Bifalgorithm post · Property · 2.03[E]. The same is true of all facts
Thin Copyright
Thin Copyright (Property · 2.03[E]. The same is true of all facts) — "Where the compilation author adds no written expression but rather lets the facts speak f…
Ideas in this flowchart
- Copyright in factual compilations is limited to original expression in the selection and arrangement of facts.
- When no written expression is added, the expressive element lies in how the compiler selects and arranges the facts.
- Original selection and arrangement may qualify for copyright protection.
- The facts themselves do not become original merely through association with an original format.
- Because protection does not extend to the facts, copyright in a factual compilation is thin.
- A subsequent compiler may use facts from another publication to prepare a competing work.
- The competing work must not reproduce the same selection and arrangement.
- Facts and ideas remain free to be restated or reshuffled, even when the original author first discovered them or proposed them.
