#CT WHITE PAGES CT HOW TO#
#CT WHITE PAGES CT LICENSE#
#CT WHITE PAGES CT PLUS#

It is an age-old practice, firmly rooted in tradition and so commonplace that it has come to be expected as a matter of course. Moreover, there is nothing remotely creative about arranging names alphabetically in a white pages directory. In fact, it is plausible to conclude that Rural did not truly 'select' to publish its subscribers' names and telephone numbers, since it was required to do so by state law. Rural's selection of listings-subscribers' names, towns, and telephone numbers-could not be more obvious and lacks the modicum of creativity necessary to transform mere selection into copyrightable expression. The raw data are uncopyrightable facts, and the way in which Rural selected, coordinated, and arranged those facts is not original in any way. While Rural has a valid copyright in the directory as a whole because it contains some forward text and some original material in the yellow pages, there is nothing original in Rural's white pages. (c) Rural's white pages do not meet the constitutional or statutory requirements for copyright protection. Lower courts that adopted a 'sweat of the brow' or 'industrious collection' test which extended a compilation's copyright protection beyond selection and arrangement to the facts themselves-misconstrued the 1909 Act and eschewed the fundamental axiom of copyright law that no one may copyright facts or ideas. Even a compilation that is copyrightable receives only limited protection, for the copyright does not extend to facts contained in the compilation. Thus, the statute envisions that some ways of selecting, coordinating, and arranging data are not sufficiently original to trigger copyright protection. A compilation is not copyrightable per se, but is copyrightable only if its facts have been 'selected, coordinated, or arranged in such a way that the resulting work as a whole constitutes an original work of authorship.' § 101 (emphasis added). § 102(a), and that there can be no copyright in facts, § 102(b). The 1976 Act explains that copyright extends to 'original works of authorship,' 17 U.S.C. (b) The Copyright Act of 1976 and its predecessor, the Copyright Act of 1909, leave no doubt that originality is the touchstone of copyright protection in directories and other fact-based works.

This fact/expression dichotomy severely limits the scope of protection in fact-based works.

#CT WHITE PAGES CT HOW TO#

Although a compilation of facts may possess the requisite originality because the author typically chooses which facts to include, in what order to place them, and how to arrange the data so that readers may use them effectively, copyright protection extends only to those components of the work that are original to the author, not to the facts themselves. Since facts do not owe their origin to an act of authorship, they are not original and, thus, are not copyrightable.

#CT WHITE PAGES CT PLUS#

The constitutional requirement necessitates independent creation plus a modicum of creativity.

8, of the Constitution mandates originality as a prerequisite for copyright protection. Held: Rural's white pages are not entitled to copyright, and therefore Feist's use of them does not constitute infringement. The District Court granted summary judgment to Rural in its copyright infringement suit, holding that telephone directories are copyrightable. Although Feist altered many of Rural's listings, several were identical to listings in Rural's white pages.

#CT WHITE PAGES CT LICENSE#

When Rural refused to license its white pages listings to Feist for a directory covering 11 different telephone service areas, Feist extracted the listings it needed from Rural's directory without Rural's consent. Petitioner Feist Publications, Inc., is a publishing company that specializes in area-wide telephone directories covering a much larger geographic range than directories such as Rural's. It obtains data for the directory from subscribers, who must provide their names and addresses to obtain telephone service. Pursuant to state regulation, Rural publishes a typical telephone directory, consisting of white pages and yellow pages. Respondent Rural Telephone Service Company, Inc., is a certified public utility providing telephone service to several communities in Kansas.

Ct white pages ct