Compilation - sustany/dvg GitHub Wiki

Under the�Copyright Act, a compilation is�a "work formed by the collection and assembling of preexisting materials or of data that are selected, coordinated, or arranged in such a way that the resulting work as a whole constitutes an original work of authorship. The term compilation includes collective works"�17 U.S.C. 101.�This gives the compilation a separate�copyright�from any of the individual pieces within it. An author who creates a compilation owns the copyright of the compilation but not of the component parts. The author can compile material even if someone else owns the�copyright, but the author must get the rights holders� permission to do so.�

A compilation of mere facts may not be copyrighted. Instead, a compilation may only be copyrighted if there is a creative or original act involved, i.e., in the selection and arrangement of materials. The protection is limited only to the creative or original aspects of the compilation. See:�17 U.S.C. 103.�

Illustrative Cases:

See e.g., Marketing Information Masters, Inc. v. Board of Trustees of the California State University System, 552 F. Supp. 2d 1088 (2008); Close v. Sotheby's, Inc., No. 16-56234 (9th Cir. 2018); Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Telephone Service Co., Inc. 111 S.Ct. 1282 (1991).