Exact Digital Models of Cars Not Protected by Copyright

Case: Meshworks v. Toyota, Tenth Cir. No. 064222 (June 17, 2008)

The One Sentence Summary: Exact digital models of cars were not copyrightable because there was no creativity involved in their creation.


Tenth Circuit Holdings:

• In derivative works cases, the court must separate out the preexisting work to determine what is copyrightable by the new author.
• Conveying reality does not create a copyrightable work.