What are Copyrights?
Copyright is the exclusive legal right to produce, reproduce, publish or perform an original “literary, artistic, dramatic or musical work.” A “work” is the product of a creative or labor-intensive process that is embodied in a particular discrete form. The terms “literary,” “artistic,” “dramatic” and “musical” are broadly defined under Copyright law. For example, “literary” works include a computer program, which is in turn broadly defined to include a set of instructions or statements embodied in a form that is usable by a computer to bring about a specific result. “Artistic” works include photographs, charts, and architectural works. Copyright can also exist in other subject matter, such as sound recordings, broadcast signals and artists’ performances. Copyright also protects compilations, namely the work resulting from the selection or arrangement of literary, artistic, dramatic or musical works, or a work resulting from the selection or arrangement of data. For example, a phonebook or a comprehensive list of parts would be considered a compilation. An “original” work is one that has not been copied from another source, and that is otherwise produced through the exercise of a threshold level of skill and judgment. The concept of reproduction includes many individual rights depending on the type of work. For instance, in regard to a novel, reproduction includes converting it into a dramatic work, such as a play, television series or movie.
About Copyrights in Canada
In Canada, Copyright arises automatically upon the creation of an original work. Filing an application to register a Copyright confers benefits and a greater degree of protection. As a general rule, Copyright is owned by the individual who created the original literary, artistic, dramatic or musical work. However, there are exceptions to this rule. For example, an employer will own works created by an employee in the ordinary course of their employment.
A Copyright owner has the right to control how the work is used and by whom. The Copyright owner enjoys the exclusive right to commercially exploit the work in any form. Others who want to use the work must acquire permission via an agreement or otherwise get the owner’s permission. Authors of original works also enjoy certain “moral” rights. Moral rights of the Copyright owner are defined to include a right to be associated with the work as its author by name or under a pseudonym (and if desired to remain anonymous) and the right to the integrity of the work, such that the work cannot be modified or used in association with a product, service, cause or institution to the prejudice of the author’s reputation.
A Copyright in Canada typically lasts for the life of the author plus 50 years. After the Copyright has expired, the work will then be in the public domain and anyone can use it; although there are exceptions, this is true for most works.
Canada became party to a treaty known as the “Canada-United States-Mexico-Agreement” (CUSMA), effective on July 1, 2020, which expanded Canada’s Copyright term to life of the author plus 70 years. Performances and sound recordings are now protected for 75 years. Under the CUSMA, other types of works have been granted extended Copyright terms including anonymous and pseudonymous works, non-dramatic cinematographic works, performers’ performances, and sound recordings.
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