No. Any number of people can make derivative works based on the same public domain work. If each derivative work is original , creative, authored by a human, and fixed in a tangible medium, then each creator of a derivative work can claim and register a copyright in the work he or she created. The
Anything that is not protected by copyright is in the public domain. This includes: Unprotectable subject matter (facts, information, ideas, methods, processes, inventions, titles, names, slogans, short phrases, common geometric shapes, familiar symbols, unoriginal compilations systems (e.g., ordering things alphabetically), works created by U.S. government employees, natural objects formed or shaped by natural forces without
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Yes, if the selection, coordination or arrangement is creative and original. Although facts are not protected by copyright, copyright may be claimed in the selection and arrangement of them, provided it is sufficiently creative and original. Copyright cannot be claimed in a selection and arrangement that is too obvious to be creative and original. For
The five requirements for a valid copyright are: Originality Creativity Expression Human authorship Fixation in a tangible medium of expression. An enforceable copyright exists when — and only when — creative, original, human expression is fixed in a tangible medium of expression.
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Copyrights protect creative expression. Trademarks protect brand identifiers. The owner of a copyright has an exclusive right to make certain kinds of uses of an original work of authorship, whether for commercial purposes or not. A trademark owner has an exclusive right to use a particular word, phrase, logo, etc. in commerce to identify the
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