300-6
305
Noncopyrightable material. (cont'd)
305.09
Use of protected characters, names, slogans, symbols, and seals. (cont'd)
does not prevent registration. Where the Copyright Office is aware that a use of certain elements within a work may be in violation of existing law, it may inform the applicant of the possible restriction and direct the applicant to the agency involved. Some examples of restricted names and characters are "Olympic," "Olympiad" (36 U.S.C. 380); "Woodsy Owl" (18 U.S.C. 711a) and "Smokey Bear" (18 U.S.C. 711).
306
Derivative works. A derivative work is a work based upon one or more preexisting works, such as a translation, musical arrangement, dramatization, fictionalization, motion picture version, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgment, condensation, or any other form in which a work may be recast, transformed, or adapted. A work consisting of editorial revisions, annotations, elaborations, or other modifications which, as a whole, represent an original work of authorship, is a "derivative work." 17 U. S. C. 101.
306.01
Extent of claim. The copyright in a derivative work extends only to the material contributed by the author of such work, as distinguished from the preexisting material employed in the work, and does not imply any exclusive right in the preexisting material. The copyright in such work is independent of, and does not affect or enlarge the scope, duration, ownership, or subsistence of, any copyright protection in the preexisting material. 17 U.S.C. 103(b). Where a work contains a substantial amount of previously registered, published, or public domain material, the application should contain a statement of the preexisting material as well as the new copyrightable material.
[1984]
