DERIVATIVE WORKS

In examining a copy (or a record, disk, or tape) for copyright information, it is important to determine whether that particular version of the work is an original edition of the work or a “new version.”  New versions include musical arrangements, adaptations, revised or newly edited editions, translations, dramatizations, abridgments, compilations, and works republished with new matter added.  The law provides that derivative works, published or unpublished, are independently copyrightable and that the copyright in such a work does not affect or extend the protection, if any, in the underlying work.  Under the 1909 law, courts have also held that the notice of copyright on a derivative work ordinarily need not include the dates or other information pertaining to the earlier works incorporated in it.  This principle is specifically preserved in the present copyright law.  Thus, if the copy (or the record, disk, or tape) constitutes a derivative version of the work, these points should be kept in mind: 

+ The date in the copyright notice is not necessarily an indication of
  when copyright in all the material in the work will expire.  Some of the
  material may already be in the public domain, and some parts of the
  work may expire sooner than others.

+ Even if some of the material in the derivative work is in the public
  domain and free for use, this does not mean that the “new” material
  added to it can be used without permission from the owner of copyright
  in the derivative work.  It may be necessary to compare editions to
  determine what is free to use and what is not.

+ Ownership of rights in the material included in a derivative work and
  in the preexisting work upon which it may be based may differ, and
  permission obtained from the owners of certain parts of the work may
  not authorize the use of other parts.

THE NAME IN THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Under the copyright statute in effect before 1978, the notice was required to include “the name of the copyright proprietor.”  The present act requires that the notice include “the name of the owner of copyright in the work, or an abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a generally known alternative designation of the owner.”  The name in the notice (sometimes in combination with the other statements on the copy, records, disk, tape, container, or label) often gives persons wishing to use the work the information needed to identify the owner from whom licenses or permission can be sought.  In other cases, the name provides a starting point for a search in the Copyright Office records or catalogs, as explained at the beginning of this circular.