Originality

Originality is a Requirement

"Originality is a constitutional requirement."¹
In two late 19th century decisions, the Supreme Court defined the terms "authors" and "writings." In doing so, the Court made it absolutely clear that both terms presumed a degree of originality. In one case, the Court determined that for a work to be classified "under the head of writings of authors, originality is required" and that "the writings which are to be protected are the fruits of intellectual labor, embodied in the form of books, prints, engravings, and the like."¹ In another case, the Court defined the term "author," as far as constitutional requirements, to mean "he to whom anything owes its origin; originator; maker."¹ The court further described copyright as being limited to "original intellectual conceptions of the author,"¹ and stressed that an author accusing another of infringement is required to prove "the existence of those facts of originality, of intellectual production, of thought, and conception."¹

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U.S. Copyright and Genealogy © 1999, 2000 by Michael Goad. All rights reserved. The pages of this site may be freely linked to. Facts and ideas from this site may be freely used. (Facts and ideas can't be copyrighted.) None of the following may be duplicated without consent:

The selection and arrangement of facts and ideas located on this web site or any major portion thereof. (The originality I've put into it.)
The original expression that the facts and ideas of this website are clothed in, except as allowed under the "fair use" provision of copyright law.
The HTML Code (i.e. page layout) for any page or major portion thereof. (More of my originality)
Any original graphics unless otherwise stated. (Won't be much of this type of originality. I'm not an artist.)

Notes:

The government works presented here are NOT covered by the above statements as they are public domain.
Any material on this site that is copyrighted by others is either here by permission or is used under the provisions of fair use.