Derivative works and compilations

Two layers of rights, not one

A translation, an adaptation, a remix, an anthology, a database: each of these is protectable in its own right, and each sits on top of something that already belongs to someone else. That is the whole difficulty. The new layer is yours. The layer underneath is not, and using it needs authorisation.

Protection over the derivative work covers what you added, the original contribution, and nothing more. Registering a compilation does not give you rights over the items compiled.

Where this goes wrong in practice

• A Spanish edition prepared without a written licence from the rightsholder of the original.
• A database built from third-party content where the scraping, not the arrangement, is the problem.
• An adaptation commissioned from a studio with no clarity on who owns the adaptation itself.
• A compilation sold commercially where the underlying licences only covered internal use.

Compilations and databases

A compilation is protected when the selection or the arrangement is original. Mere accumulation is not enough. Which means the protectable thing is the editorial judgement, and the way to defend it is to be able to show that judgement was exercised.

What we do

We register derivative works and compilations before Indautor, we draft or review the licence over the underlying material, and we tell you plainly when the authorisation you are relying on does not cover what you intend to do. That last conversation is the valuable one, and it is better to have it before publication than after.