> As a general rule, the U.S. Copyright Office does not accept vague claims of “format” and/or “layout.” The general layout or format of a book, a page, a slide presentation, a website, a webpage, a poster, a form, or the like, is not copyrightable because it is a template of expression. These terms should be avoided and, if used, will be questioned by the registration specialist.

https://www.copyright.gov/comp3/chap300/ch300-copyrightable-...

Example given in 906.5 (separate pdf, but linked from the above):

> Fred Foster publishes a one-page newsletter titled Condo Living that provides information for residents of his condominium complex. Each issue contains the name of the newsletter, a drawing of the sun rising over the complex, two columns reserved for text, and a box underneath the columns reserved for photographs. Fred attempts to register the layout for his newsletter. The registration specialist will reject the claim in layout, but may register the illustration if it is sufficiently creative.

Debatable in part.

Law case books, reporting court cases, with particular page numbering (formatting in your terms), do not amount to a defensible copyright, so the West Publishing Companies case numbering citations do not amount to a defensible copyright claim, and those page numbering citations can be freely used by other publications.