• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Copyrightlaws.com: Copyright courses and education in plain English

Copyrightlaws.com is the place for copyright education. Online eTutorials and Certificate programs to demystify copyright law.

  • Courses
    • Calendar
    • Graduates
    • Testimonials
  • Custom-Built
  • Certificate Programs
  • Join Our List
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • General Copyright Resources
    • A Simple Guide to Licensing Electronic Resources
    • A Simple Guide to Fair Use: How To Apply Fair Use to Your Copyright Scenarios
    • A Simple Guide to Copyright for Librarians: 15 Essential Facts & Tips
    • A Simple Guide to U.S. Copyright Law
    • 6 Best Practices for Legally Using Google Images
    • Creative Commons Licenses: How to Choose the Best CC License
    • A Simple Guide to Legally Using Images in Presentations
    • Downloadable Simple Guides to Copyright
  • U.S. Copyright Law Resources
  • Canadian Copyright Law Resources
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Courses
  • Certificate Programs
  • Resources
  • Join Our List
  • About
  • Contact Us
×

3 December 2022

8 Facts About Canadian Copyright Law

FacebookTwitterLinkedInReddit2Pinterest
2
SHARES

Learn facts about Canadian copyright law

Eight important facts about Canadian copyright law are set out below.

How did we select only eight facts about Canadian copyright law when there's so much information available? We selected some unique things about Canadian copyright law, some international facts and some basic facts that Canadians and others should know about copyright law in Canada.

Eight Facts About Canadian Copyright Law

1 — Copyright Protection is Automatic

It's not mandatory to use a copyright symbol — © — in order to have copyright protection in Canada. Protection is automatic upon a work being “fixed” (e.g., a poem written on paper or a document saved on a hard drive).

If you're creating music in a band, that music is protected once you notate it or record it. If you're giving a speech or lecture, that speech or lecture is protected if written down or once it's recorded.

2 — Duration of Copyright Protection in Canada

The duration of copyright protection in Canada is life-plus-fifty, or the end of the calendar year fifty years after the year in which the author died. Copyright expires on 31 December of that year. Note that this is the general duration of copyright in Canada and there are exceptions in specific circumstances. For further information, see Duration of Copyright Protection in Canada.

On 30 September 2018, Canada, Mexico and the United States announced the completion of negotiations towards a new trade agreement to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) includes a chapter on intellectual property. Under the USMCA, member countries are required to protect copyright for a minimum of 70 years after an author’s death. Life-plus-seventy is already the duration of copyright protection in the U.S.

Beginning 30 December 2022, copyright duration in Canada will be life-plus-seventy.

3 — Registering Copyright Works in Canada

Deposit of a work with the Canadian Copyright Office is not possible; any copy of a work sent to the Canadian Copyright Office will be sent back to the applicant, without any examination of the work or verification of its relation to the application it was sent with. You can, however, register your copyright works with the Canadian Copyright Office by completing the copyright registration application.

Canadians who plan to commercially distribute their copyright works generally use the Canadian Copyright Office registration system. Often, they also register in the U.S. Copyright Office where a copy of the work is mandatory, providing extra proof should the copyright owner need to pursue their rights.

4 — Moral Rights in the Canadian Copyright Act

In addition to economic rights, the Canadian Copyright Act provides authors with three kinds of moral rights, rights that protect the author of a work.

  1. Right of paternity, which allows an author the right to have their name on their work, remain anonymous or to use a pseudonym.
  2. Right of integrity, which allows an author to prevent changes to a work that may be harmful to the author’s honour or reputation. This right has stopped the famous Michael Snow geese sculpture in the Toronto Eaton Centre from having ribbons wrapped around the necks of the geese.
  3. Right of association, which allows an author to prevent use of a work in association with a product, service, cause or institution that may prejudice the author’s honour or reputation.

Not all countries provide moral rights and each country that does may have unique moral rights in its copyright law.

5 — Fair Dealing in Canada (Not Fair Use!)

There's no fair use provision in the Canadian Copyright Act. There is a fair dealing provision for specific purposes:

  • Research
  • Private study
  • Education*
  • Parody*
  • Satire
  • Criticism
  • Review
  • News reporting

* The purposes of parody and education were added as part of the 2012 amendments to the Canadian Copyright Act.

If the use falls within one of these purposes, then you must determine fairness by applying your facts to the following factors set out in a Supreme Court of Canada case:

  • The purpose of the dealing
  • The character of the dealing
  • The amount of the dealing
  • Alternatives to the dealing
  • The nature of the work
  • The effect of the dealing on the work
  • Any other factors that may help a court decide whether the dealing was fair

6 — YouTube or Mash-Up Exception to Copyright

The Canadian Copyright Act allows an individual to use copyright protected materials when creating a new work such as a mash-up, and to post the new work online on a site like YouTube. This is a unique provision added to the Canadian Copyright Act in 2012.

7 — International Copyright Protection

If you have copyright protection in Canada, you have automatic protection in the close to 200 countries that belong to the Berne Copyright Convention. Canadian works are protected in those countries according to the copyright laws of those countries.

Similarly, works from any of the other Berne member countries are protected in Canada under the Canadian Copyright Act (also see below).

8 — How International Copyright Law Works in Canada

When reproducing content while physically in Canada, even content from another country, you apply Canadian copyright law.  Thus in Canada, you can apply fair dealing to the use of your works whereas the same use of the same works may fall under the U.S. doctrine of fair use when reproduced in the U.S.

Need to learn more about Canadian copyright law? Read about the only copyright certificate program in Canada, the Certificate in Canadian Copyright Law. Designed for
Copyright Officers, Copyright Librarians and other nonlawyers
who deal with copyright issues on a daily basis.

This article was written by Lesley Ellen Harris, author of Canadian Copyright Law, Fourth Edition.

Want more Canadian copyright tips and information?
Subscribe to our Canadian email list, featuring two mailings a month with the latest in Canadian copyright news, updates, course discounts and more.
We respect your privacy.
FacebookTwitterLinkedInReddit2Pinterest
2
SHARES
« Copyright Leadership Certificate
U.S. Copyright Law Resources »

Primary Sidebar

copyright leadership certificate

Subscribe for Free and Get Copyright Tips and Information Every Week (we never share our email list)

About Copyrightlaws.com

Since 1998, Copyrightlaws.com has been the go-to resource for copyright and licensing information, including copyright education, eTutorials and copyright certificate programs.

Don't Miss Our Copyright Ecourses

License our copyright courses

Build-Your-Own Copyright Education Packages

Build copyright awareness

21 Virtual Ways to Build Copyright Awareness in Your Library or Organization Course

debunking copyright myths

Demystifying Copyright Myths, Public Domain and Creative Commons Licenses

Demystifying the Role of the Go-To Copyright Person Online Course

About our Certificate Programs

The Copyright Leadership Certificate and the Certificate in Canadian Copyright Law are our signature programs. Read More…

Footer

About Copyrightlaws.com

Copyrightlaws.com was founded in 1998 as an objective copyright education site.

Copyright Courses

Selecting an Online Copyright Course ❘ Copyrightlaws.com
Online copyright courses
License our copyright courses