Tag: Glossary

A Latin phrase meaning “of its own kind.” In the context of the copyright law, it refers to classes of works protected under the statute that do not fall within existing categories of legal protection, such as mask works and vessel designs.

A right to use certain works if certain statutory requirements are met as required by the Copyright Law.

Special handling is a procedure for expediting the examination of a claim to copyright or to record a document. The U.S. Copyright Office offers this service in certain circumstances where a copyright owner or other interested parties have a compelling reason for the expedited issuance of a certificate of registration or certificate of recordation, such… Continue reading Special handling

“The ‘source country’ of a restored work is— (A) a nation other than the United States; (B) in the case of an unpublished work— (i) the eligible country in which the author or rightholder is a national or domiciliary,or, if a restored work has more than 1 author or rightholder, of which the majority of… Continue reading Source country

Source code is a set of statements and instructions written by a human being using a particular programming language, such as Java, LISP, LOGO, PASCAL, Programming Inquiry Learning or Teaching, Programming in Logic, Assembly Language, or other programming languages. Typically, these statements are comprehensible to a person who is familiar with the relevant programming language,… Continue reading Source code

“‘Sound recordings’ are works that result from the fixation of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds, but not including the sounds accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work, regardless of the nature of the material objects, such as disks, tapes, or other phonorecords, in which they are embodied.” 17 U.S.C. § 101.

A document generated by the U.S. Copyright Office’s electronic registration system. If the applicant submits a physical copy of a work to the Office, the copy must be accompanied by a shipping slip. Failure to include a shipping slip may prevent the Office from connecting the deposit copies with the online application and may require… Continue reading Shipping slip

series of musical, spoken, or other sounds connotes a temporal succession of sounds rather than simultaneous sounds, such as those expressed in a chord vertically.

A work that is issued or intended to be issued on an established schedule in successive parts bearing numerical or chronological designations that are intended to be continued indefinitely. Examples include periodicals, newspapers, magazines, newsletters, journals, bulletins, annuals, the proceedings of societies, and other similar works.

“A ‘semiconductor chip product’ is the final or intermediate form of any product— (A) having two or more layers of metallic, insulating, or semiconductor material, deposited or otherwise placed on, or etched away or otherwise removed from, a piece of semiconductor material in accordance with a predetermined pattern; and (B) intended to perform electronic circuitry… Continue reading Semiconductor chip product