Copyright may be claimed in the expressive elements of a three-dimensional object but not in the functional elements of it. For example, copyright cannot be claimed in a vase, because a vase serves the function of holding flowers. Copyright may be claimed in images that are painted on it, though. And copyright might be claimed in nonfunctional features of a vase. A vase that is shaped in the form of a human head, for example, might give rise to a copyright claim in the shape of the vase even if copyright cannot be claimed in the hole in the vase that serves the function of holding flowers, or in handles on the vase that serve the function or enabling a person to carry it more efficiently.
To the extent a feature of an object is ornamental, not functional, it may be protected by copyright. For example, although handles are functional and therefore not protected by copyright, handles shaped to look like human ears might be protected by copyright if sufficiently original and creative.