Page:Compendium of US Copyright Office Practices, II (1984).pdf/93

 400-17 . (cont'd) substantially revised or new dramatic material has been added, the result is a dramatic deriva­tive work.

To be a dramatico­-musical composltion, a sufficiently substantial part of the dramatic action or dialog should be combined with the music.

Examples: Singspiel, musical comedy, operetta, and opera, including music drama.

A group of songs with instructions for expres­sive delivery, however, is not a dramatico­ musical work. Where music is to accompany a dramatic work, such music must be fixed in the deposit and must be copyrightable on its own to support a claim in music; it need not be inter­-woven with drama, however, as long as it is intended to form an integral part of the drama.

[1984]