Format or layout. 305.07Book design. 305.08Limits on copyrightability. 305.09Use of protected characters, names, slogans, symbols, and seals. 306Derivative works. 206.1Extent of claim. 306.2Types of nondramatic literary derivative works. 307Compilations. 307.01Registrability. 307.02Telephone books, directories, price lists, and the like. 307.03Coordination and arrangement.
308Collective works. 308.01In general. 308.02Collective works made for hire. 308.03Registration of collective works. 308.04Periodicals other than daily newspapers. 308.05Daily newspapers: various editions. 309Certain periodicals not collective works. 310Contributions to collective works. 310.01All rights to an independent contribution owned by claimant of collective work. 311Unit registration for contributions to periodi­cals. 312Book jackets. [Number 313 is reserved]. 314Tests and answer material for tests. 315Secure tests. 316Copyright ownership as distinct from ownership of material object. 316.01Letters and diaries. 317Interviews. 318Facts, historical data, and "news." 318.01Research. 319Author deceased before date of creation of work.
320Machine-readable works. 320.01Literary works embodied in machine-readable form. 321Computer programs. 321.01Source code. 321.02Object code. 321.03Relationship between source code and object code. 322Copyrightable subject matter. 323Derivative computer programs. 323.01Registrability of a derivative computer program. 324Deposit for registration: identifying material. 324.01Title on identifying material. 324.02Notice on identifying material. 324.03Source code as best deposit. 324.04Source code as best deposit. 324.05Special relief. 324.06Specific deposit examples. 325Completing the application form. 325.01Asserting a claim in a derivative computer program. 325.02Nature of authorship and extent of claim. 326Glossary of terms. 327Instructional booklets, flowcharts, and the like. 328Automated data bases.
Chapter 300
COPYRIGHTABLE MATTER: NONDRAMATIC LITERARY WORKS
Registrability. A compilation is regis­trable if its selection, coordination, or arrangement as a whole constitutes an origi­nal work of authorship. The greater the amount of material from which to select, coordinate, or order, the more likely it is that the compilation will be registrable. Where the compilation lacks a certain mini­mum amount of original authorship, registra­tion will be refused. Any compilation consisting of less than four selections is considered to lack the requisite oriqinal authorship. See also section 625 of Chapter 600: REGISTRATION PROCEDURES.
Examples:
Separate editions. Where an issue of a periodical is published in two or more separate editions containing different copyrightable matter, separate registra­tions may be made.
Examples:
[Number 313 is reserved].
Examples:
Examples:
Trade secrets and special relief. When a computer program contains trade se­crets or other confidential material that the applicant is unwilling to dis­close by depositing the first and last 25 pages in source code, the Copyright Office is willing to consider special relief requests enabling the applicant to deposit less than or other than the usual 50 pages of source code. Special relief requests for the following three deposit options are presently being granted upon receipt of the applicant's written request for special relief:
When a "material added" statement is not required. When the preexisting material has never been registered or published or when the amount of preexisting mate­rial is not substantial, the "material added" statement on the application need not be completed.
Examples:
Copyrightable elements. The following descriptions of authorship or of mate­rial added will ordinarily not be ques­tioned:
* computer program
* entire computer code
* entire program
* entire program code
* entire text
* entire work
* module, new modules, revised modules
* program
* program instructions
* program listing
* program text, programming text
* revised program
* routine, new routines, revised rou­tines
* software, computer software
* subroutine, new subroutines, revised subroutines
* text
* text of computer game
* text of ... (except "text of object code" or "text of algorithm")
* text of program
* translation from (one programming language) to (another programming language)
* wrote program
Unclear elements. The following terms as commonly used with reference to com­puter software mayor may not represent copyrightable authorship. Therefore, the Copyright Office will generally question an application describing the claim or the authorship in these terms:
* adaptation or translation (where program appears to have been adapted merely to run on different hardware)
* compilation
* debugging
* enhancements
* error corrections
* features
* patching
* translation (listed alone)
Noncopyrightable elements. Where the Copyright Office has determined that the claim is based only on the following, registration will be refused:
* algorithm (or text of algorithm)
* analysis
* cassette
* chip
* disk
* encrypting
* EPROM
* firmware
* formatting
* functions
* language (alone)
* logic
* mnemonics
* printout
* PROM
* ROM
* software methodology
* system
* system design(er)
The following is a list of terms commonly used with reference to computer programs.

## ALGORITHM

    A prescribed set of well defined rules or proc­esses for the solution of a problem.

## ASSEMBLER

    A computer program that changes assembly lan­guage into the language that the computer oper­ates on directly—the "object code."

## ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE

    A language—verbs, nouns, syntax, etc.—used by programmers to write computer programs. It is relatively "low level" in that the pro­grammer must keep many machine details in mind. The source language for an assembler.

## BASIC

    A rather simple program­ming language that is widely used with the new micro-computers.

## BUG

    A mistake or malfunc­tion.

## CARTRIDGE

    A very ambiguous term meaning some form of removable magnetic data storage medium, used along with a fixed (non-removable) medium. It may use magnetic tape or magnetic disk as the medium. ​

## CASSETTE

    A small, self-contained volume of magnetic tape used for data storage. Similar to a sound­ recording cassette.

## CHIP

    In microcircuitry, a single device, either a transistor or a diode, that has been cut from a larger wafer of sili­con.

## COBOL (Common Business Oriented Language)

    A high-level language developed in the early 1960's and used primarily for business applications.

## CODE

    Can be used as verb or noun. As a noun, it can apply to (1) the data, meaning the series of bits used to represent the characters, or (2) the programs, meaning the computer instruc­tions as written in the programming language. As a verb, it means creating the coded data or programs.

## CODING

    The act of actually writing program state­ments.

## COMPILE

    To prepare a machine language program from a computer program written in another programming language by making use ​ ​

## DISK

    The popular form of bulk data storage with rapid access capabilities. Data is recorded in tracks on a magnetic medium on the disk surface. The two main forms are "floppy disks" and "hard disks."

## DUMP

    The term applied to the process of making a copy of some or all data stored in a storage device, usually for backup purposes.

## ENCRYPTION

    The process of system­atically turning mes­sages (information) into gibberish, as a security measure. The inverse process of decryption is needed for recovering the original messages.

## ENHANCEMENTS

    Changes or refinements made to an existing computer program.

## EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read­ Only Memory)

    A type of computer memory device for storing data within a computer: can be erased and repro­grammed.

## FEATURES

    Particular capabilities or functions of a given computer program. ​

## FIRMWARE

    This term is applied to computer programs that are stored in a type of memory (a ROM) that can in general only be read, not erased or changed easily. Firmware is used both for protection and for higher speed.

## FLOPPY DISK

    A thin plastic disk, usually 5-1/4 inches or 8 inches in diameter, enclosed in a square, protective envelope, with a magnetic surface for storing information: a diskette.

## FORTRAN

    The Formula Translation programming language, originally developed in the late 1950's for engineering and scien­tific programming. It is still the most widely used language for these types of programs.

## HARDWARE

    The term applied to the computer equipment—the processor unit, the storage devices, input devices, printers, etc. Hardware is differentiated from "software" and "firmware."

## INTERPRETER

    A computer program in the same general class as "assembler" and "compiler." All three ​

## INTERPRETER (cont'd)

    translate or change a programmer's source code into the object code that the computer uses.

## LANGUAGE

    In the computer field, the term generally means a programming language used by a programmer for writing a computer pro­gram. This program usually must be trans­lated or changed (assem­bled, compiled, inter­preted) into object code before the computer can execute the program.

## MACHINE LANGUAGE (MACHINE CODE OR OBJECT CODE)

    The instructions the machine actually executes.

## MNEMONIC CODE

    Symbols used in program­ming to assist the human memory,e.g., an abbre­viation such as "MPY" for "multiply."

## MODULE

    A series or group of related instructions within a computer pro­ gram, analogous to a chapter of a book.

## OBJECT CODE

    This is the program in actual machine language which the computer exe­cutes. It has been changed from the pro­gramming language used by the programmer by means of an "assembler," "compiler," or "inter­preter." ​

## PATCH, PATCHING

    Segments of program code (individual statements or routines) added to the body of a completed computer program to enhance or amend the program.

## PRINTOUT

    A visually perceptible printed copy. Is used variously to mean a listing of the computer instructions that form a program or the product resulting from the op­eration of the computer program.

## PROM (Programmable Read-only Memory)

    A programmable ROM.

## RAM (Random-Access Memory)

    Computer storage device in which words may be "written" (stored) or "read" (recovered) in any order at random. Conventional internal memory.

## ROM (Read-Only Memory)

    A computer device con­ taining a program or data permanently stored when the unit was made. In theory, it can apply to either internal memory or large-volume, exter­nal data storage. To­ day, it is applied to the former. Programs stored in ROM cannot be changed easily and they ​execute faster;see alsoabove entry under FIRM­WARE.

## ROUTINE OR PROGRAMMED ROUTINE

    A series or group of instructions usually contained within a main program analogous to a paragraph within a textual work.

## SOFTWARE

    A set of computer pro­grams, procedures, and possibly associated documentation concerned with the operation of a data processing system, e.g., compilers, library routines, manuals, cir­cuit diagrams. Con­trasts with hardware.

## SOURCE CODE

    This is the computer program code as the programmer originally writes it, in the pro­gramming language being used. It must be changed into object code before the computer can execute it, unless the program was originally written in object code.

## SUBROUTINE

    A routine that can be part of another routine analogous to a sentence within a paragraph of narrative text.

## TAPE, MAGNETIC

    Large volume data storage medium for computers.
[END OF CHAPTER 300]