Re: copyright of map

On 06/29/2000, Mike Phillips <mfslaw[_at_]MailAndNews.com> wrote:
>
> I have a client who spent a lot of money having a somewhat decorative
> map of the US drawn with HTML hot zones or image maps. A competitor
> has copied the map and is using it on its website. Can there be any
> degree of creativity in a map as to cause it to come under the
> Copyright statutes? If not, can you think of a way to stop the
> competitor from using the map?

Short answer: yes, there can be sufficient creativity in maps to entitle them to copyright protection. The basic facts cannot be copyrighted -- the shape of the states, the placement of lakes, rivers, and cities, etc.; but any creative choices made in compiling the map can be protected. So, your original selection and arrangement of which features to include, and the specific use of colors, can be protected. [You may register it either as a pictorial work, or as a literary work in the form of the HTML code.] You say it is "somewhat decorative," so I assume there's more to it than just a basic map of the states.

Longer answer: You say your client "spent a lot of money having a somewhat decorative map of the US drawn." Are you sure your client owns the copyright in the map? If your client hired an independent contractor to draw the map, your client owns the copyright only if there was a written agreement that the work was a work made for hire (assuming you can make it fit into one of the ten categories); or a written agreement transferring the copyright to your client. [Alternatively, if your client made all of the creative choices, hiring someone to do the actual execution will not be considered to divest your client of authorship.]

All in all, why bother? It's hard to believe there's enough money at stake to raise a fuss or justify litigation.

Tyler T. Ochoa
Associate Professor
Whittier Law School
<tochoa[_at_]law.whittier.edu> Received on Thu Jul 06 2000 - 18:59:38 GMT