unprotectable en · ADJ
Etymology
From un- + protectable.
Meanings
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(not-comparable) Impossible to protect; ineligible for legal protection.
It is true, of course, that a combination of unprotectable elements may qualify for copyright protection. But it is not true that any combination of unprotectable elements automatically qualifies for copyright protection. Our case law suggests, and we hold today, that a combination of unprotectable elements is eligible for copyright protection only if those elements are numerous enough and their selection and arrangement original enough that their combination constitutes an original work of authorship.
2018 August 21, U.S. Copyright Office Review Board, “Second Request for Reconsideration for Refusal to Register Vodafone Speechmark”, in United States Copyright Office, page 3: