11-23
Ch. 11
11.8.2
11.8.2
11.8.2
Posthumous works.(cont'd)
II.
Definitions.(cont'd)
b.
Works registered as unpublished during the author's life, but published after his death.
11.8.3
Composite works.
I.
Proprietor-claimant. The proprietor of a periodic, cyclopedic, or other composite work may claim renewal in the work as a whole.
II.
Definitions. Generally, a composite work is an original publication relating to a variety of subjects, to which number of different authors have contributed distinguishable and separable selections.
a.
To be regarded as "composite" a work must be covered by a single copyright.
b.
A work by a single author, consisting of a collection of his writings, is not a composite work.
c.
A work which is the product of joint authorship and common design, or which consists of elements which have been indistinguishably merged into a single entity, cannot be regarded as composite.
Examples:
musical compositions, dramas and dramatico-musical works.
III.
Individual contributions. While the proprietor of a composite work may claim renewal in the work as a whole, the author of an individual contribution, or his beneficiaries, may also claim renewal in his contribution.
a.
It is unclear whether the proprietor's claim in the entire work covers everything in the work that is not separately renewed.
b.
If a renewal application covering an individual contribution is received too late for registration, the Copyright Office furnishes the applicant with the facts of renewal registration for the composite work.
