# Compendium of US Copyright Office Practices, II (1984)/400

Chapter 400
* COPYRIGHTABLE MATTER: WORKS OF THE PERFORMING ARTS AND SOUND RECORDINGS
Outline of Topics
401Musical works: in general. 402Music defined. 403Elements of music. 403.01Definitions. 404Musical content. 404.01No numerical standard. 404.02Words and short phrases. 404.03Transposition. 404.04Works consisting entirely of information that is common property. 404.05"Melodiousness" and harmony. 405Physical embodiment of musical works. 405.01Physical embodiment: copies. 405.02Physical embodiment: soundtracks. 405.03Physical embodiment: phonorecords. 406Limitations on copyrightability. 406.01Copyright term expired. 406.02Certain musical arrangements. 406.03Chord charts. 406.04Musical works unlawfully employing other works under copyright protection. 407Use of protected characters, names, and slogans. 408Musical derivative works. 408.01Musical arrangements. 408.02Adaptation. 408.03Setting.
408.04Variations. 408.05Editing. 408.06Additional music. 408.07Abridgment. 408.08"As a Whole" criterion. 409Compilations. 409.01Collective works. 409.02Method books. [Numbers 410 through 416 are reserved.] 417Words accompanying music. 418Claim in literary content. 419Literary content. 420Nondramatic literary works prepared for performance. 420.01Song lyrics. 420.02Comedy sketches. 420.03Embodiment of nondramatic literary works prepared for oral delivery. [Numbers 421 through 429 are reserved.] 430Dramatic works. 431Dramatic works defined. 432Characteristic features of dramatic works. 432.01Plot. 432.02Characters.
432.03Dialog. 432.04Directions for action.
432.05Drama without words.
433Amount of dramatic content necessary. 434Works not registrable as dramas. 435Embodiment of dramatic works. 436Dramatic derivative works. 437Compilations. 438Music accompanying dramas. 439Components of dramatico-musical works. [Numbers 440 through 449 are reserved.] 450Choreographic works.
450.01Definition. 450.02Presentation before an audience. 450.03Characteristics of choreographic works. 450.04Abstract choreography. 450.05Requirement for registration. 450.06Choreographic content: social dance steps and simple routines. 450.07Embodiment of choreography. 450.08Derivative choreographic works. 450.09Status of improvisation. [Numbers 451 through 459 are reserved.] 460Pantomimes. 460.01Definition. 461Pantomime content. 462Distinction between pantomime and choreography.
463Embodiment of pantomimes. [Numbers 464 through 469 are reserved.] 470Audiovisual works. 471A motion picture is a kind of audiovisual work. 472Series of related images. 473Sounds accompanying an audiovisual work. 474Forms of embodiment. 475Authorship in an audiovisual work. 475.01Visually perceptible authorship. 475.02Aurally perceptible authorship. 476Derivative audiovisual works. 477Multimedia works. 477.01Classification of multimedia works. [Numbers 478 and 479 are reserved.] 480Motion pictures. 480.01Requirement of fixation. 480.02Forms of embodiment. 480.03Copyrightable subject matter. 480.04Motion pictures as derivative works and compilations. [Numbers 481 through 484 are reserved.]
485Motion pictures: special problems. 485.01Fixation as it relates to publication. 485.02Works made for hire. 486Deposit requirements for motion pictures. 486.01Description required. 486.02Unpublished motion pictures. 486.03Published motion pictures. 486.04Definition of "best edition." 486.05Definition of "complete." 486.06Motion Picture Agreement. 486.07Motion Picture Agreement: Standard Modification. 486.08Motion Picture Agreement: Supplemental Property Agreement 487Separately registrable works of authorship fixed in film, videotape, or the like. [Numbers 488 and 489 are reserved.] 490Sound recordings. 491Sound recording distinct from underlying work. 492Sound recording distinct from sounds accompanying audiovisual work. 492.01Classification. 492.02Extent of claim. 493Forms of embodiment. 493.01Statutory definition of phonorecords. 493.02Types of phonorecords. 493.03Distinction between phonorecords and sound recordings. 493.04Distinction between phonorecords and copies.
494Date of fixation as it affects eligibility. 494.01Definition of fixation. 494.02State protection for sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972. 495Copyrightable subject matter. 495.01Types of copyrightable authorship. 495.02Authorship on the part of the performer. 495.03Authorship on the part of the producer. 496Sound recordings as derivative works. 496.01Derivative sound recordings. 496.02Types of derivative sound recordings. 496.03Registrability of derivative authorship. 497Compilations. 497.01Registrable compilations. 497.02Non-registrable compilations. 498Multimedia works. 498.01Audiovisual multimedia works. 498.02Nonaudiovisual multimedia works. [Numbers 498.03 through 498.99 are reserved.] 499Glossary of terms.
Chapter 400
COPYRIGHTABLE MATTER: WORKS OF THE PERFORMING ARTS AND SOUND RECORDINGS
Transposition. Transposition is the act of transferring music from one key to another, note for note. Compare "My Bonnie in F:
with my Bonnle in B♭:
Since the relationship of all the notes to one another remains the same, and all that is required is the mere act of measuring intervals, transposition is a mechanical act and, as such, is not subject to copyright protection. There is no creative musical expression in a transposition. This turn­ about four-note pattern repeated at a certain melodic interval from the preceding statement is essentially a transposition, and therefore is not registrable.
Works consisting entirely of information that is common property. Works consisting entirely of information that is common property are not subject to copyright. 37 C.F.R. 202.01(d). Diatonic and chromatic scales, as such are considered works con­sisting entirely of information that is common property. Thus, works of this kind are excluded from copyright protection.
Physical embodiment: copies. The term "copies" includes every kind of embodiment of the work acceptable for registration,
NOTE: Music published in a soundtrack before 1978 can be registered apart from the motion picture as a whole, only if the motion picture bore a separate copyright notice for the music. Music published in a soundtrack after 1977 may be registered apart from the motion picture,
Copyright term expired. A work whose copy­right term has expired is not subject to copyright protection. Once a work has
Certain musical arrangements. Musical arrangements embodied in a phonorecord and made pursuant to a compulsory license to
Chord charts. Chord charts ordinarily contain a significant number of public domain standard chords. To be registrable,
Where the work does not incorporate any preexisting copyrightable material, but is merely based on a preexisting idea, the work is considered a new work, and not a derivative work.
Example:
Where the work incorporates only a negligible amount of previously registered, published, or public domain material, the work is considered a new work~ thus, the claim to copyright need not exclude the preexisting material.
Example:
Examples:
Harmonic chord symbols. Chord symbols represent the presence of three or more specific notes. However, the individual notes in the chords are not specifically distributed as are chord members in a written-out harmony or in harmony recorded on a phonorecord. To reach the "minimal amount" require­ments, harmonic chord symbols must go beyond standard chords in common sequences.
Example:
Examples:
Transpositions are not copyrightable.See section 404.03 above. Therefore, the Copyright Office will not make multiple registrations for the same work in different keys.
Example:
Moreover, the notation of a musical work necessary to enable transposing instruments to play in the same key is not copyrightable.
Example:
Adaptation. An adaptation results from reworking a preexisting melody, possibly including rhythmic variation as well. An example might be a jazz version of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic." This defi­nition of adaptation is not as widely known as the definition of arrangement: thus, the Copyright Office will accept a claim on adaptation where the primary change is in the harmony. Where there is no registrable
Example:
Example:
A revision consisting of a change of fingering in two measures, added dynamics in four measures, and three measures of additional music could, in the aggregate, constitute a derivative musical work.
Example:
A folio of selected Rodgers and Hammerstein songs.
However, a work will be rejected for regis­tration if the claim is on compilation,unless it appears that enough basic material has been compiled.
Example:
A compilation claim on Sides 1 and 2 of a 45-r.p.m. phonorecord containing a musical selection on each side will be refused. A claim in the music, however, will be accepted if the music appears to meet the standards of originality. See section 404 above.
Method books. Method books that contain only previously published material, such as public domain chords, scales, exercises, and other information that is common property, may be registered as compilations if the works contain at least a certain minimum
Characters. A work may be considered a drama even though it contains only one character. The script of a soliloquy or monolog that tells a story may be registered as a drama, provided that it includes suffi­ciently explicit stage directions from which it can be performed.
Example:
as a drama.
Example:
Embodiment of dramatic works. A drama may be embodied in manuscript, typescript, or printed copy, on a video-recording, such as a video­ cassette, or another form of copy, or in a phonorecord. The fixation of a drama may be made simultaneously with its transmission or
Examples:
A group of songs with instructions for expres­sive delivery, however, is not a dramatico­ musical work. Where music is to accompany a dramatic work, such music must be fixed in the deposit and must be copyrightable on its own to support a claim in music; it need not be inter­-woven with drama, however, as long as it is intended to form an integral part of the drama.
Capacity for performance. The specific movements of dancers are set out in a form from which the work can be per­
Requirement for registration. To be registrable, the choreographic work must contain at least a certain minimal amount
Textual description. Precise explana­tions in narrative form, whether in copies or phonorecords, are acceptable if the description is specific enough to indicate detailed movements of the
Derivative choreographic works. When sub­stantial new choreographic material has been added to preexisting choreography, it may be registered as a new choreographic work.
Example:
An addition of a new section to Petipa's "Don Quixote."
[Numbers 451 through 459 are reserved.]
Embodiment of pantomimes. Unlike choreography, pantomimes are not usually fixed using a speci­fic form of symbolic notation. Conceivably, however, the same systems could be used for notating pantomimes as for dance. To register a work as a pantomime, the movements must be described in sufficient detail to enable the work to be performed from such description, or an actual performance must be captured on some form of film or videotape. Subject to this requirement, any form of copy or a narrative
[Numbers 464 through 469 are reserved.]
Aurally perceptible authorship. If an aural element is present, it may embody several kinds of authorship such as dramatic or
Derivative audiovisual works. For registration purposes, a derivative audiovisual work is a work that incorporates previously published,
[Numbers 478 and 479 are reserved.]
Copyrightable subject matter. A motion picture may embody the contributions of many persons whose efforts are brought together to make a cinematographic work of author­ ship. Some examples of copyrightable elements might be camerawork, directing, editing, sound engineering, and other cinematographic contributions. By contrast, however, mere mechanical acts cannot serve
| Preexisting material | Preexisting material | "Material added" statement | "Material added" statement |
| 1) | Previously published film footage from a 1924 silent movie. | 2) | All other cinema­tographic material. |
| 2) | Novel: "The Ghost of Hawk Mountain." | 2) | Television dramati­zation. |
| 3) | Screenplay regis­tered in 1960. | 3) | Cinematographic material. |
Compilation authorship in a motion picture is generally combined with editing authorship. The following example reflects how this can be stated on an application for registra­tion:
| Preexisting material | "Material Added" statement |
| Assorted newsreel foot­age, still photographs,and radio commentaries from 1938 to 1940, drawn from various sources. | Compilations and editing of old materials, plus new script and narra­tion, and some new cine­matographic material. |
constitute publication. For a general discussion of fixation, see Chapter 100: BASIC POLICIES.
Description required. In all cases, whether the motion picture is published or unpub­lished, the deposit must include a written description of the contents of the motion picture. This may be a shooting script or continuity, a pressbook, or a detailed synopsis. 37 C.F.R. 202.20(c)(2)(ii). The separate description should contain full, complete, and detailed information about the work, including the running time. When the Copyright Office is asked, it will encourage the deposit of a shooting script as the description. NOTE: This description does
Unpublished motion pictures. The deposit required to accompany an application for registration of a copyright claim in an unpublished motion picture, in addition to the description, can be either of the following:
See generally Appendix, 43 Fed. Reg. 763-771 (1978).
Classification. Where a sound recording claim is asserted in sounds accompanying an audiovisual work, and the complete audio­ visual work is being registered, the Copy­right Office will request a new application in the class appropriate to audiovisual works. See section 470 et seq. above.
Example:
Extent of claim. Where a sound recording contains sounds previously published as part of a motion picture, the claim must be limited to the material not contained in the motion picture. See section 496.03 below.
Example:
Types of phonorecords. Examples include the following:
Examples:
Musical sounds. Included are sounds produced by vocalists and instrumental­ists.
Examples:
Spoken sounds. Included are sounds spoken by an actor, orator, lecturer, or the like.
Examples:
Producer's contribution in the recording of other sounds. In some cases, for example where sounds are produced by nature or non-human sources, the copy­rightability of the sound recording depends on the contribution of the record producer in selecting, recording, and mixing the sounds.
Examples:
Examples:
* Remixed
* Remixed for quad from original multi­
* track sound sources
* Remixed for continuity and balance
* Resequencing
* Sweetening
* New mix
* Remixed for stereo ​
* Remixed for monaural sound
* Compilation (see also section 497 below).
* New master cut
* Remastering
* Enhanced stereo
* Encoding a two-track master onto four channels
* Reprocessing
* Compatible stereo
* Simulated stereo
* Electronically rechanneling for stereo (or quad)
* Electronically enhanced
* Derived 4-channel
* Declicking
* Reissue
* Dolbyized
NOTE: Any claim in a sound recording originally fixed before February 15, 1972, must be limited to whatever sound recording authorship may have been added on or after February 15, 1972. See section 494 above. Where the original fixation was in a mono­ phonic recording, the possibility of adding copyrightable authorship by editing or mixing in the course of reprocessing is minimal or non­ existent, so that the copyrightable ​content of the original sounds and the new ones remains essentially unchanged. In such a case, the date the original recording was made is the date of fixation, and there is generally no new sound recording authorship (except compilation, where appropriate) on which to base a claim. Most recordings made before 1960 fall into this cate­gory.
Minimal contributions. The follow­ing elements may involve effort, but registration based on them alone will be refused. However, where they are included in addition to clearly copyrightable new material, the claim should be registered.
* Changing the treble (highs) and bass (lows)
* Equalization
* Reverberation
* Balancing
Examples:
Non-registrable compilations. A mere re­publication together of several previously released or registered sound recordings, where no appreciable degree of original authorship was involved in putting the sound recordings together, does not con­stitute a registrable compilation.
Examples:
Multimedia works. A multimedia work is one which, excluding the physical housing of its components, combines two or more kinds of authorship in two or more of the following media: phonorecords, copies from which the work may be visually perceived without the aid of a

## BALANCE

    relative level or volume, for example, between different or instruments, bass and treble, or different tracks or channels.

## BALANCING

    adjusting the relative levels of voices or instruments, bass and treble, or recorded tracks. ​

## CARTRIDGE

    an enclosed package containing a continuous loop of magnetic tape and its winding apparatus, thus removing the need for handling the tape.

## CASSETTE

    a sealed package containing a length of magnetic tape and winding apparatus which can be loaded into a player without handling or threading the tape.

## CHANNEL

    a single recording path, for example, from microphone to speaker.

## DECLICKING

    in reprocessing sounds from an old 78-r.p.m. recording, the process of eliminating the noises or "clicks" pro­duced by groove irregulari­ties, by manually or elec­tronically removing them from the tape made from the old recording.

## DECODING

    transforming information from a form suitable for trans­mission to a form suitable for use. Frequently used in reference to quadraphonic recordings, which require an electronic "decoder" for playback.

## DOLBYIZED

    refers to a recording pro­cessed through a particular noise reduction device (a "dolby"). The dolby achieves noise reduction by raising the volume of quiet passages while recording and lowering them to proper levels while playing back. ​

## DUB

    to duplicate a sound recording by making an exact recording from that recording or a duplication of a recording made by dubbing; to dub may also mean to add sounds to a recording or to combine two or more sources of sound (at least one of which is a recording) into one record.

## EDITING

    cutting and splicing tape to rearrange recorded material, thus changing content, form, or replacing undesirable material.

## ENCODING

    to convert (as a body of information) from one system of communication into another especially to convert infor­mation into code for example, reprocessing a stereo record­ ing into a quadraphonic for­ mat which can be played on equipment with a quadraphonic decoder to produce a quadra­phonic effect.

## EQUALIZATION

    the process of boosting treble during recording and boosting bass during playback, so as to compensate for losses in record­ing and reproduction, usually with the intent of achieving a result as close to the original performance as possible.

## LOOP

    a length of tape with its ends spliced together for continuous playback. ​

## MASTER

    may refer to the original recording made directly from recording microphones, the final mixed-down tape from which other recordings are made, or the lacquer disk from which stampers are made for vinyl pressings.

## MIXING

    combining many separate tracks into fewer tracks, usually one, two, or four.

## MONOPHONIC

    recorded on a single channel or played back from a single sound source.

## MULTI-TRACK

    refers to a recorder which produces, or a recording which contains, more than two tracks or channels of rec­orded information, generally eight or more.

## OVERDUB

    mixing previously recorded material with new material.

## QUADRAPHONIC

    four-channel sound reproduc­tion.

## REMASTERING

    cutting a new master from the original recording, usually without remixing.

## REMIXING

    mixing down from multiple tracks to one, two, or four tracks for the second or any subsequent time.

## REVERBERATION

    prolongation of sounds by repetition, resulting from sound reflections in a large hall or simulating such reflections. ​

## STEREOPHONIC

    sound reproduction on two or more channels.

## COMPATIBLE STEREO

    refers to a recording which may be played on either stereophonic or monophonic equipment with­out loss of quality.

## ENHANCED STEREO

    refers to a stereo recording in which the stereo effect has been augmented by increasing or heightening the separation between channels.

## SIMULATED STEREO

    refers to a recording originally made mono­phonically, reprocessed so as to get a stereo effect.

## SWEETENING

    the addition of strings, brass, background vocals, etc. to a previously recorded tape.
[END OF CHAPTER 400]