Copyright registration of databases

One of the primary roles of the Copyright Office is to register copyright claims in works of authorship. Although registration is not a condition of copyright protection, it provides many benefits, and is therefore routine practice for many commercial copyright owners, including database producers.

In order to be registered, a work must comprise original authorship. When there is a genuine question about the copyrightability of a work, the Office notes its uncertainty by registering under its “rule of doubt. This means that although the work will be registered, “there is a reasonable doubt about the ultimate action which might be taken under the same circumstances by an appropriate court with respect to whether (1) the material deposited for registration constitutes copyrightable subject matter or (2) the other legal and formal requirements of the statute have been met.

Databases may be collections of works (for example, journal articles) or of data (facts). In examining a database for registrability, the Copyright Office must determine whether it is a protectible “compilation.” The Office has prepared guidelines to assist its examiners in determining the copyrightability of databases. In general, the greater the amount of material from which to select, coordinate, or order, the more likely it is that the compilation will be found registrable. There is also a basic de minimis quantity test: “Any compilation consisting of less than four selections is considered to lack the requisite original authorship.