Z:gnu-www-ja-eldred-amicus--8e4969-This Court first held in the =3C/en

This Court first held in the Trademark Cases, 100 U.S. 82 (1879), and reaffirmed in Feist, supra, 499 U.S., at 346-47, that Congress cannot constitutionally dilute the requirement of originality, by extending copyright coverage to works of authorship that make use of expressions already in existence, or in which the author's effort in collection and arrangement of existing information does not establish that &ldquo;modicum of creativity&rdquo; the Constitution requires. According to the Court of Appeals, however, the principle of originality emerges solely from the words &ldquo;Writing&rdquo; and &ldquo;Author,&rdquo; taking not the slightest support from the declaration of purpose that begins the Copyright Clause.