Re: Is creating an index for a book an infringement of the author's copyright?

From: Bob Stock <bstock[_at_]ucla.edu>
Date: Wed, 11 Mar 1998 11:58:23 -0800

On 3/10/98, Robert Cumbow <cumbr[_at_]perkinscoie.com> wrote:
>
> It's my understanding that titles and short phrases are not
> copyrightable. I believe that any phrase short enough to appear in
> an index would probably be too short to be considered protected by
> copyright.

This is true but only as far as it goes. Just because a particular phrase in the index is not a copyrightable constituent of the index does not mean that the index, as a whole, is not copyrightable. Just as in a compilation, wherein the individual facts or components compiled may have no copyright protection, the validity of the copyright derives from the creativity in the selection, coordination, and arrangement of the compilation. So, too, if an index were sufficiently creative in its composition and organization, could the index become protectable expression.

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Bob Stock <bstock[_at_]ucla.edu>
UCLA School of Law '98
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/1206/

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Received on Wed Mar 11 1998 - 19:57:33 GMT