DASCENZO GATES Intellectual Property Law, P.C.
either in two-dimensional or three-dimensional form."); Compendium (Third) § 906.2 ("Familiar symbols and designs are not protected by the Copyright Act.").
A work comprised of unprotectable elements may be registrable if such elements are configured in a creative manner, though not every combination or arrangement of unprotectable elements will be creative enough to qualify for copyright. See Feist, 499 U.S. at 358 (stating that, in determining whether work comprised of unprotectable elements is sufficiently creative, "the principal focus should be on whether the selection, coordination, and arrangement are sufficiently original to merit protection" but "[n]ot every selection, coordination, or arrangement will pass muster"); Compendium (Third) § 906.1 (stating that a "work that merely consists of common geometric shapes" will not be registered "unless the author's use of those shapes results in a work that, as a whole, is sufficiently creative"); Compendium (Third) § 906.2 ("A work that includes familiar symbols or designs may be registered if the registration specialist determines that the author used these elements in a creative manner and that the work as a whole is eligible for copyright protection."). Indeed, "a combination of unprotectable elements is eligible for copyright protection only if those elements are numerous enough and their selection and arrangement original enough that their combination constitutes an original work of authorship." Satava v. Lowry, 323 F.3d 805, 811 (9th Cir. 2003).
Applying these legal standards, the Board finds that the Work does not contain the requisite creativity necessary to sustain a claim to copyright. Both the individual elements of the Work and the Work as a whole fail to demonstrate sufficient creativity.
The individual elements of the Work are three horseshoe shapes and a shield shape, all rendered in black without shading or gradation in color. Neither common shapes nor familiar symbols or designs are copyrightable. See 37 C.F.R. § 202.1(a); Compendium (Third) §§ 906.1, 906.2; see also John Muller & Co. v. N.Y. Arrows Soccer Team, Inc., 802 F.2d 989, 889–990 (8th Cir. 1986) (upholding refusal to register "logo consist[ing] of four angled lines which form an arrow and the word 'Arrows' in cursive script below the arrow"); Coach, Inc. v. Peters, 386 F. Supp. 2d 495, 499 (S.D.N.Y. 2005) (upholding refusal to register pattern consisting of arrangements of letter "C"). Accordingly, the individual elements of the Work are not sufficiently creative to support a copyright claim.
Similarly, the combination of these unprotectable elements in the Work does not demonstrate sufficient creativity. The individual elements of the Work are arranged in a simple, obvious fashion: the horseshoes are centered in the shield, rotated at equal intervals relative to each other, and are overlapping. Since the elements are not sufficiently numerous and their arrangement is typical and garden-variety, the Work as a whole is not creative enough to be copyrightable. See Satava, 323 F.3d at 811; see also Feist, 499 U.S. at 362. That the Work may be "reminiscent of Celtic symbols or knots" or "suggestive of Ariat's equestrian roots" is not relevant to the question of whether the Work is sufficiently creative. Second Request at 2; Compendium (Third) § 310.3 (stating that "[t]he symbolic meaning or impression of a work is irrelevant" to determination of whether work is sufficiently creative). "[T]he Office will focus only on the actual appearance or sound of the work that has been submitted for registration, but
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