Introduction

The copyright office can copyright register and protect 'creative works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression.' This can include all sorts of creating things like lyrics for a song, a screenplay for a movie, architectural plans, fashion designs, software code and yes, even websites and website content. This blog gives a general overview, from the United States Copyright Compendium (their rule book), as to things you need to consider when trying to register web content.

Guidelines from the Copyright compendium for registering a website or web content - originality Standard

For a website page to qualify, it must exhibit a minimal level of originality. This means the content should reflect some creative expression—not just purely factual or standard boilerplate text. Typical qualifying elements include:

• Unique wording such as blog posts, articles, or creative narratives.

• Original graphic design, layout, illustrations, or photos.

• Custom code (e.g., CSS styles, HTML structure) if it demonstrates creative decisions.
  Merely listing facts, technical specs, or using default templates typically would not meet the originality threshold

1009.6(A) Acceptable Terminology for an Application to Register a Website or Website Content As a general rule, the following terms may be used to describe the copyrightable content on a website, provided that they accurately describe the authorship that appears in the deposit copy(ies).

In most cases, the Office will accept combinations or variant forms of these terms, unless they are contradicted by information provided in the deposit copy(ies) or elsewhere in the registration materials.

Literary content

• Text Visual arts content:

• Artwork or 2-D artwork

• Photographs

• Drawings

• Technical drawings

• Map

• Architectural work

Performing arts content

• Music

• Lyrics

• Script

• Choreographic work

• Pantomime Recorded sounds:

• Sound recording Audiovisual content:

• Audiovisual work

• Motion picture

If the applicant intends to register the authorship involved in selecting, coordinating, and/or arranging the content that appears on a website, the applicant may use any of the terms listed below, provided that they accurately describe the copyrightable authorship that appears in the deposit copy(ies). In most cases, the Office will accept combinations or variant forms of these terms, unless they are contradicted by information provided in the deposit copy(ies) or elsewhere in the registration materials

• Compilation of [specify material that has been selected, coordinated, and/or arranged, e.g., “compilation of text and artwork”].

• Selection, coordination, and/or arrangement of [specify material that has been selected, coordinated, and/or arranged, e.g. “selection and arrangement of text and photographs”].

NOTE: Websites often contain previously published material, previously registered material, public domain material, or material owned by a third party. If the deposit copy(ies) contain an appreciable amount of unclaimable material, then as discussed in Section 1009.8 the applicant should exclude that material from the claim. For information concerning this procedure, see Section 1009.8.

1009.6(B) Unclear Terminology for an Application to Register Website Content.

The applicant should clearly identify the authorship that will be submitted for registration and the claim to copyright in that authorship should be clearly stated. Specifically, the applicant should identify the copyrightable authorship that the author contributed to the website or the website content, preferably using one or more of the terms set forth in Section 1009.6(A).

If the claim to copyright is unclear, the registration specialist may communicate with the applicant or may refuse registration. For representative examples of unclear terms that may prompt a communication from the registration specialist, see Chapter 600, Sections 618.8(A)(1) through 618.8(A)(11).

1009.6(C) Unacceptable Terminology for an Application to Register a Website or Website Content

As discussed in Section 1006, a website does not constitute copyrightable subject matter in and of itself. The applicant should not use the term “website,” “webpage,” “screen,” or the like in the Author Created field or the Nature of Authorship space, because these terms are vague, misleading, and fail to identify the particular authorship that the author contributed to the work.

If the applicant asserts a claim in both the copyrightable and uncopyrightable features of a website, the registration specialist may annotate the application to indicate that the registration does not extend to the uncopyrightable features. If the applicant expressly asserts a claim to copyright in any feature of the website that is uncopyrightable, the specialist may communicate with the applicant or may refuse registration if the claim appears to be based solely on those features.

Examples of unacceptable terms include the following or any combination of the following:

• Concept

• Design(s)

• Format

• Layout

• Lettering

• Look and feel

• Website

• Website design

• Webpage

• Screen

• Entire work, entire website, or similar terms

• Hyperlinks

• Hyperlink structure

• Menu choices

• User interface

• Game play

1009.7 Claimant The applicant must provide the name and address of the owner or co-owners of the copyrightable authorship that is claimed in the application. This party is known as the copyright claimant. The claimant(s) may be the author(s) of the work, or a party that owns all of the exclusive rights that initially belonged to the author of that work. If the author and the claimant are not the same person, the applicant should provide a brief statement that explains how the claimant acquired the rights that initially belonged to the author. When completing an online application the applicant should provide this information on the Author and Claimant screens; when completing a paper application the applicant should provide this information on spaces 2 and 4. For guidance on completing these portions of the application, see Chapter 600, Sections 613 and 619.

Website owners frequently assume that they own the copyright in code or other content that was created for them by an independent contractor, because the owner paid for the content or paid the contractor to create that material. In such cases, the website owner does not own the content unless the contractor agreed to create the content pursuant to a work made for hire agreement or executed a written agreement that assigned the copyright in that material to the website owner.

Likewise, a website owner cannot assert a claim in website content if the owner merely owns a physical copy of that content or merely has a nonexclusive license to use that material.

Examples:

• Kari Crow is a web designer who created an illustration for a gardening website. Kari is not an employee of the website owner and she did not transfer ownership of the copyright to that party. Therefore, the applicant should name Kari Crow as the author and claimant for this illustration. If Kari contributed multiple illustrations to the website, each illustration must be registered separately.

• Dizzy Dog LLC owns and operates a website that sells dozens of beats for use on hip hop tracks. The company employs two producers who created these beats for the website. Dizzy Dog LLC should be named as the author and claimant for each work, and in each case the work made for hire box should be checked “yes.”

1009.8 Limitation of Claim As discussed in Section 1008.1,

A registration for a website or website content covers the copyrightable material that was created by the author(s) named in the application that is owned by the claimant named in the application, provided that the material is expressly described in the application and is contained in the deposit copy(ies).

A registration for a website or website content does not cover any material that has been previously published or previously registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. Nor does it cover material that is in the public domain or material that is not owned by the copyright claimant. If the website contains an appreciable amount of previously published material, previously registered material, public domain material, or third party material, the applicant should exclude that material from the claim.

• Previously published material: Frequently applicants submit websites or website content that contain previously published material, but fail to exclude that material from the claim. If the deposit copy(ies) contain material, that was published on any day or twenty-four period prior to the date of first publication specified in the application, the applicant should exclude that material using the procedure described in Chapter 600, Section 621.8(B). When completing an online application, the applicant should identify the previously published material on the Limitation of Claim screen in the Material Excluded field. When completing a paper application, the applicant should identify this material in space 6(a) under the heading marked Preexisting Material.

Previously registered material: If the deposit copy(ies) contain material that has been previously registered, the applicant should exclude that material from the claim (regardless of whether the material is published or unpublished). Specifically, the applicant should provide the registration number and year of registration for the previously registered material in the Previous Registration field of the online application or in space 5 of the paper application. For guidance in completing this portion of the application, see Chapter 600, Section 621.8(F).

Content owned by a third party: If the deposit copy(ies) contain content that is owned by someone other than the claimant, the applicant should exclude that content from the claim (regardless of whether the content is published or unpublished). When completing an online application, the applicant should identify the third party content in the Material Excluded field. When completing a paper application the applicant should provide this information in space 6(a). For guidance in completing this portion of the application, see Chapter 600, Sections 621.7 and 621.8(B).

Public domain material: If the deposit copy(ies) contain material that is in the public domain, the applicant should identify that material in the Material Excluded field of the online application or in space 6(b) of the paper application. For guidance in completing this portion of the application, see Chapter 600, Sections 621.7 and 621.8(B).

In addition, the applicant should identify the new copyrightable material that the author contributed to the website or the website content. When completing an online application, the applicant should provide this information on the Limitation of Claim screen. Specifically, the applicant should check one or more of the boxes in the New Material Included field that accurately describes the author's contribution. If none of these terms fully describe the new material that the author contributed to the website, the applicant should provide a more specific description in the field marked Other. For guidance on completing this field, see Chapter 600, Section 621.8(C)(1).

When completing a paper application, the applicant should provide this information in space 6(b) under the heading marked Material Added to This Work. For guidance in completing this portion of the application, see Chapter 600, Section 621.8(C)(2).

NOTE: The New Material Included field should be completed only if material has been excluded from the claim in the Material Excluded field. Likewise, space 6(b) of the paper application should be completed only if material has been excluded from the claim in space 6(a). As a general rule, the information that the applicant provides in the New Material Included field should be identical to the information that the applicant provides in the Author Created field. Likewise, the information that the applicant provides in space 6(a) of the paper application should be identical to the information that that the applicant provides in space 2 under the heading marked Nature of Authorship. The applicant should only identify the new material created by the author(s) named in the application that is owned by the copyright claimant.

The applicant should not mention any material that is not owned by the claimant, material that will not be submitted for registration, or material that does not appear in the deposit copy(ies). If there is anything in the registration material that casts doubt on the accuracy of the claim, the registration specialist may communicate with the applicant.

Example:

• Alexander Temple writes a blog called “Don't Tread On Me.” The blog contains musings about politics, together with photographs created by the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, and other federal government agencies. Alexander submits an online application along with printouts from his blog. In the application, Alexander asserts a claim in his “website,” but he fails to complete the Limitation of Claim screen. The registration specialist will ask the applicant to describe the new material that he contributed as “text” and “compilation of text and photographs” in the Author Created and New Material Included fields. The photographs appear to be in the public domain, because they were created by employees of the U.S. government. Therefore, the specialist will ask the applicant to exclude that material from the claim by checking the box marked “photographs” in the Material Excluded field.

1010 Deposit Requirements for Website Content

This Section provides basic information concerning the deposit requirements for registering a website or website content. For detailed information concerning these requirements, see Chapter 1500. For information concerning mandatory deposit, see Section 1010.7. 1010.1 Deposit Requirements for Registration To register a website or website content, the applicant must submit a deposit containing the copyrightable content that is claimed in the application. When examining the deposit for a website or website content, the U.S. Copyright Office will apply the same rules that apply to any other type of work. For example, the registration specialist will consider the type of authorship that is claimed in the application, whether the work is published or unpublished, and whether the applicant satisfied the applicable deposit requirements for that type of work.

If the work is unpublished, the deposit copy may include all of the content that is owned by the copyright claimant as of the date that the application is submitted. If the work has been published, the deposit copies should include the content as it existed on the date of first publication specified in the application, and the claim should be limited to the content that was first published on the date. The deposit must contain a complete copy of all the copyrightable authorship that is claimed in the application or appropriate identifying material (if identifying material is an acceptable form of deposit for that type of work). For example, to register an entire website, the applicant should submit a deposit containing all the authorship that the applicant intends to register, regardless of the number of pages or screens that appear on the site. To register a particular work contained on a website, the applicant should submit an appropriate deposit for that type of work. To register the authorship involved in selecting, coordinating, and/or arranging works on a website, the applicant must submit a deposit that adequately displays the compilation authorship that is claimed in the application. In all cases, the applicant must submit fixed copy(ies) or phonorecord(s) of the work that the applicant intends to register. The U.S. Copyright Office will not accept a link to a website or other online source that merely provides access to content that continually changes.

The fixed copy(The fixed copy(ies) or phonorecord(s) should be submitted in a format that allows the registration specialist to perceive the actual content and context where the work appears on a given website or webpage. In other words, the deposit should show how the content would be perceived when a user accesses that content in the online environment. The specialist may communicate with the applicant or may refuse registration if the applicant submits separate files or folders containing unassembled content or content that has been disassociated from the website or webpage where it originally appeared. As the technological means of fixing and normalizing websites and their content evolve into easier solutions and standardized formats, the Office will seek to provide additional guidance on the fixation of websites.

At the present time, the PDF format standard is the preferred means for submitting websites and website content. For information concerning this format and the methods for submitting the deposit to the Office, see Section 1010.3. As a general rule, a registration for a website or for website content does not cover any authorship or works that are not included in the deposit. However, there is a limited exception to this rule. A registration for a computer program or database may cover the entire work, even if the applicant submits only a portion of the source code for that program or a representative selection of the records from the database. For information concerning the deposit requirements for these types of works, see Chapter 1500, Sections 1509.1(C) and 1509.1(D).

The registration specialist may communicate with the applicant if the deposit appears incomplete. If the work is relatively short (based on the number of printed pages or downloaded pages that will be submitted), the applicant should submit the entire website and should provide a brief statement confirming that the deposit contains the complete site. This may avoid the need to communicate with the applicant to determine whether the entire work has been submitted. When completing an online application, the applicant may provide this information in the Note to Copyright Office field. When completing a paper application, the applicant may provide this information in a cover letter.