Ch. 2.8
2.8.3
2.8.3
2-288
COPYRIGHT
OFFICE
PRACTICES
OFFICE
PRACTICES
2.8.3
Registration requirements(cont'd)
I.
Copyrightable subject-matter(cont'd)
a.
Pictorial or graphic materialcont'd)
original pictorial or graphic material which embodies creative authorship in its pattern, form, shape, or configuration. Creative authorship may be expressed in the linear contours of a drawing, the brush marks or strokes characteristic of a painting, the assemblage of diverse fragments comprising a collage, the arrangement and juxtaposition of pieces of colored stone in a mosaic portrait, or the pattern of an abstract design executed in marquetry. Visual representation is always basic, regardless of the form in which a work is presented.
1.
Minimal standards. A certain minimal amount of original creative authorship is essential for registration in Class G or in any other class. Copyright ability depends upon the presence of creative expression in a work, and not upon aesthetic merit, commercial appeal, or symbolic value. Thus, registration cannot be based upon the simplicity of standard ornamentation such as chevron stripes, the attractiveness of a conventional fleur-de lys design, or the religious significance of a Greek cross. Similarly, it is not possible to copyright common geometric figures or shapes such as the hexagon or the ellipse, a standard symbol such as an arrow or
[1973]