The Chain of Title for Copyright
Collective and derivative works are entitled to copyrights as original works of authorship, but that doesn't mean that those copyrights replace the earlier copyrights on the component parts. Here's how the Copyright Act describes it:
The copyright in a compilation or derivative work extends only to the material contributed by the author of such work, as distinguished from the preexisting material employed in the work, and does not imply any exclusive right in the preexisting material. The copyright in such work is independent of, and does not affect or enlarge the scope, duration, ownership, or subsistence of, any copyright protection in the existing material. (17 U.S.C. § 103[b].)
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