Copyright
Copyright & Electronic Rights: Laws and Agencies
Copyright Law - Copyright Agencies - Other Copyright Pages
The CAA and Copyright
Copyright protection for Canadian writers was the reason for the creation of the Canadian Authors Association in 1921 and the CAA has played a key role in copyright protection for Canadian writers in its long history.
Writers concerned about copyright should consider CAA membership to ensure a continuing strong voice for Canadian writers.
Copyright Infringement
An important part of copyright protection for creators is to ensure that those not in compliance are reported and made subject to the penalties for their actions. See Protecting the Rights of Access Copyright Affiliates for more information.
Copyright Law
Government & Regulatory Sites
Bill C-61 (An Act to amend the Copyright Act) was announced on June 12, 2008 as "…long-overdue and much-needed amendments to the Copyright Act that will bring it in line with advances in technology and current international standards." More information is available:
Bill C-60 (An Act to amend the Copyright Act) is available in English and French at:
- Bill C-60 (English & Français)
http://www.parl.gc.ca/38/1/parlbus/chambus/house/bills/government/C-60/C-60_1/C-60_cover-E.html - Bill C-60 (English & Français) PDF version (PDF - 309k).
http://www.parl.gc.ca/PDF/38/1/parlbus/chambus/house/bills/government/C-60_1.PDF - Questions and Answers about Bill C-60 (English) PDF version (PDF - 23k).
http://www.digital-copyright.ca/billc60/fromgov/questions_and_answers_e.pdf
The Canadian Copyright Reform Bill C-32 received Royal Assent on May 25, 1997. A copy of Bill C-32 is available in English and French at:
- Bill C-32 (English)
http://www.parl.gc.ca/35/2/parlbus/chambus/house/bills/government/C-32/C-32_4/C-32_cover-E.html - Bill C-32 (Français)
http://www.parl.gc.ca/35/2/parlbus/chambus/house/bills/government/C-32/C-32_4/C-32_cover-F.html
The Copyright Policy Branch of the Department of Canadian Heritage in co-operation with the Intellectual Property Policy Directorate of Industry Canada, is responsible for formulating and implementing an integrated Canadian copyright policy.
http://www.pch.gc.ca/culture/cult_ind/cpb-pdd/english.htm
Copyright Reform Process hosted by the Intellectual Property Policy Directorate at Industry Canada and the Copyright Policy Branch at the Department of Canadian Heritage.
http://www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/crp-prda.nsf/en/h_rp00000e.html
Intellectual Property Enforcement Guidelines from the Government of Canada's Competition Bureau. PDF version.
http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/epic/site/cb-bc.nsf/en/01286e.html
The Berne Convention Treaty.
http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/berne
The U.S. Copyright Act.
http://www.loc.gov/copyright
Copyright Information Sites & Blogs
Compleat World Copyright - "the most exhaustive source of copyright information on the web."
http://www.compilerpress.atfreeweb.com
Intellectual Property in the Global Village by Harry Hillman Chartrand. For those that need all the facts, the author recently self-published a new book The Compleat Canadian Copyright Act: Current, Past & Proposed Provisions of the Act 1921 to 1997 for CDN$99.00 plus GST.
http://library2.usask.ca/gic/v1n4/chartrand/chartrand.html
Copyrightlaws.com is an informative website devoted to international copyright law, digital property, media, and other intellectual property issues by lawyer and writer Lesley Ellen Harris.
http://www.copyrightlaws.com
Copyright Questions & Answers is a blog by Lesley Ellen Harris.
http://www.copyrightanswers.blogspot.com
Michael Geist's Blog. Professor Michael A. Geist is Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law, University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law.
http://www.michaelgeist.ca
Speak Out on Copyright is a copyright blog by Michael Geist.
http://www.speakoutoncopyright.ca
faircopyright.ca is a copyright blog by Laura J. Murray.
http://www.faircopyright.ca
Intellectual Property by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
hhttp://www.eff.org/issues/intellectual-property
Copyright Agencies
Access Copyright (1-800-893-5777) has replaced CANCOPY.
http://www.accesscopyright.ca
- The Canadian Authors Association maintains a Access Copyright group membership and encourages individuals with published material to register as an individual member.
- If your writing is published in a format that may be copied onto a website, CD-ROM, electronic database or other digital storage medium and sold you should register.
Seeking the Copyright Owner?
Kristin Demuth, Membership Officer at The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency, offers the following advice when seeking the copyright owner of a literary piece:
- The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency does have an agreement with the Copyright Board of Canada, which is the only body in the country that can issue a licence allowing someone to use copyrighted material when the copyright owner is unlocatable. Requests for such licences must be submitted to the Copyright Board, and they make the final decision, but The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency assists with trying to locate the rightsholder and setting an appropriate fee.
- Before approaching the Copyright Board it must the shown that the potential user has done a thorough search for the rightsholder. We suggest trying the publisher as a starting point. However, there are a number of other sources we use ourselves in searching for rightsholders.
- The National Library's AMICUS Web lets you search over 25 million full records from 1,300 Canadian libraries. For magazines, Publist is a very good site for tracking down publishers of periodicals and scholarly journals. The Library of Congress also has a site for searching its bibliographic databases. We also make use of Canada 411 and other Internet phone directories when trying to find individual creators.
- We also consult Books in Print, both in print and on CD-ROM. It comes in both Canadian and International versions. For tracking down publishers we recommend the Book Trade in Canada, the Literary Marketplace and the Quill & Quire directories. The Q&Q directories are published seasonally and are especially useful in cases where publishers have been sold, gone out of business or sold lists because they include listings of which publishers represent other publishers or agency lines.
- If someone has consulted a number of these sources and still cannot track down a rightsholder, then we would advise that they contact the Copyright Board. The Board's phone number is (613) 952-8621.
- While we will try to assist people in locating rightsholders, The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency just does not have the manpower to devote to this as a full time service.
Note: There is a section on the Access Copyright Website devoted to unlocatable copyright holders.
Canadian Copyright Institute is an association of creators, producers, publishers and distributors of copyright works.
http://www.thecci.ca
The Electronics Rights Licensing Agency (TERLA) was dissolved and has turned the responsibility for the protection of writers' electronic rights to The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). The TERLA website is no longer available.
Public Lending Right Commission
http://www.plr-dpp.ca/PLR
Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO)
http://cipo.gc.ca
- CIPO Guide to Copyrights has forms, publications, e-services and copyright links.
http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/sc_mrksv/cipo/cp/cp_main-e.html?icservices=e_cop - CIPO Guide to Trade-marks has everything from the basic information to searches to how you register a trade-mark or word-mark.
http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/sc_mrksv/cipo/tm/tm_main-e.html
National Library of Canada on Copyright (archived page).
http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/206/301/lac-bac/copyright/2007-07-31/8/9/index-e.html
U.S. Copyright Office.
http://www.copyright.gov
World Intellectual Property Organization(WIPO).
http://www.wipo.int
The Authors' Licensing & Collecting Society collects revenue from photocopying and other re-uses of written work and distributes it to 35,000 writers in the U.K. and elsewhere
http://www.alco.co.uk
Links to Other Copyright Pages
Law.com Technical Law Practice Center deals with the struggle to apply older laws to new technologies.
http://www.law.com/jsp/pc/techlaw.jsp
Creative Commons is an alternative way to share intellectual property with a variety of licences in combination: Attribution, Non-commercial, No Derivative Works, and Share Alike.
http://creativecommons.org
Copyright Clearance Center maintains bilateral agreements with other Reproduction Rights Organizations worldwide help to create a global system for licensed content use.
http://www.copyright.com
Copyright Central is a part of the Copyright Clearance Center with copyright news, blogs and education.
http://www.copyright.com/ccc/viewPage.do?pageCode=cr100-n
10 Big Myths about copyright explained is "an attempt to answer common myths about copyright seen on the net and cover issues related to copyright and USENET/Internet publication."
http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html
The Copyright Website deals with copyright issues on the Web.
http://www.benedict.com
Plagiarism Today discusses the issues of plagiarism, content theft and copyright issues.
http://www.plagiarismtoday.com
www.canauthors.org/links/copyrite.html
Updated: December 6, 2009
