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COPYRIGHT LAWS

Copyright Act which came governs the Copyright laws in Canada. In Canada, copyright arises automatically upon creation of a work. Copyright affords the owner of the copyright the sole right to produce, reproduce or publish the work or any substantial part of it in any form. It attaches to any original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work.

Though the registration of copyright is optional, if copyright is registered with the Canadian Copyright Office and a dispute over the validity of that copyright arises, registration provides evidence that the copyright is valid and that the person who registered it is the owner of the copyright. It also broadens the available remedies against violation.

THE COPYRIGHT

Definition

As defined in the Copyright Act, a copyright in relation to a work, means

1. the sole right to produce or reproduce the work or any substantial part thereof in any material form whatever,
2. to perform the work or any substantial part thereof in public or,
3. if the work is unpublished, to publish the work or any substantial part thereof, and includes the sole right:
   • to produce, reproduce, perform or publish any translation of the work,
   • in the case of a dramatic work, to convert it into a novel or other non-dramatic work,
   • in the case of a novel or other non-dramatic work, or of an artistic work, to convert it into a dramatic work, by way of performance in public or otherwise,
   • in the case of a literary, dramatic or musical work, to make any sound recording, cinematograph film or other contrivance by means of which the work may be mechanically reproduced or performed,
   • in the case of any literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, to reproduce, adapt and publicly present the work as a cinematographic work,
   • in the case of any literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, to communicate the work to the public by telecommunication,
   • to present at a public exhibition, for a purpose other than sale or hire, an artistic work created after June 7, 1988, other than a map, chart or plan,
   • in the case of a computer program that can be reproduced in the ordinary course of its use, other than by a reproduction during its execution in conjunction with a machine, device or computer, to rent out the computer program, and
   • in the case of a musical work, to rent out a sound recording in which the work is embodied,

and to authorize any such acts.

Work in which copyright subsists

The copyright subsists in Canada in every original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work if any one of the following conditions is met:

1. in the case of any work, whether published or unpublished, including a cinematographic work, the author was, at the date of the making of the work, a citizen or subject of, or a person ordinarily resident in, a treaty country(Berne Convention country, UCC country or WTO Member);
2. in the case of a cinematographic work, whether published or unpublished, the maker, at the date of the making of the cinematographic work,
   • if a corporation, had its headquarters in a treaty country, or
   • if a natural person, was a citizen or subject of, or a person ordinarily resident in, a treaty country; or
3. in the case of a published work, including a cinematographic work;the first publication in such a quantity as to satisfy the reasonable demands of the public, having regard to the nature of the work, occurred in a treaty country, or

Rights

The copyright in a work confers the author of the work an ownership right as well as a moral right.

Ownership right

The author of a work is regarded as the first owner of the copyright.

1. In the case of an engraving, photograph or portrait, the plate or other original was ordered by some other person, the person by whom the plate or other original was ordered shall be the first owner of the copyright.
2. Where the author of a work was in the employment of some other person and the work was made in the course of his employment by that person, the person by whom the author was employed shall be the first owner of the copyright.
3. The owner of the copyright in any work may assign the right, either wholly or partially.

Moral rights

Moral rights may not be assigned but may be waived in whole or in part. An assignment of copyright in a work does not by that act alone constitute a waiver of any moral rights.

Where a waiver of any moral right is made in favour of an owner or a licensee of copyright, it may be invoked by any person authorized by the owner or licensee to use the work, unless there is an indication to the contrary in the waiver.

INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT

An infringement of copyright is said to be done by a person if that person without the consent of the owner of the copyright do anything that only the owner of the copyright has the right to do as prescribed by the Copyright Act. It may also be an infringement of copyright for any person to:

1. sell or rent out,
2. distribute to such an extent as to affect prejudicially the owner of the copyright,
3. by way of trade distribute, expose or offer for sale or rental, or exhibit in public,
4. possess for the purpose of doing anything referred to in paragraphs (a) to (c), or
5. import into Canada for the purpose of selling or distributing a copy of a work, sound recording or fixation of a performer's performance or of a communication signal that the person knows or should have known infringes copyright or would infringe copyright if it had been made in Canada by the person who made it.

TERMS OF COPYRIGHT

Generally, copyright protection lasts for 50 years following the death of the author. For sound recordings, photographs and cinematographic works, protection lasts for 50 years after the time of the first recording, after the original plate or negative was made, or after first publication.

REGISTRATION PROCEDURE STEP WISE

The registration process of Copyright begins when a duly completed application is with all the necessary information is received along with the required fees of If submitted on-line $50 or in any other case $65 to the Copyright and Industrial Design Branch. Upon receiving the applications the registrar keeps the application in the order received, files are created and assigned numbers whereupon they are forwarded to the copyright reviewer within two weeks.

Revision

A copyright reviewer checks the application to ensure that the information provided by the applicant is clear and accurate. If there are any questions, the reviewer will send a report to the applicant or their agent requesting clarification. Some corrections may be made by telephone. Depending on the extent of the corrections and at the reviewer's discretion, the applicant is informed of the corrections by telephone or is sent a written report within one week of received from the Copyright and Industrial Design Branch.

Registration

The copyright reviewer assigns a registration number by entering the information provided by the applicant in the automated register, prints the certificate, carries out a final quality control check and sends it to the client. The applicant will receive his/her Registration Certificate by mail within one week.

Correcting Certificate

At the client's request, a certificate of correction will be issued should a clerical error appear on an original registration certificate. The corrected registration certificate will be sent within two days on payment of $50 if submitted on-line and in any other case $65

Accelerated Action

The application will be sent to revision and then to registration upon approval, on an accelerated basis and the process will take three days upon payment of a fees of $65.

Request For Certified Copy