Legal Definitions - de minimis test

The de minimis test (pronounced dee MIN-ih-miss) was a standard used in copyright law, primarily in cases involving collaborative or "joint" creative works. This test aimed to determine if a person who contributed to a joint work should be legally recognized as an "author" for copyright purposes.

Under the de minimis test, a contributor would only be considered an author if their specific contribution was original and substantial enough to independently qualify for copyright protection. In other words, if a contribution was deemed too minor, trivial, or insignificant – falling below a certain threshold of originality and creative expression – it would fail the de minimis test, and the contributor would not be recognized as a co-author of the work. It's important to note that most courts have largely moved away from this specific test in favor of other standards for determining co-authorship.

Here are some examples to illustrate how the de minimis test might have been applied:

• Musical Collaboration: Imagine a songwriter who composes a complete song, including lyrics, melody, and arrangement. A friend listens to an early draft and suggests adding a single, generic drum beat to the chorus. If the de minimis test were applied, the friend's suggestion for a single, common drum beat would likely be considered too trivial and lacking in original creative expression to qualify them as a co-author of the song. Their contribution would be deemed "de minimis."

• Software Development: Consider two software developers working on a new mobile application. One developer designs the entire user interface, writes the core programming logic, and implements most features. The second developer reviews the code and suggests changing the font size of a single label on one screen. Under the de minimis test, this minor aesthetic suggestion would likely not be considered a significant enough creative contribution to grant the second developer co-authorship rights over the entire application's code and design.

• Book Co-authorship: Suppose an author writes a comprehensive non-fiction book, conducting all research, drafting all chapters, and developing the overall structure and arguments. A colleague proofreads the manuscript for typos and grammar, and during this process, suggests rephrasing a single sentence for clarity. While helpful, this isolated suggestion for a minor textual change would likely be considered de minimis and would not elevate the colleague to the status of a co-author of the book under this test, as it lacks the originality and creative input typically associated with authorship.