I previously wrote about Wilson v. Brennan, 2009 WL 3462311 (D.N.M., 2009), a case in which the New Mexico District Court analyzed claims between the promoters of a bicycle race.  The court determined that some of the written textual materials provided to race participants were copyrightable while others were not.  This post focuses on the graphics and drawings in the written materials that court analyzed.

Plaintiff Wilson registered with the Copyright Office 14 maps of the race and start locations, eight profiles of the race, and the page headers for each individual race.  Rather than analyze the maps solely as compilations of facts, the court also took into consideration the Copyright Act’s definition of maps as “pictorial, graphic and sculptural works.”  Maps include factual compilations of data, but the court reasoned that maps are distinguishable from other non-pictorial factual compilations because they translate factual information into graphic form, which is subject to copyright protection.

As with any other claim for copyright protection, the creator of a work must demonstrate a minimal degree of creativity.  The court determined that it should focus not on the individual features of the map but rather on how the map maker selected, coordinated, and arranged the expressive features of the map to depict its factual content.

In the Wilson matter, the defendants claimed that Wilson based his maps on preexisting maps drawn by the government and other individuals associated with the bike race and that his work on and to the maps did not constitute the minimal degree of creativity required.  The court examined Wilson’s map and the original maps drawn by his predecessors and concluded Wilson’s map contained a sufficient number of variations from and improvements to the prior maps to qualify for copyright protection.  Wilson’s maps included more detail regarding the roads utilized in the race, the direction the participants rode during the race, checkpoints in the course, and the nearby town located on the course route.

If you have created factual or pictorial compilations of data, you should consult with attorneys experienced in copyright law to determine the most appropriate ways to protect your rights in your works.