900-6
907
Alternative forms of publication. (cont'd)
Examples:
1)
The actual distribution of 350 copies of a print to the public is publication, regardless of whether or not the prints were distributed for purposes of private or public display.
2)
The offering to distribute fine art prints to a group of persons for public display constitutes publication, whereas the offering to distribute such material for private display is not a publication.
908
Public performance or display not a publication. A public performance or public display of a work does not of itself constitute publication. See 17 U.S.C. 101. Therefore, publication will be questioned where words such as "performed," "televised," "broadcast," "posted," "exhibited," etc., have been added to the publication space of the application.
908.01
To perform. To "perform" a work means to recite, render, play, dance, or act it, either directly or by means of any device or process or, in the case of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, to show its images in any sequence or to make the sounds accompanying it audible. 17 U.S.C. 101.
908.02
To display. To "display" a work means to show a copy of it, either directly or by means of a film, slide, television image, or any other device or process or, in the case of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, to show individual images nonsequentially. 17 U.S.C. 101.
908.03
Public or private. Since the copyright law provides that the "public" performance or display of a work is not publication, it seems clear that performances and displays which are not public do not constitute publication. Thus, in effect, no private performance or display can amount to publication.
Examples:
1)
Where a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work was created in 1978 and placed on public display without any restrictions against copying, it is considered unpublished under the current Act.
[1984]
