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copyright.gov
CIRCULAR
33
To register a work with the U.S. Copyright Office, you must
identify the copyrightable subject matter forming the basis
of your claim. To be copyrightable, a work must qualify as
an original work of authorship, meaning that it must have
been created independently and contain a sufficient amount
of creativity. Most works meet these conditions. Some works,
however, contain elements that either lack the required creativ-
ity or are placed outside the bounds of copyright by the law.
This circular highlights different types of noncopyrightable
subject matter. For more information, see chapter 300, section
313.3, of the Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices.
1
Ideas, Methods, and Systems
Copyright law expressly excludes copyright protection for
“any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation,
concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in
which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied.”
The Office may, however, register a literary, graphic, or artis-
tic description, explanation, or illustration of an idea, proce-
dure, process, system, or method of operation, provided that
the work contains a sufficient amount of original authorship.
However, copyright protection will extend only to the origi-
nal expression in that work and not to the underlying idea,
methods, or systems described or explained.
Inventions
You can register a technical drawing or a written description
of an invention when the drawing or description contains a
sufficient amount of authorship. However, the registration
extends only to the original expression contained in the
drawing or description and does not apply to the underlying
invention. Inventions meeting certain requirements may be
patentable. For information about patent laws, visit the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office website or call 1-800-786-9199.
To be copyrightable, a work must
qualify as an original work of
authorship under the copyright law.
This circular highlights dierent types
of works and subject matter that do
not qualify for copyright protection.
It covers
• Ideas, methods, and systems
• Names, titles, and short phrases
• Typeface, fonts, and lettering
• Blank forms
• Familiar symbols and designs
Works Not Protected
by Copyright