"Copyright" is a bundle of rights that exist in relation to every original literary , artistic, dramatic, and musical work. The rights include (amongst others) the sole right to produce or reproduce the work or any substantial part thereof, the right to perform a work, the right to publish a work, the right to translate or to convert a work into another form, the right to transmit a work to the public by telecommunication, or the right to exhibit a work. Copyright is infringed by anyone other than the owner of the copyright who does or authorizes anything in relation to a copyright-protected work that only the copyright owner is entitled to do.

There are four categories of works which are protected by copyright law: literary works, artistic works, dramatic works, and musical works. Copyright law protects works of many different formats, including traditional formats such as books, paintings, plays and written music. Copyright law also protects works such as computer programs, architectural works, photographs, video tapes, maps, charts, choreography, and films, multimedia and works in electronic format.

Copyright automatically subsists in a protectable work in Canada upon the creation of an original work (whether or not the work was published), if at the time the work was created, the author was a Canadian citizen, a British subject or citizen or subject of a country that is a member of an international agreement for the protection of copyright to which Canada is a party. The work, if published, must have first been published in Canada, the British Commonwealth or territories, in a country with which Canada has entered into an international or reciprocal agreement for the protection of copyright.

There are a number of important concepts that differentiate copyright from other intellectual property rights. Unlike trade-mark law, there is no common law of copyright--all copyright rights flow from the Copyright Act. A work does not require critical approval in order to possess copyright. Moreover, it is important to remember that copyright does not exist in ideas themselves, but only in the original, fixed expression of ideas.

Who Owns Copyright?

The law presumes that copyright is first owned by the author or creator of the work. However, if a work is created by a person hired for the purpose of creating the work, or if the creation of the work occurred during the normal course of a person's employment, then copyright may be owned by the employer. Copyright may be owned individually or jointly: for example, copyright may be owned by two or more authors or creators, in the case of a collective work or collaboration.

Is It Necessary to Register Copyright?

Registration of copyright is not necessary in Canada. Copyright automatically subsists once an original work is created by an author of qualifying nationality or citizenship. Registration provides significant advantages, however. For example, registration serves as prima facie evidence of the copyright claimed by the owner of the registration in the absence of proof to the contrary.

Registration also acts as notice to the public of copyright in a work and notice of ownership in the copyright. If copyright is registered, a person who copies the work without the owner's permission is considered to have had notice of copyright in the work and may be liable for payment of damages to the copyright owner.

An assignment of interest in copyright or a license to copy a work may also be registered. Registration of an assignment or license protects the assignee or licensee against the assignment or license being deemed void if another party attempts to claim an interest in the copyright by way of an unregistered assignment.

How Do I Register My Copyright?

To obtain copyright registration one must provide the Canadian Intellectual Property Office with:

the name and address of the author or authors and of the copyright owner; the title of the work; whether is it published or unpublished; if published, the date and place of first publication; and the nature of the work (literary, artistic, dramatic, or musical, or a combination thereof).

A deposit of a copy of the work is not required (with the exception of published books, which must be deposited with the National Library of Canada in Ottawa). The registration will be issued within six to eight weeks. (We can often assist in processing an application in a much shorter time frame.)

How Long Does Copyright Last?

In most works, copyright subsists for the lifetime of the author, plus 50 years. If a work was not published before the death of the author, copyright will subsist until publication and for a period of 50 years after publication.

In the case of photographs, most films and contrivances for the reproduction of sound (records, tapes or compact discs), copyright subsists for a period of 50 years from the making of the negative or copyright plate from which the record, photograph or film was made.

Is the Copyright Notice © Required?

No, but it is recommended. As with registration, notice to the public may have advantages in litigation and may deter unauthorized use.

Does an Artist or Author have any Rights in his Work once the Work has been Sold?

Under The Copyright Act, a person who creates an original work may own "moral rights" in that work. Moral right is distinct from copyright-- it is the right to prevent use or treatment of the work in a way that could prejudice the honour or reputation of the author. Moral rights subsist for the same term as copyright and may not be assigned. Upon the death of the author, moral rights may be passed on to a person other than the owner of the copyright.

Is it Necessary to Obtain the Author/Composer's Permission Before a Musical Work can be Performed in Public?

The unauthorized performance of a musical or musical-dramatic work in public constitutes infringement of copyright. However, there are certain organizations, such as charities and schools, that are excused from paying royalties for performing such works.

The owner of copyright in a musical work is entitled, under The Copyright Act, to collect royalties for the performance of the work in public. In Canada, performing rights societies such as SOCAN are entitled to grant licenses for the performance of musical and musical-dramatic works and collect royalties on behalf of the members of these societies or to recover the royalty payments in court. The royalty rates charged by the performing rights societies must be approved by the Copyright Board established under The Copyright Act.

What Is The Relationship Between Copyright and Industrial Design?

Copyright and rights under The Industrial Design Act are mutually exclusive. Occasionally, the subject matter of an industrial design may appear to coincide with the subject matter of artistic copyright. Where copyright subsists in a useful article, or a design applied to a useful article and the article has been reproduced more than fifty times, the owner of the copyright loses his right to prevent unauthorized copying.

Since copyright protection subsists, with or without registration, for a relatively long period of time, and industrial design protection is available only upon obtaining registration within one year of publication, and exists for a maximum of ten years, it is important to determine early the nature of protection available. Trade-mark rights and artistic copyright may subsist in the same item, for example, designs which appear on labels.