Page:Compendium of US Copyright Office Practices, II (1984).pdf/91

 400-15 . A work may be considered a drama even though it contains only one character. The script of a soliloquy or monolog that tells a story may be registered as a drama, provided that it includes suffi­ciently explicit stage directions from which it can be performed.

Example: A poem, such as "Invictus," with direc­tions for acting out the story.

. The work should have enough action to avoid the conclu­sion that the dramatic contribution is too minimal for copyright protection as a dramatic work. While a mere outline or narrative summary of the idea for a drama is not registrable as a dramatic work, every element of the drama need not be set out. A scenario may be registered as a dramatic work if it is adequate to serve as the basis for directing its action, even though the directions are brief and some details are