Canadian Copyright

As we move into a technological era where intellectual property can be copied easily and exactly. It is important to understand the parameters the Canadian government has set with the Copyright Act in 1921. This Act has been amended a couple of times. Bills have brought to government numerous times but had not passed because of political opposition. The recent revision Bill C-11 Copyright Modernization Act passed legislation in 2012.

Under this Act we have the guidelines to ensure others are not allowed to use work without permission. This Act protects owner’s right of their copyrighted works.

Copyrighted as cited, “applies to performers’ performances sound recordings and communication signals, through the applicable rights may differ somewhat.

• Copyright provides protection for literary, artistic, dramatic or musical works (including computer programs) and other subject matter known as performer's performances, sound recordings and communication signals.

However there are other rights granted for Intellectual Property (IP):

• Patents cover new and useful inventions (product, composition, machine, process) or any new and useful improvement to an existing invention.
• Trademarks may be one or a combination of words, sounds or designs used to distinguish the goods or services of one person or organization from those of others.
• Industrial designs are the visual features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornament, or any combination of these features applied to a finished article.
• Integrated circuit topographies are the three-dimensional configurations of electronic circuits embodied in integrated circuit products or layout designs.” (Canadian Property Intellectual Office, 2016)

Copyright protects owner’s IP as cited “original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works provided the conditions set out in the Copyright Act have been met. Each of these general categories covers a wide range of creations, including:

• literary works such as books, pamphlets, computer programs and other works consisting of text
• dramatic works such as motion picture films, plays, screenplays and scripts
• musical works such as compositions with or without words
• artistic works such as paintings, drawings, maps, photographs, sculptures and plans

Copyright also applies to other subject-matter consisting of:

• performers' performances, meaning any of the following:
• a performance of an artistic, dramatic or musical work, whether or not the work was previously recorded and whether or not the work's term of copyright protection has expired
• a recitation or reading of a literary work, whether or not the work's term of copyright protection has expired
• an improvisation of a dramatic, musical or literary work, whether or not the improvised work is based on a pre-existing work

·       sound recordings, meaning recordings consisting of sounds, whether or not a performance of a work, but excluding any soundtrack of a cinematographic work where it accompanies the cinematographic work

·       communication signals, meaning radio waves transmitted through space without any artificial guide, for reception by the public”. (Canadian Property Intellectual Office, 2016)

You can register your IP with Canadian Intellectual Property but do not send your works. They want your application online see link below:

https://www.ic.gc.ca/app/scr/opic-cipo/da-cpr/depot-filing/connexion-login_eng.htm

or mail. The prices ranges from ($50 to 65 dollars and if you send by mail and it is not an online application an additional $15 is charged) (“Standard fees for copyrights,” 2016)

The length of property protection follows a 50 rule. As cited, “copyright lasts for the life of the author, the remainder of the calendar year in which the author dies, and for 50 years following the end of that calendar year. (Canadian Property Intellectual Office, 2016)

References

            Lithwick, D. and Maxime-Olivier, T. (2012). Bill C-11: An Act to amend the Copyrght Act. Retrieved from https://lop.parl.ca/Content/LOP/LegislativeSummaries/41/1/c11-e.pdf

Government of Canada. Canadian Property Intellectual Office. (2016). Standard fees for copyrights. Retrieved from https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cipointernet-internetopic.nsf/eng/wr00091.html

            Government of Canada. Canadian Property Intellectual Office. (2016). A Guide to Copyright. Retrieved from https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cipointernet-internetopic.nsf/eng/h_wr02281.html