Compilations of Musical Works

A "compilation" is a work formed by the collecting and assembling of preexisting materials that are selected, coordinated, or arranged in such a way that the resulting work as a whole constitutes an original work of authorship.

If you contribute a certain minimum amount of authorship in the selection and ordering of preexisting musical compositions, you have created a copyrightable compilation. The copyright in the compilation of the musical compositions is separate and distinct from copyright (if any) in the musical compositions themselves. Protection in the compilation extends only to the selection and ordering of the musical compositions. If you are registering an album of new, original music - that is not a compilation.

Derivative Sound Recordings

A derivative sound recording is one which incorporates some preexisting sounds--sounds which were previously registered, previously published, or which were fixed before February 15, 1972.

The copyright in a derivative work covers only the additions, changes, or other new material appearing for the first time in the work. It does not extend to any preexisting material and does not imply a copyright in that material. Only the owner of copyright in a work has the right to prepare, or to authorize someone else to create, a new version of that work. The owner is generally the author or someone who has obtained rights from the author.

When a work contains preexisting sounds, the application must contain brief, general descriptions of both the preexisting material and the added material.

For example, you might identify the preexisting material as "sounds previously published" and indicate something like: "remixed sounds." This new material must result from creative new authorship rather than mere mechanical processes; if only a few slight variations or purely mechanical changes (such as declicking or remastering) have been made, registration is not possible.

< PreviousNext >