What Cannot be Copyrighted?

• Slogans
• Titles
• Names
• Single words and short phrases
• Instructions
• Lists of ingredients
• Familiar symbols or designs

These are generally ineligible for copyright because they lack the necessary originality and creativity to distinguish them from the ideas they represent. For example, the words in the well-known airline slogan, “Some people just know how to fly” cannot be copyrighted and, therefore, could be used as a headline or caption in coverage of the school track team.