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The Copyright Office's Revised Compendium's Views on Digital Content, Copyrightability

By Christopher Seidl and William Manske
November 02, 2014

Much has been written about the so-called “monkey selfie” and the dispute about whether nature photographer David Slater owns a photo snapped by a macaque monkey. The popular story sprung out of the U.S. Copyright Office's proclamation, in its new draft Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, that it will not register works produced by “nature, animals or plants.” But as entertaining as that story is, there are more practical and far-reaching consequences that arise out the Copyright Office's overhaul of its standards and practices. This is especially true for the type of digital and Internet-based businesses and technologies that operate on the entertainment industry landscape. This article identifies some of those issues ' and raises questions that remain as the Copyright Office works to finalize and implement its new standards by the end of 2014.

In August 2014, the Copyright Office released its first revision to the Compendium in nearly three decades. The Compendium is used by Copyright Office staff as a general guide to policies and procedures ' and it's a good resource for businesses and practitioners seeking copyright protections. And while the Compendium has no legal force in court, it could potentially serve as persuasive authority in copyright litigation, similar to the way the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Manual of Patent Examining Procedure is cited in patent litigation.

The 1,200-plus-page revised Compendium, which remains in draft form until December, constitutes a major overhaul of standards and practices. Departing from previous editions, the proposed revisions are intended to render Copyright Office practices more transparent. For example, the new Compendium features detailed examples and other tools designed to render the nuances of copyright law more navigable for both practitioners and the general public. But one of the more striking features is that it contains lots of new information on digital and Internet-based media and technologies.

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