Source: https://ccdigitallaw.ch/index.php?cID=1373
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 01:47:16+00:00

Document:
Drafts, titles and parts of works, insofar as they are intellectual creations with an individual character, are also protected pursuant to Art. 2 para. 4 CopA. This means that manuscripts and sketches in particular can also be protected works within the meaning of the Copyright Act.
However, care must be taken in the case of "titles": these are only protected by copyright under strict conditions. Book titles in particular, but also titles of other works and headings, are not usually protected autonomously from their work. Even if a work is given a name, titles consist of words and terms or a combination of several words which usually lack individuality. The situation is different when for instance a surprising or uncommon combination of works or unusual words appears in the title; then the required individuality may exist (e.g. “Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone”). However, please be aware – even when the title does not fall under copyright protection, other laws must be observed, e.g. the competition law. (cf. Müller/Örtli-Cherpillod, URG, 2nd edition, 2012, Art. 2 N. 68).
A work must not necessarily be completed or whole to enjoy copyright protection. Copyright law does not differentiate between finished and unfinished works. It is only important that the unfinished or incomplete work can already be viewed as anintellectual creation with individual character which is perceptible to the senses (work conditions) (Art. 2 para. 1 CopA). If these work conditions exist, the protection begins when the work is created. It is irrelevant whether the creator of the work changes the work, extends it, changes it or adapts it in any other way, etc. – but the work conditions must exist at every stage of the creation of the work.
When we think of copyright protection, books, images and artwork firstly spring to mind. However, in libraries, museums, archives, galleries but also in databases, book and art shops and other places where works are collected, stored, made available or sold, information about these works must be collected so that they can be identified, described and classified (e.g. in library or museum catalogues). Such data is known as metadata. The most well-known example is bibliographical information about a book, i.e. the information which is necessary to describe a book or a source of literature (e.g. publisher, title, publication year, ISBN, edition).
At first glance, it is not obvious that metadata can also be protected by copyright, as it seems that it only includes descriptions, numbers and data. Nevertheless, this has to be considered carefully as metadata can also be protected by copyright. However, it can be difficult to evaluate this aspect in individual cases. According to the copyright definition of a work (Art. 2 para. 1 CopA), we need to ask whether the information in question can be viewed as an intellectual creative effort with an individual character.
biographical data of artists, authors, etc., if it is collected and listed in a creative manner (e.g. as a short text) and not already in the public domain and put together in common patterns (e.g. chronologically).
2.1.4-1 Can the title of a book “Überblick über das Urheberrecht” [Overview of Copyright] be protected by copyright?
No, the title lacks unique, individual character. There are no unusual, surprising terms or words or combinations of words. Other people could have also come up with this book title.
2.1.4-2 A PhD student has only written the introduction to her thesis to date. May a lecturer publish this without further ado?
No, unfinished works (in this case, the introduction) can also be protected by copyright, even if the work is still in the initial stages. There is a certain creative, individual effort even in an introduction as the author explains their idea and motivation in their own words.
Furthermore, only the PhD student may exploit her right to first publication pursuant to Art. 9 para. 2 CopA. This is the moral right of the author and can also not be transferred to the lecturer.
2.1.4-3 Is the so far incomplete draft of a novel a protected work?
Yes, as long as the criteria specified in Art. 2 para. 1 CopA are fulfilled – the unfinished or incomplete work or the part of a work must therefore be a human intellectual creation with an individual character.
2.1.4-4 A lecturer compiles a literature list for her students containing the author, title, edition, ISBN, etc. and a short description of each book devised by the publishing house. May the lecturer use this information without further ado?
It depends: all data is metadata, which is only protected by copyright when it is considered to be an intellectual creative effort with an individual character pursuant to Art. 2 para. 1 CopA. Information about the author, title, edition and ISBN does not fall under this. On the other hand, the short description is an intellectual creative effort and is therefore protected by copyright; the lecturer would have to obtain the consent of the publishing house to use it.
Although this work is used in an educational context, the lecturer can invoke the limiting provision specified in Art. 19 para. 1 (b) CopA and does not require any consent to do so (private use for educational purposes). However, it is important that the lecturer only uses excerpts from the short descriptions for the literature list (not a complete copy) Art. 19 para. 1 (b) in conjunction with Art. 19 para 3 (a) CopA).
Alternatively, the lecturer can also just issue a link list with links to the choice of literature in question or to the homepage of the publishing house instead of a literature list. Then the lecturer does not require the consent of the publishing house.
2.1.4-5 Is a table of contents of a legal commentary which simply follows the structure of the Copyright Act protected by copyright? What about a legal thesis following the author’s structure and arrangement of the content?
A table of contents only falls under copyright when it can be viewed as an intellectual creation with sufficient individuality pursuant to Art. 2 para. 1 CopA. As the structure of the Copyright Act is followed in the legal commentary, it lacks the required individuality; the table of contents is not sufficiently unique and creative.
The situation is different for the table of contents of the thesis. In this case, the contents of the work are structured in a form which does not exist, so the table of contents is considered to be a creative effort of the author.
2.1.4-6 Is a draft of an essay considered to be a protected work?
Yes, as long as the draft is an intellectual creation with an individual character pursuant to Art. 2 para. 4 CopA.

References: Art. 2
 Art. 2
 Art. 9
 Art. 2
 Art. 2
 Art. 19
 Art. 19
 Art. 19
 Art. 2
 Art. 2