COPYRIGHT

nuts and bolts

compiled by Joanne Paterson

October 2019

Purpose of copyright

provide an incentive to creators by allowing them to profit from their creations

to ensure attribution for authors and preserve the integrity of creative works

Moral rights

integrity

attribution

acknowledgement

Economic rights

produce/reproduce

perform

publish

Exclusive rights*

to make authorized translations of their works
to make copies of their works
to publicly perform and communicate their works to the public, including via broadcast
to make adaptations and arrangements of their works

*These rights can be signed away or transferred by the copyright holder

What is Copyrightable

Unique, original works in a tangible form, such as

Literary works ( e.g., speeches, essays and books, and translations)
Artworks (e.g., Architecture, sculptures, paintings, photographs, and engravings
Musical works (e.g., musical compositions with or without words, adaptations and arrangements of music)
Sound recordings and software

What is not copyrightable

information alone without a minimum of original creativity cannot be protected by copyright

facts
theories
data
ideas
population data
telephone lists (1)

(1)

Feist Publications, Inc., v. Rural Telephone Service Co., 499 U.S. 340 (1991), was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States establishing that information alone without a minimum of original creativity cannot be protected by copyright.[1] Wikipedia contributors, "Feist Publications, Inc., v. Rural Telephone Service Co.," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Feist_Publications,_Inc.,_v._Rural_Telephone_Service_Co.&oldid=911323711 (accessed October 10, 2019).

How to obtain Copyright

Why register copyright?

"Generally, your original work is automatically protected by copyright when you create it. However, when you register your copyright, you get a certificate of registration that you can use in court as evidence that you own the protected work." --

Canadian Intellectual Property Office

Other forms of

Intellectual Property

TRADEMARK

brand names
words
logos
symbols
sounds

These distinguish one service or goods from others in the marketplace

Other forms of

Intellectual Property

While individual words or small phrases cannot be copyrighted, (copyright needs something substantive) words that represent brands and are brand names, like Ontario Hydro, Zellers, and Beavertails**

can be trademarked

**registered trademarks with CIPO

Patents

Patents apply to newly developed technology as well as to improvements on products or processes. Patents provide a time-limited, legally protected, exclusive right to make, use and sell an invention.

for example, CA 2196225

SQUIRREL-PROOF BIRD FEEDER DEVICE /

MANGEOIRE D'OISEAUX EQUIPEE D'UN GARDE-ECUREUILS

Plant breeders can register new varieties with CFIA

Chinook Apple: Malus pumila

Certificate no. 0386

Blue Steele potatoes:

Solanum tuberosum

Certificate no. 4584

Bill Reid Rose: Rosa

Certificate no. 4472

Plant Breeder's Rights

Industrial design

An industrial design is about how something looks. It protects a product's unique appearance, not what it is made of, how it is made or how it works.

Industrial designs can be found in many everyday products, such as the unique contour of a car hood, the graphical user interface on a phone or the specific shape or pattern of your favourite shoes.

In Canada, you can secure these rights by registering your industrial design with CIPO

Industrial design

What is not protected by an industrial design

The following are not protected as industrial designs in Canada:

An idea
A method of construction
The materials used in the construction of an article
The function of an article

works are free from Copyright

Works enter the public when:

the copyright expires
the work was never entitled to copyright protection
The creator dedicates the work to the public domain
The copyright holder failed to comply with formalities to acquire or maintain their copyright

Public Domain

You can use the CC0 1.0 and dedicate the work to the public domain instantly and in doing so you waive all rights to the work worldwide under copyright law

Public Domain

In Canada, typically published works enter the public domain 50 years after the death of the author. At that point, permissions are no longer required for reproduction or distribution.

However different formats ( government documents, sound recordings, photographs) all have different regulations.

See the University of Alberta's Public Domain Flowchart for guidance

Fair Dealing

Fair Dealing is an important statutory exception provided by the Canadian Copyright Act, that is not explicitly defined in the Act.

Fair Dealing

eight specific purposes to which the exception can be applied
three of them specifically require attribution
copying for these named purposes is not infringement, no indication about what constitutes “fair”