What Can't Be Copyrighted: Names, Titles, Ideas and Short Phrases?

Copyright covers "original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression" (17 U.S.C. 102(a)), and our post on what a copyright is explains how that protection begins. Just as important is what it leaves out. The statute bars protection for "any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied" (102(b)), and the Copyright Office's regulation lists more categories it will not register (37 CFR 202.1). Our main copyright and trademark law page covers the rights that do attach; this page maps the gaps and what fills them.

How to Tell Whether Something Can Be Copyrighted, Step by Step

1. Is it fixed? Copyright requires fixation in a tangible medium (102(a)); the Compendium lists works that have not been fixed as uncopyrightable (Compendium 313.1).
2. Did a human create it? The Copyright Office will not register works without human authorship (Compendium 313.2).
3. Is it expression, or an idea, fact or method? Ideas, procedures, systems and facts are excluded (102(b); Compendium 313.3).
4. Is there enough originality? Words and short phrases, familiar symbols, mere lists and common-property information fall short (37 CFR 202.1; Compendium 313.4).
5. Is it a U.S. government work? Those are not protected (17 U.S.C. 105).
6. If it is not copyrightable, what else applies? Trademark for names and slogans that identify a source; contracts for ideas you pitch; other law for confidential business information.

Why Can't You Copyright a Name, Title or Slogan?

Because there is not enough authorship in a few words. The Copyright Office's practice manual says words and short phrases "such as names, titles, and slogans, are not copyrightable because they contain a de minimis amount of authorship," and that the Office cannot register them "even if the word or short phrase is novel or distinctive or lends itself to a play on words" (Compendium 313.4(C)). Its examples include personal names and pen names, business names, band names, product and service names, domain names, titles, and character names. Circular 33's list also includes catchwords, catchphrases, mottos, slogans and other short expressions.

Circular 33 also points to the alternative: "names, titles, or short phrases may be protectable under federal or state trademark laws." That protection depends on using the words as a brand. Our page on whether you can trademark the title of a song, book, film or podcast explains why a single work's title is usually refused. Our page on trademarking a slogan, catchphrase or hashtag covers when short phrases can work as marks.

Why Are Ideas Free for Anyone to Use?

Section 102(b) puts them outside copyright entirely, along with procedures, processes, systems, methods of operation, concepts, principles and discoveries. Circular 33 gives the practical rule: the Office may register a description or illustration of an idea "provided that the work contains a sufficient amount of original authorship," but protection extends only to the original expression, "not to the underlying idea, methods, or systems described or explained." Its example: a book explaining a new food-processing system protects the text and illustrations, but not anyone's right to use the system.

Two related doctrines come from the Office's own manual. Under merger, where there are only one or a few ways to express an idea, protecting the expression would protect the idea itself, so the Office may refuse registration; its examples include the bare premise of a story built on a common theme and standard programming techniques (Compendium 313.3(B)). Under scènes à faire, "stock characters, settings, or events that are common to a particular subject matter or medium" are not protected, though a work containing them can still be registered if the whole has enough original expression (Compendium 313.4(I)). If you plan to pitch a film or series concept, our page on whether someone can steal your film or show idea explains the contract steps that matter more than copyright.

A recipe, formula, method or business plan that copyright leaves open may still be protected as a trade secret if you keep it confidential. Federal law defines a trade secret to include business and technical information such as formulas, methods, techniques and processes, when the owner has taken reasonable measures to keep it secret and it gets independent economic value from not being generally known (18 U.S.C. 1839(3)). Publishing the information works against that, because the definition requires that it not be generally known.

What About Facts, Data and Information?

Facts are not copyrightable. The Compendium quotes the Supreme Court in Feist: "No one may claim originality as to facts . . . because facts do not owe their origin to an act of authorship," and notes that the rule covers all facts, "scientific, historical, biographical, and news of the day" (Compendium 313.3(C)). The Office adds that theories or conclusions presented as facts are not protected either, even if they turn out to be wrong.

A work full of facts can still be protected for its original selection, coordination or arrangement, or for its written expression. The regulation separately excludes works "consisting entirely of information that is common property containing no original authorship," with examples such as standard calendars, height and weight charts, tape measures, sporting schedules, and lists taken from public documents (37 CFR 202.1(d)).

Can You Copyright a Font, a Symbol or a Simple Logo?

Not the typeface. The regulation excludes "typeface as typeface" and "mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering or coloring" (37 CFR 202.1(a), (e)), and Circular 33 says the Office cannot register typeface or lettering "regardless of whether the typeface is commonly used or unique." Familiar symbols and designs, or a simple combination of a few of them, are out too: Circular 33's examples include keyboard symbols, numbers, arrows, common shapes like stars and hearts, common patterns, and well-known symbols.

A logo built only from words, lettering or familiar shapes usually fails the copyright test, though it may still be a strong trademark. Our page on protecting a logo with a trademark, a copyright or both explains where that line falls.

What About Recipes and Blank Forms?

The list of ingredients is unprotected. Circular 33 says a recipe consisting of a set of ingredients and a process for preparing a dish cannot be registered, while a recipe that "creatively explains or depicts how or why to perform a particular activity may be copyrightable," with protection covering the written description and any photographs, not the list, the process or the dish. Blank forms designed for recording information, such as time cards, order forms and account books, are excluded too (37 CFR 202.1(c)), though creative text or art on a form can be protected.

Can Something Made Without a Human Author Be Copyrighted?

No. The Compendium says that to qualify as a work of authorship, "a work must be created by a human being," and lists examples the Office will not register, such as a photograph taken by a monkey or a mural painted by an elephant; it also will not register works produced by a machine or mechanical process operating randomly or automatically without creative input from a human (Compendium 313.2).

For generative AI, the Copyright Office's Part 2 report, published January 29, 2025, concludes that AI outputs "can be protected by copyright only where a human author has determined sufficient expressive elements," which can include a human-authored work perceptible in the output or creative arrangements or modifications, "but not the mere provision of prompts." The Office also confirms that using AI to assist creation, or including AI-generated material in a larger human work, does not bar copyrightability. Our article on where copyright protection stops or thins for AI-assisted work goes further.

Are Government Works Copyrighted?

Not works of the U.S. government. "Copyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the United States Government," though the government can receive copyrights transferred to it (17 U.S.C. 105(a)). The Compendium adds the government edicts doctrine, under which legislators and judges "cannot be the authors of" the works they create in their official duties, citing the Supreme Court's 2020 decision in Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org (Compendium 313.6(C)(2)). Publications that mix government material with private work can carry a notice identifying the protected parts; our page on copyright notice explains that rule.

What Changes the Answer

• Length and creativity. A longer passage with real authorship can be protected even if built from common words (Compendium 313.4(C) applies to short phrases only).
• Selection and arrangement. An original selection or arrangement of facts, symbols or AI outputs can be protected even when the pieces are not.
• Use as a brand. A name or slogan used to identify goods or services may be a trademark.
• Characters. The name and general idea of a character are not protected, but a sufficiently original depiction or description can be (Compendium 313.4(H)).
• Useful articles. A useful article is one with "an intrinsic utilitarian function that is not merely to portray the appearance of the article or to convey information" (17 U.S.C. 101); copyright reaches only separable artistic features.
• State and foreign government works. Section 105 covers U.S. government works; other government materials depend on their own facts, including the edicts doctrine.

A Worked Example

Common Mistakes

• Trying to register a business name with the Copyright Office. Names are excluded (37 CFR 202.1(a)); look at trademark instead.
• Assuming a "©" protects a slogan. A notice cannot create protection the law does not give.
• Pitching an idea without paperwork. Copyright will not protect the bare idea (102(b)).
• Claiming a font in a logo application. Typeface and lettering are excluded (202.1(e)).
• Treating a database of facts as fully protected. Only original selection, arrangement or expression is covered.
• Registering AI output as if it were human-made. Protection depends on human-determined expressive elements, according to the Copyright Office.

What to Do This Week

1. List what you want to protect: names, slogans, writing, art, recipes, data, ideas.
2. Sort each item into expression, idea, fact or short phrase.
3. Register the original expression that matters most with the Copyright Office.
4. Consider trademark filings for names and slogans you use as brands.
5. Use written agreements before sharing ideas or confidential information.
6. Document which parts of AI-assisted work you created yourself.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Copyright My Band or Business Name?

No. The Compendium lists band names and business names as uncopyrightable short phrases (313.4(C)). A trademark registration is the usual route if the name identifies your goods or services.

Can I Copyright a Book or Song Title?

No. Titles are expressly listed among words and short phrases that cannot be registered (Compendium 313.4(C); Circular 33).

Are Characters Protected?

Not the name or general idea, but the Compendium says a work that depicts or describes a character with enough original authorship can be registered, covering the author's expression of the character (313.4(H)).

Is a Short Poem Too Short?

The words-and-short-phrases rule targets individual words and brief combinations like names and slogans. Whether a short creative work has enough authorship is a case-by-case question for the Office.

Can I Use a Government Report in My Book?

U.S. government works are not protected (105(a)), but check whether the publication includes privately owned material, such as photos licensed to the agency.

Do Recipes Have Any Protection?

The ingredient list does not, but creative explanatory text and photographs can (Circular 33).

Zala IP Law helps creators and businesses sort out what copyright covers and what may need trademark or contract protection instead. If you are not sure what in your work is protectable, request a consultation or call 404-313-1701, and bring examples of the work.