CAN I COPYRIGHT THIS? THINGS YOU CANNOT COPYRIGHT by ResearchCopyright.com

There are several categories of items that are not eligible to receive copyright protection. Some of these items can receive other forms of protection such as a patent or a trademark.

Items that are not in a "fixed tangible state" are ineligible to receive copyright protection.

This would included performances that have not been recorded, dance moves that have not been written down, or speeches that consist of nothing but improvisation. Titles, whether it be a book, news article title, or film, cannot be copyrighted. Under some instances, such items can be trademarked, but it depends on several factors. Slogans or names cannot be copyrighted either.

The way a sign is lettered, its font, color, or typeface, cannot be copyrighted, nor can commonly known information such as "dogs have four legs" or "the sky is blue" or even "16 ounces equals one pound." To this end, facts cannot be copyrighted. For example, we know that "the sky is blue" cannot be copyrighted, but a book describing why the sky is blue could be copyrighted. This does not mean that the author owns the copyright to the sky being blue, but only owns the copyright to that book's specific rendering of it.

A listing of ingredients cannot be copyrighted. However, a description of how to use those ingredients could be copyrighted in a cookbook. If the recipe is used in commerce, it could be patented. However, depending on certain factors, the recipe could remain secret as a trade secret. For example, the Coca-Cola Company has protected the recipe for Coca-Cola for over a hundred years. A patent would have only protected it for 20 years, and the recipe would have to be widely known.

Methods, ideas, procedures, systems, and concepts cannot be copyrighted as they are, but a book containing writing about the idea or a description of a method or system could be copyrighted.

Common property works that have no original authorship cannot be copyrighted, such as calendars, rulers, lists, items taken from public documents. Documents created by the US Government cannot be copyrighted either. These would include documents such as the Warren Commission report on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the text of bills and laws created by the House and Senate, or the works of the various federal entities.

The human body itself cannot be copyrighted. In 1963 when Hasbro tried to copyright the design of their new GI Joe toys, they were told they could not copyright the human body, but they could copyright certain things, which is why the original GI Joe toys all had a scar on the cheek and a backwards thumbnail on one of the hands. These two items could be protected.

Telephone books are also similarly devoid of being eligible for copyright protection. But a list of the oddest names in the book could be a copyrighted list. A list of people who have the phone number 867?5309 in various area codes could be copyrighted as a list of people who have probably been annoyed to their wits end due to a song released in 1981.

Another item that cannot be protected by copyright is fashion. This would be a shirt, dress, pants, or any other type of clothing. If a baseball hat has a logo for a sports team on it, the logo could be trademarked. Designs cannot be copyrighted, but can be patented. Fabric patters can be copyrighted, but not the actual type of clothing it is used on.