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Copyright
Business Forms Handbook
A copyright is issued by the Library of Congress to protect the writings of an author. Literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works can be copyrighted. A copyright applies to the form of expression rather than the subject matter of the work. For example, a description of a machine could be copyrighted, but this would prevent others from copying only the description, not from making and using the machine itself.
Certain works, such as blank forms designed to record rather than convey information, cannot be copyrighted. In order to be copyrightable, a work must contain at least a certain minimum amount of original literary, pictorial, or musical expression. A copyright cannot be secured for names, titles, and phrases or clauses such as column headings, simple checklists, etc. The format, arrangement, or typography of a blank form or similar work is not a copyrightable element.
Only the particular manner and expressions of an author are protected by a copyright. The ideas, plans, methods, or systems that are described or embodied in the work are not copyrightable. Thus, there is no way to secure copyright protection for the idea or principle behind a blank form or similar work, or for any of the methods or systems involved in it.
An original literary or pictorial work is subject to copyright registration even though it is published in conjunction with a blank form or other uncopyrightable material, provided that the requirements of the copyright law have been met. However, the copyright in such a case extends protection only to the original literary or pictorial expression used by the author, and not to the blank form or other uncopyrightable aspects of the work.
It is illegal for anyone to violate any of the rights provided by the Copyright Act to the owner of a copyright. However, there are some limits to these rights, and they are established in the Act. For further information about the limitations of any of these rights, consult the Copyright Act or write to the Copyright Office at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20559.
Claiming Copyright
Copyright protection starts from the time a work is created in fixed form. The copyright in the work of authorship immediately becomes the property of the author who created it. Only the author or those deriving their rights through the author can rightfully claim copyright.In the case of works made for hire, the employer and not the employee is presumptively considered the author. The copyright statute defines a "work made for hire" as "a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment," or "a work specially ordered or commissioned...if the parties especially agree in a written instrument signed by them that the work shall be considered a work made for hire."
The authors of a joint work are co-owners of the copyright in the work, unless there is an agreement to the contrary.
Protectable Works
A copyright protects "original works of authorship" that are fixed in a tangible form of expression. There are several categories of copyrightable works, including literary works and pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works. These categories should be viewed quite broadly. For example, computer programs and most "compilations" are registrable as "literary works," and maps and architectural plans are registrable as "pictorial, graphics, and sculptural work.Unprotectable Works
Several categories of material are generally not eligible for statutory copyright protection . These include titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols or designs; mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents. Other works that are unprotectable are ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices, as distinguished from descriptions, explanations, or illustrations. Also unprotectable are works consisting entirely of information that is common property and containing no original authorship, such as standard calendars, height and weight charts, tape measures and rulers, and lists or tables taken from public documents or other common sources.Securing a Copyright
Under the present law, no publication or registration or other action in the Copyright Office is required to secure a copyright. A copyright is secured automatically when a work is created, and a work is "created" when it is first fixed in a copy (i.e., a material object from which a work can be read or visually perceived either directly or with the aid of a machine or device, such as books, manuscripts, etc.).Requests for Copyright Office publications or special questions relating to copyright problems should be addressed to the Copyright Office at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20559. The Copyright Office is not permitted to give legal advice. For information or guidance on matters such as disputes over the ownership of a copyright, suits against possible infringers, the procedure for getting a work published, or the method of obtaining royalty payments, it may be necessary to consult an attorney.