U.S. Copyright Office
Library of Congress
Information Circular

Circular 33


Circular Computing and Measuring Devices


COMPUTING AND MEASURING DEVICES

Devices and similar articles designed for computing and measuring cannot be copyrighted. Common examples of uncopyrightable works are slide rules, wheel dials, and perpetual calendar designs. Ideas, methods, systems, mathematical principles, formulas, and equations are not copyrightable, and the same is true of devices based on them. The printed material comprising a device (lines, numbers, symbols, calibrations, and their arrangement) likewise cannot be copyrighted, because this material is necessarily dictated by the uncopyrightable idea, principle, formula, or standard of measurement involved.

To be copyrightable, a work must contain at least a minimum amount of creative authorship in the form of original literary, artistic, or musical expression. A computing or measuring device as such contains no expression of a copyrightable nature. It does not communicate facts or ideas in itself, but instead, it is a means for arriving at an almost unlimited number of readings or results. To the extent that the contents of a device are predetermined by its function, they lack creative authorship.

Rev: November 1999

Format Note:

This electronic version has been altered slightly from the original printed text for presentation on the World Wide Web.  For a copy of the original circular, consult the PDF version or write to Copyright Office, 101 Independence Avenue S.E., Washington, D.C.  20559-6000.



Home  |  Contact Us  |  Legal Notices  |  Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)  |  Library of Congress

U.S. Copyright Office
101 Independence Ave. S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20559-6000
(202) 707-3000