1. Under the Copyright Act, a “useful article” such as a chair, a dress, or a uniform cannot be copyrighted. 17 U.S.C. § 101. The article’s component features or elements cannot be copyrighted either, unless capable of being “identified separately from, and ... existing independently of, the utilitarian aspects of the article.” Id. Circuit courts, the Copyright Office, and academics have proposed at least nine different tests to analyze this separability. The Sixth Circuit rejected them all and created a tenth. The first question is:
What is the appropriate test to determine when a feature of a useful article is protectable under § 101 of the Copyright Act?
What is the appropriate test to determine when a feature of a useful article is protectable under § 101 of the Copyright Act?
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