Copyright Law

By Jay Chauhan, LL.B.

1. What is a Copyright?

General

Copyright forms part of the legal system of what is called ‘Intellectual Property’. It is so named because it relates to property rights for new and creative literary and artistic works which can be read and viewed but the creation is intellectual and not tangible. Along with copyright there are other forms of intellectual property such as Trademarks, Industrial Design and Patents.

Copyright

When an author or a painter creates a new work of art or literature, the right not to have it reproduced belongs exclusively to the creator. For example, the book of Bill Clinton, “My Life” both in written form and CD’s in the form of audio book are copyrights of Bill Clinton and cannot be copied without his permission, in whole or in part.

Music, etc.

Musical works are also works of art which can be protected by copyright laws, which is protected in Canada under the Federal Copyright Act. Other forms of art have developed over the years which are protected and they include, newspapers, dictionaries, magazines, websites, engravings, photographs, films, videos, maps, and similar other forms of artistic expression. In the computer days it also includes the software programmes which can be printed in alphabetical and numeric format. You cannot copy someone’s writing and use it as yours, even if it is a news item or an article. You need author’s permission. In recent years there has been a lot of controversy about the musical works being downloaded from website to your IPod or computer.

Registration

Do you have to register the copyright? Not really in Canada, but if you do register, it confirms that you were the author of the work and originator of that work and it avoids the problem of proving that you were the first person who created the work. Registration is done in Ottawa for Canada and in Washington for USA. In Canada you are not required to deposit the book or work of art, but in USA you are and Library of the Congress is a place where you can deposit your work. In Canada you can create a title to the work of music or painting and submit the title and it is registered with a title. You can use a circle with a ‘C’ in the middle to show that your work has a copyright.

Infringement

When the time comes to protect your work from others who want to copy it, the onus is on you to prove that the work was yours. The evidence of the book or painting or computer programme should be preserved in its original form with an  independent party who can provide the evidence of deposit and contents of your work. The court can give you damages equal to the amount of loss suffered by you and also injunction to stop the infringer from copying whole or part of your work.

50 Years Protection

Copyright protects your work during your lifetime plus 50 years, except in the case of photographs which are protected for 50 years from the date the picture was taken. The evidence of the date when the work was created rests again with the party asserting the claim of copyright.

Royalty

When you write a book you have a copyright which you can license to others such as a publisher. Publishers will usually provide a royalty which is based on the sale of each copy of the book on a fixed amount or on a percentage basis. Copyright creates a proprietary interest in the name of the author and the ownership interest can be used in different ways, such as licensing, assignment of rights etc.

Moral Rights

When a copyright is assigned the ‘Moral Rights’ do not go with transfer of interest. The moral rights include right to be identified with the work, right to maintain integrity of the work, use of pseudonym or right to remain anonymous or right not to have the work modified. The honour and reputation of the author are also protected by moral rights.

Application to Register

The application to register in Canada is done in Ottawa using the prescribed form and payment of the filing fee. A certificate of registration is issued by the registrar as confirmation of the title of the work and date of registration.

National Rights

The systems of registration of intellectual property rights is national which means that each country allows registration of the work in its own jurisdiction. Where the registration in another country is deemed necessary one must register internationally under the Berne Convention which gives you protection in the countries which are signatories to the convention.