Copyright apply to word lists?

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askeladd

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I am wondering if anyone knows whether or not word lists (such as "SAT 500" or the like that one might find on the internet or in SAT prep books) are copyrighted or not. I've poked around at the U.S. Copyright web site as well as here on the forums some to see if this particular issue has been addressed, but the closest thing I've seen is in regards to recipes and ingredients lists (the former are covered under copyright whereas the latter are not). I'm not concerned about the definitions of such words, just the list itself.

Anyone have any insight?
 

Jaws

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It's not a question of the words themselves being copyrightable, but their selection and arrangement. Some might argue that the selection of these words is enough—I know that the College Board does—but that's not a winning tactic under Feist. If, instead, the list was presented in discrete segments that required some judgment to create, it might (maybe) be copyrightable. For example, if the list was divided into "words originating in English," "words originating in romance languages," "words originating in non-European languages," and so on, a claim that the list is copyrightable would at least get past a motion to dismiss (and then lose on summary judgment).

However, I suspect that the Copyright Office would refuse registration on the ground that such a list is merely a list of ingredients or instructions without original expression no matter how it was arranged, so I think the point may be moot.
 

askeladd

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Thanks for the input; I wasn't sure if the claim "top X words" would constitute some sort of exclusivity that would fall under copyright laws or not. One of my WIPs is an exercise book that systematically presents and reviews SAT vocabulary. Obviously, all the exercises and definitions are original, but the words have been gleaned from various print (including internet) sources.
 

Jamesaritchie

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Lists

Generally speaking, lists of any kind are not protected by copyright, and certainly not lists of words that can be taken from any dictionary. And no phrase under four words can be covered by copyright protection, and I stronly suspect that a list of words fails this test, as well.

And, of course, just because the Copyright office does or does not allow registration means little. It's what the courts say that counts.

I don't think there's a chance in ten million that any list of words is going to be protected by copyright.
 

askeladd

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Four words, too? So pithy definitions would be covered as well?

As far as that goes, there are only so many ways one can explain the meaning of "evict" (for example)...
 
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