Atari Games Corp. v. Oman - 298 U.S. App. D.C. 303, 979 F.2d 242 (1992)

Rule:

An audiovisual work is analogous to a compilation of facts in this critical respect: both involve a choice and ordering of elements that, in themselves, may not qualify for copyright protection; the author's selection and arrangement, however, may entail the minimal degree of creativity needed to bring the work within the protection of the copyright laws. 

Facts:

BREAKOUT is a relatively early video game of comparative simplicity. The sound accompaniment is four basic tones. The screen shows the two players' scores at the top. The players move a "paddle" to hit a "ball" against a "wall." The wall is built of eight rows of rectangles arranged in four monochromatic stripes (red, amber, green, yellow). When the square blue ball hits a rectangle, the rectangle vanishes. When the ball breaks through the wall of rectangles to the empty space beyond, it ricochets at greatly increased speed until it reemerges. Both the ball's speed and the size of the rectangular paddle change during play. The ball's movement does not follow the laws of physics; instead, the angle of the ball's rebound depends solely on where it impacts the paddle. In his second refusal to register BREAKOUT, Ralph Oman, the Register, characterized the representations of the wall, ball, and paddle as "simple geometric shapes and coloring" which "per se are not copyrightable." Viewing BREAKOUT "as a whole," Oman found "no original authorship in either the selection or arrangement of the images or their components." He therefore refused registration, stating in conclusion that "the display screens both individually and as a whole simply lack sufficient creativity to make them registerable as audiovisual works." Atari Games sought review of the trial court's decision granting summary judgment to Oman, based on Oman’s refusal to register Atari’s video game. 

Issue:

Was Oman’s refusal to register the game proper?

Answer:

No.

Conclusion:

The court again reversed and remanded. Oman’s refusal to register the game was unreasonable in light of the "modicum of creativity" standard to be applied to audiovisual works as defined under the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C.S. § 101 et seq. While the individual graphic elements of each game screen may not have been copyrightable, the video game was analogous to a "compilation," meriting Oman’s consideration of the interrelationship of the successive game screens and/or the accompanying sound effects.