Translations:Commons:Threshold of originality/6/id

Text transcluded from
COM:TOO United States

Amerika Serikat

These images are OK to upload to Commons, because they are below the threshold of originality required for copyright protection.

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  Bridgeman v Corel 36 F. Supp. 2d 191 (S.D.N.Y. 1999): court ruling that 2D photographs of the original art has no valid claims for new copyrights (case description)
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  NFL abandoned its copyright claims on the fleur-de-lis (news report)
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  Best Western hotels: Consists of letters plus a simple border. None of these is eligible for copyright protection in United States. (authority)
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  DUB magazine: Consists of letters only. None of these is eligible for copyright protection in United States. (authority)
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  Nikken USA Inc. (authority)
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  Bruce Lee core symbol (authority)
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  New York Arrows logo (case report)
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  Car Credit City logo: Copyright office ruled this logo too simple to be protected, but a slightly more complicated version (shown in the linked letter) was accepted for registration (authority)
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  Symbols for "Myst" (authority)
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  Letter S (authority)
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  (authority)
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  Registration was cancelled (authority)
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  Registration refused (authority)
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  Ets-Hokin v Skyy Spirits Inc.: Photo is eligible for copyright protection, but not the bottle
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  A plastic version lacked originality (L Batlin & Son v. Snyder)
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  Koosh balls; "inseparable", OddzOn Products, Inc. v. Oman (case report)
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  Map of Arkansas: Addition of shading, colors, labels to a free black and white outline map (case report)
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  Avenue of the Saints logo; registration refused despite compilation copyright claim for arrangement of otherwise unprotectable elements (authority)
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  Geek Squad logo (authority)
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  Subway logo (authority)
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  Discover It logo: the Copyright Office found that the elements, including the shading effect, were insufficiently creative to be copyright-eligible (authority)
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  Cyberpunk 2077 logo (authority)
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  Los Angeles FC logo (authority)
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  Nikon logo (authority)
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  San Francisco Shock logo (authority)
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  Commvault Systems hexagon logo (authority)
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  American Made Logo (authority)
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  Jamba Juice logo (authority)

Despite repeated requests, the US Copyright Office found the Vodafone speechmark (shaded version) ineligible for copyright protection. It cannot, however, be uploaded to Commons because it's a UK logo.

These are  Not OK to upload to Commons (unless published under a free license by the copyright holder), because they are above the threshold of originality required for copyright protection.

• These two "no soliciting" signs, although arguably relatively simple, have been issued copyright registration numbers by the United States Copyright Office, which means that they have been reviewed and determined to be eligible for copyright protection. It should be noted that the copyright registration applies to the images as a whole, including their borders.
• A variant of File:CarCreditCity.png with an extra border.
• American Airlines flight symbol VA0002130520; Copyright Office initially refused copyright as being just below the threshold, but upon a higher-resolution submission of the artwork, decided that the shading plus the arrangement pushed the logo just above the threshold and granted a registration. (DR)
• w:File:Disney Junior.svg (VA0001927957).
• w:File:Prince logo.svg (VA0000832222).
• The "Omega Globe Design" (VAu000574660) was assumed to be copyrightable by the Ninth Circuit US Court of Appeals.
• Works from other countries which are above the threshold of originality of the United States but below the threshold of originality of the source country (Hasbro Bradley, Inc. v. Sparkle Toys, Inc.)
• New "pan and scan" versions of films where a widescreen film has been resized to fit the size of a TV screen even if the existing widescreen film is uncopyrighted (Maljack Productions, Inc. v. UAV Corp.)
• In 1951, this mezzotint reproduction of an existing uncopyrighted painting was found to be copyrightable.
• The clothing designs found on pp. 4–5 of the Sixth Circuit's decision in Varsity Brands et al. v. Star Athletica (2015).
• The PAC 12 shield logo en:File:Pac-12 logo.svg (V3617D047).

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  VA0001789579 (and CC-BY 3.0)

• File:Five-element-cycles.jpg ([1]): The arrangement is under a copyright, according to WMF Legal.
• w:File:BP Helios logo.svg is eligible for copyright in the US according to WMF legal, though "not by a lot, but just enough". Note that Commons policy on the country of origin requires this logo to be judged by UK standards. The creativity needed for copyright protection in the UK and most other common law countries is much lower; legal only commented on the threshold of originality in the United States.
• File:REMAX hot air balloon logo.svg: The logo was denied copyright registration as a trivial simplification of an earlier 1998 logo. However, that does not mean that the work as a whole is uncopyrightable; it is still a derivative work of the original logo, and DR consensus was that unlike File:Mickey Mouse head and ears.svg, the derivative still had sufficient creative elements to be copyrightable.

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  VA0001427710 (and Apache License 2.0)
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  VA0001950611 (and Apache License 2.0)

• w:File:PBS logo.svg and w:File:PBS (1984-2019) logo.svg: The PBS logo (VA0001310087). Also see DR1 and DR2
• Juneteenth flag (on English Wikipedia as en:File:Juneteenth flag.webp) (VAu000488555)

Paintings

 Not OK for most paintings.

Even seemingly simple paintings consisting of geometric shapes are often copyrighted due to details that may not be immediately obvious to the viewer.

• Photographic reproductions of paintings by Mark Rothko have been granted registration by the US Copyright Office, so it is reasonable to assume that the original works are also copyrighted.
  • Red, white and brown (VA0000089094)

Other

Although the threshold of originality for non-graphic works (such as architecture and sound recordings) follow the same standards, such cases can be difficult to determine.

• The five-note melody that typically accompanies Intel's logo was granted copyright protection because it "combined and blended synthesized, digital sounds" and was "refined and mastered with a special spatial enhancer."
• Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate is a relatively simple 3D sculpture that was deemed eligible for copyright (VA0001983425)
• The replica of public domain object Statue of Liberty in New York-New York Hotel and Casino is deemed eligible for copyright, also the United States Postal Service is being sued for copyright infringement for famously (and mistakenly) using this statue instead of the real Statue of Liberty on its Forever stamps. (VAu001149387 and VA0001882070) also see (DR1) (DR2)