Also known as:literary compositions · literary work
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An original expression of mental effort in written words arranged in an intelligent and purposeful order.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
5
Pendent Claim Over Copied Novel
Leonard Lowe authored an original novel and registered it as a literary composition. Sun Earth obtained the manuscript through unauthorized access, reproduced substantial portions in agency submissions, and added a false endorsement statement in the same documents. East Earth sued in federal court for copyright infringement of the literary composition along with a state unfair competition claim arising from the identical submission. The district court exercised supplemental jurisdiction over the state claim because both arose from the same course of conduct involving the literary composition.
Common Law Protection For News Reports
Lily Lopez compiled daily news bulletins as a literary composition and distributed them under restricted conditions. Associated Press obtained the bulletins through improper means and sold the information to its own subscribers for profit. Lopez sued to enjoin the use, asserting a common law property right in the literary composition that survived limited circulation. The court recognized the bulletins as protectable property under principles applicable to literary compositions.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Cases
Dictionaries
International News Service v. Associated Press248 U.S. 215 (1918)
Privacy Claim Analogized To Literary Works
Lila Lin discovered that Rochester Folding Box Co. had used her photograph on product packaging without consent. She argued that her interest in controlling the commercial use of her likeness paralleled the property right an author holds in a literary composition. The court considered whether the same protection extended to personal likeness as would apply to unauthorized publication of literary compositions. It ultimately declined to recognize the privacy claim on the facts presented.
Liam Larson created violent video games and challenged a state statute restricting their sale to minors. The state defended the law by arguing that the interactive format differed from traditional literary compositions protected by the First Amendment. Larson contended that video games, like literary compositions, convey ideas and narratives entitled to full constitutional protection. The Supreme Court struck down the statute, treating the games as equivalent to other expressive works.
Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association564 U.S. 786, 131 S. Ct. 2729, 180 L. Ed. 2d 708 (2011).
Copyright In Blank Forms
Lola Langley published a book explaining a new bookkeeping system and included sample forms. Selden copied the forms and sold competing books using the same arrangement. Langley claimed protection for the literary composition describing the system. The Court held that the forms themselves were not copyrightable as part of the literary composition because they constituted the unprotectable method rather than the explanatory text.
Baker v. Selden101 U.S. 99, 105 (1880)
Common questions
Frequently Asked
3
What constitutes a literary composition under copyright law?+
A literary composition is an original expression of mental effort in written words arranged in an intelligent and purposeful order. Courts assess infringement by comparing the response the composition evokes in the average person rather than through expert dissection. Access plus substantial similarity that would not occur without copying supports a finding of infringement.
Supporting sources
How does the common law treat limited distribution of a literary composition?+
The common law recognizes a literary composition as property that retains protection despite private or restricted circulation. Protection continues until the work is dedicated to the public through copyright statutes or other means. This principle distinguishes literary compositions from news items that lose protection upon public posting.
Supporting sources
Can a state unfair competition claim join a federal copyright claim involving a literary composition?+
A state unfair competition claim may join a federal copyright claim when both arise from the same set of facts involving appropriation of a literary composition. The claims form part of the same case or controversy when they share a common nucleus of operative facts such as unauthorized access and submission of copied material. Courts exercise supplemental jurisdiction to promote judicial efficiency and avoid duplicative litigation.
Supporting sources
248 U.S. 215 (1918)Property
…the cases which hold that the common-law right of the producer to prohibit copying is not lost by the private circulation of a literary composition, the delivery of a lecture, the exhibition of a painting, or the performance of a dramatic or musical composition.[^maj-6] These cases rest upon the ground that the common law recognizes…