C-42

An Act respecting copyright

1. This Act may be cited as the Copyright Act.

R.S., c. C-30, s. 1.

2. In this Act,

“architectural work” means any building or structure or any model of a building or structure;

“architectural work of art”[Repealed, 1993, c. 44, s. 53]

“artistic work” includes paintings, drawings, maps, charts, plans, photographs, engravings, sculptures, works of artistic craftsmanship, architectural works, and compilations of artistic works;

“Berne Convention country” means a country that is a party to the Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works concluded at Berne on September 9, 1886, or any one of its revisions, including the Paris Act of 1971;

“Board” means the Copyright Board established by subsection 66(1);

“book” means a volume or a part or division of a volume, in printed form, but does not include

(a) a pamphlet,

(b) a newspaper, review, magazine or other periodical,

(c) a map, chart, plan or sheet music where the map, chart, plan or sheet music is separately published, and

(d) an instruction or repair manual that accompanies a product or that is supplied as an accessory to a service;

“broadcaster” means a body that, in the course of operating a broadcasting undertaking, broadcasts a communication signal in accordance with the law of the country in which the broadcasting undertaking is carried on, but excludes a body whose primary activity in relation to communication signals is their retransmission;

“choreographic work” includes any work of choreography, whether or not it has any story line;

“cinematograph”[Repealed, 1997, c. 24, s. 1]

“cinematographic work” includes any work expressed by any process analogous to cinematography, whether or not accompanied by a soundtrack;

“collective society” means a society, association or corporation that carries on the business of collective administration of copyright or of the remuneration right conferred by section 19 or 81 for the benefit of those who, by assignment, grant of licence, appointment of it as their agent or otherwise, authorize it to act on their behalf in relation to that collective administration, and

(a) operates a licensing scheme, applicable in relation to a repertoire of works, performer’s performances, sound recordings or communication signals of more than one author, performer, sound recording maker or broadcaster, pursuant to which the society, association or corporation sets out classes of uses that it agrees to authorize under this Act, and the royalties and terms and conditions on which it agrees to authorize those classes of uses, or

(b) carries on the business of collecting and distributing royalties or levies payable pursuant to this Act;

“collective work” means

(a) an encyclopaedia, dictionary, year book or similar work,

(b) a newspaper, review, magazine or similar periodical, and

(c) any work written in distinct parts by different authors, or in which works or parts of works of different authors are incorporated;

“commercially available” means, in relation to a work or other subject-matter,

(a) available on the Canadian market within a reasonable time and for a reasonable price and may be located with reasonable effort, or

(b) for which a licence to reproduce, perform in public or communicate to the public by telecommunication is available from a collective society within a reasonable time and for a reasonable price and may be located with reasonable effort;

“communication signal” means radio waves transmitted through space without any artificial guide, for reception by the public;

“compilation” means

(a) a work resulting from the selection or arrangement of literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works or of parts thereof, or

(b) a work resulting from the selection or arrangement of data;

“computer program” means a set of instructions or statements, expressed, fixed, embodied or stored in any manner, that is to be used directly or indirectly in a computer in order to bring about a specific result;

“copyright” means the rights described in

(a) section 3, in the case of a work,

(b) sections 15 and 26, in the case of a performer’s performance,

(c) section 18, in the case of a sound recording, or

(d) section 21, in the case of a communication signal;

“country” includes any territory;

“defendant” includes a respondent to an application;

“delivery”[Repealed, 1997, c. 24, s. 1]

“dramatic work” includes

(a) any piece for recitation, choreographic work or mime, the scenic arrangement or acting form of which is fixed in writing or otherwise,

(b) any cinematographic work, and

(c) any compilation of dramatic works;

“educational institution” means

(a) a non-profit institution licensed or recognized by or under an Act of Parliament or the legislature of a province to provide pre-school, elementary, secondary or post-secondary education,

(b) a non-profit institution that is directed or controlled by a board of education regulated by or under an Act of the legislature of a province and that provides continuing, professional or vocational education or training,

(c) a department or agency of any order of government, or any non-profit body, that controls or supervises education or training referred to in paragraph (a) or (b), or

(d) any other non-profit institution prescribed by regulation;

“engravings” includes etchings, lithographs, woodcuts, prints and other similar works, not being photographs;

“every original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work” includes every original production in the literary, scientific or artistic domain, whatever may be the mode or form of its expression, such as compilations, books, pamphlets and other writings, lectures, dramatic or dramatico-musical works, musical works, translations, illustrations, sketches and plastic works relative to geography, topography, architecture or science;

“exclusive distributor” means, in relation to a book, a person who

(a) has, before or after the coming into force of this definition, been appointed in writing, by the owner or exclusive licensee of the copyright in the book in Canada, as

(i) the only distributor of the book in Canada or any part of Canada, or

(ii) the only distributor of the book in Canada or any part of Canada in respect of a particular sector of the market, and

(b) meets the criteria established by regulations made under section 2.6,

and, for greater certainty, if there are no regulations made under section 2.6, then no person qualifies under this definition as an “exclusive distributor”;

“Her Majesty’s Realms and Territories”[Repealed, 1997, c. 24, s. 1]

“infringing” means

(a) in relation to a work in which copyright subsists, any copy, including any colourable imitation, made or dealt with in contravention of this Act,

(b) in relation to a performer’s performance in respect of which copyright subsists, any fixation or copy of a fixation of it made or dealt with in contravention of this Act,

(c) in relation to a sound recording in respect of which copyright subsists, any copy of it made or dealt with in contravention of this Act, or

(d) in relation to a communication signal in respect of which copyright subsists, any fixation or copy of a fixation of it made or dealt with in contravention of this Act.

The definition includes a copy that is imported in the circumstances set out in paragraph 27(2)(e) and section 27.1 but does not otherwise include a copy made with the consent of the owner of the copyright in the country where the copy was made;

“lecture” includes address, speech and sermon;

“legal representatives” includes heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns, or agents or attorneys who are thereunto duly authorized in writing;

“library, archive or museum” means

(a) an institution, whether or not incorporated, that is not established or conducted for profit or that does not form a part of, or is not administered or directly or indirectly controlled by, a body that is established or conducted for profit, in which is held and maintained a collection of documents and other materials that is open to the public or to researchers, or

(b) any other non-profit institution prescribed by regulation;

“literary work” includes tables, computer programs, and compilations of literary works;

“maker” means

(a) in relation to a cinematographic work, the person by whom the arrangements necessary for the making of the work are undertaken, or

(b) in relation to a sound recording, the person by whom the arrangements necessary for the first fixation of the sounds are undertaken;

“Minister”, except in section 44.1, means the Minister of Industry;

“moral rights” means the rights described in subsection 14.1(1);

“musical work” means any work of music or musical composition, with or without words, and includes any compilation thereof;

“perceptual disability” means a disability that prevents or inhibits a person from reading or hearing a literary, musical, dramatic or artistic work in its original format, and includes such a disability resulting from

(a) severe or total impairment of sight or hearing or the inability to focus or move one’s eyes,

(b) the inability to hold or manipulate a book, or

(c) an impairment relating to comprehension;

“performance” means any acoustic or visual representation of a work, performer’s performance, sound recording or communication signal, including a representation made by means of any mechanical instrument, radio receiving set or television receiving set;

“performer’s performance” means any of the following when done by a performer:

(a) a performance of an artistic work, dramatic work or musical work, whether or not the work was previously fixed in any material form, and whether or not the work’s term of copyright protection under this Act has expired,

(b) a recitation or reading of a literary work, whether or not the work’s term of copyright protection under this Act has expired, or

(c) an improvisation of a dramatic work, musical work or literary work, whether or not the improvised work is based on a pre-existing work;

“photograph” includes photo-lithograph and any work expressed by any process analogous to photography;

“plaintiff” includes an applicant;

“plate” includes

(a) any stereotype or other plate, stone, block, mould, matrix, transfer or negative used or intended to be used for printing or reproducing copies of any work, and

(b) any matrix or other appliance used or intended to be used for making or reproducing sound recordings, performer’s performances or communication signals;

“premises” means, in relation to an educational institution, a place where education or training referred to in the definition “educational institution” is provided, controlled or supervised by the educational institution;

“receiving device”[Repealed, 1993, c. 44, s. 79]

“Rome Convention country” means a country that is a party to the International Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organisations, done at Rome on October 26, 1961;

“sculpture” includes a cast or model;

“sound recording” means a recording, fixed in any material form, consisting of sounds, whether or not of a performance of a work, but excludes any soundtrack of a cinematographic work where it accompanies the cinematographic work;

“telecommunication” means any transmission of signs, signals, writing, images or sounds or intelligence of any nature by wire, radio, visual, optical or other electromagnetic system;

“treaty country” means a Berne Convention country, UCC country or WTO Member;

“UCC country” means a country that is a party to the Universal Copyright Convention, adopted on September 6, 1952 in Geneva, Switzerland, or to that Convention as revised in Paris, France on July 24, 1971;

“work” includes the title thereof when such title is original and distinctive;

“work of joint authorship” means a work produced by the collaboration of two or more authors in which the contribution of one author is not distinct from the contribution of the other author or authors;

“work of sculpture”[Repealed, 1997, c. 24, s. 1]

“WTO Member” means a Member of the World Trade Organization as defined in subsection 2(1) of the World Trade Organization Agreement Implementation Act.

R.S., 1985, c. C-42, s. 2; R.S., 1985, c. 10 (4th Supp.), s. 1; 1988, c. 65, s. 61; 1992, c. 1, s. 145(F); 1993, c. 23, s. 1, c. 44, ss. 53, 79; 1994, c. 47, s. 56; 1995, c. 1, s. 62; 1997, c. 24, s. 1.

2.1 (1) A compilation containing two or more of the categories of literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works shall be deemed to be a compilation of the category making up the most substantial part of the compilation.

(2) The mere fact that a work is included in a compilation does not increase, decrease or otherwise affect the protection conferred by this Act in respect of the copyright in the work or the moral rights in respect of the work.

1993, c. 44, s. 54.

2.11 For greater certainty, the arrangements referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition “maker” in section 2, as that term is used in section 19 and in the definition “eligible maker” in section 79, include arrangements for entering into contracts with performers, financial arrangements and technical arrangements required for the first fixation of the sounds for a sound recording.

1997, c. 24, s. 2.

2.2 (1) For the purposes of this Act, “publication” means

(a) in relation to works,

(i) making copies of a work available to the public,

(ii) the construction of an architectural work, and

(iii) the incorporation of an artistic work into an architectural work, and

(b) in relation to sound recordings, making copies of a sound recording available to the public,

but does not include

(c) the performance in public, or the communication to the public by telecommunication, of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or a sound recording, or

(d) the exhibition in public of an artistic work.

(2) For the purpose of subsection (1), the issue of photographs and engravings of sculptures and architectural works is not deemed to be publication of those works.

(3) For the purposes of this Act, other than in respect of infringement of copyright, a work or other subject-matter is not deemed to be published or performed in public or communicated to the public by telecommunication if that act is done without the consent of the owner of the copyright.

(4) Where, in the case of an unpublished work, the making of the work is extended over a considerable period, the conditions of this Act conferring copyright are deemed to have been complied with if the author was, during any substantial part of that period, a subject or citizen of, or a person ordinarily resident in, a country to which this Act extends.

1997, c. 24, s. 2.

2.3 A person who communicates a work or other subject-matter to the public by telecommunication does not by that act alone perform it in public, nor by that act alone is deemed to authorize its performance in public.

1997, c. 24, s. 2.

2.4 (1) For the purposes of communication to the public by telecommunication,

(a) persons who occupy apartments, hotel rooms or dwelling units situated in the same building are part of the public, and a communication intended to be received exclusively by such persons is a communication to the public;

(b) a person whose only act in respect of the communication of a work or other subject-matter to the public consists of providing the means of telecommunication necessary for another person to so communicate the work or other subject-matter does not communicate that work or other subject-matter to the public; and

(c) where a person, as part of

(i) a network, within the meaning of the Broadcasting Act, whose operations result in the communication of works or other subject-matter to the public, or

(ii) any programming undertaking whose operations result in the communication of works or other subject-matter to the public,

transmits by telecommunication a work or other subject-matter that is communicated to the public by another person who is not a retransmitter of a signal within the meaning of subsection 31(1), the transmission and communication of that work or other subject-matter by those persons constitute a single communication to the public for which those persons are jointly and severally liable.

(2) The Governor in Council may make regulations defining “programming undertaking” for the purpose of paragraph (1)(c).

(3) A work is not communicated in the manner described in paragraph (1)( c) or 3(1)( f) where a signal carrying the work is retransmitted to a person who is a retransmitter within the meaning of subsection 31(1).

1997, c. 24, s. 2; 2002, c. 26, s. 1.

2.5 (1) For the purposes of paragraphs 3(1)(h) and (i), 15(1)(c) and 18(1)(c), an arrangement, whatever its form, constitutes a rental of a computer program or sound recording if, and only if,

(a) it is in substance a rental, having regard to all the circumstances; and

(b) it is entered into with motive of gain in relation to the overall operations of the person who rents out the computer program or sound recording, as the case may be.

(2) For the purpose of paragraph (1)(b), a person who rents out a computer program or sound recording with the intention of recovering no more than the costs, including overhead, associated with the rental operations does not by that act alone have a motive of gain in relation to the rental operations.

1997, c. 24, s. 2.

2.6 The Governor in Council may make regulations establishing distribution criteria for the purpose of paragraph (b) of the definition “exclusive distributor” in section 2.

1997, c. 24, s. 2.

2.7 For the purposes of this Act, an exclusive licence is an authorization to do any act that is subject to copyright to the exclusion of all others including the copyright owner, whether the authorization is granted by the owner or an exclusive licensee claiming under the owner.

1997, c. 24, s. 2.

3. (1) For the purposes of this Act, “copyright”, in relation to a work, means the sole right to produce or reproduce the work or any substantial part thereof in any material form whatever, to perform the work or any substantial part thereof in public or, if the work is unpublished, to publish the work or any substantial part thereof, and includes the sole right

(a) to produce, reproduce, perform or publish any translation of the work,

(b) in the case of a dramatic work, to convert it into a novel or other non-dramatic work,

(c) in the case of a novel or other non-dramatic work, or of an artistic work, to convert it into a dramatic work, by way of performance in public or otherwise,

(d) in the case of a literary, dramatic or musical work, to make any sound recording, cinematograph film or other contrivance by means of which the work may be mechanically reproduced or performed,

(e) in the case of any literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, to reproduce, adapt and publicly present the work as a cinematographic work,

(f) in the case of any literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, to communicate the work to the public by telecommunication,

(g) to present at a public exhibition, for a purpose other than sale or hire, an artistic work created after June 7, 1988, other than a map, chart or plan,

(h) in the case of a computer program that can be reproduced in the ordinary course of its use, other than by a reproduction during its execution in conjunction with a machine, device or computer, to rent out the computer program, and

(i) in the case of a musical work, to rent out a sound recording in which the work is embodied,

and to authorize any such acts.

(1.1) A work that is communicated in the manner described in paragraph (1)(f) is fixed even if it is fixed simultaneously with its communication.

(1.2) to (4) [Repealed, 1997, c. 24, s. 3]

R.S., 1985, c. C-42, s. 3; R.S., 1985, c. 10 (4th Supp.), s. 2; 1988, c. 65, s. 62; 1993, c. 23, s. 2, c. 44, s. 55; 1997, c. 24, s. 3.

4. [Repealed, 1997, c. 24, s. 4]

5. (1) Subject to this Act, copyright shall subsist in Canada, for the term hereinafter mentioned, in every original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work if any one of the following conditions is met:

(a) in the case of any work, whether published or unpublished, including a cinematographic work, the author was, at the date of the making of the work, a citizen or subject of, or a person ordinarily resident in, a treaty country;

(b) in the case of a cinematographic work, whether published or unpublished, the maker, at the date of the making of the cinematographic work,

(i) if a corporation, had its headquarters in a treaty country, or

(ii) if a natural person, was a citizen or subject of, or a person ordinarily resident in, a treaty country; or

(c) in the case of a published work, including a cinematographic work,

(i) in relation to subparagraph 2.2(1)(a)(i), the first publication in such a quantity as to satisfy the reasonable demands of the public, having regard to the nature of the work, occurred in a treaty country, or

(ii) in relation to subparagraph 2.2(1)(a)(ii) or (iii), the first publication occurred in a treaty country.

(1.01) For the purposes of subsection (1), a country that becomes a Berne Convention country or a WTO Member after the date of the making or publication of a work shall, as of becoming a Berne Convention country or WTO Member, as the case may be, be deemed to have been a Berne Convention country or WTO Member at the date of the making or publication of the work, subject to subsection (1.02) and section 33.

(1.02) Subsection (1.01) does not confer copyright protection in Canada on a work whose term of copyright protection in the country referred to in that subsection had expired before that country became a Berne Convention country or WTO Member, as the case may be.

(1.03) Subsections (1.01) and (1.02) apply, and are deemed to have applied, regardless of whether the country in question became a Berne Convention country or a WTO Member before or after the coming into force of those subsections.

(1.1) The first publication described in subparagraph (1)(c)(i) or (ii) is deemed to have occurred in a treaty country notwithstanding that it in fact occurred previously elsewhere, if the interval between those two publications did not exceed thirty days.

(1.2) Copyright shall not subsist in Canada otherwise than as provided by subsection (1), except in so far as the protection conferred by this Act is extended as hereinafter provided to foreign countries to which this Act does not extend.

(2) Where the Minister certifies by notice, published in the Canada Gazette, that any country that is not a treaty country grants or has undertaken to grant, either by treaty, convention, agreement or law, to citizens of Canada, the benefit of copyright on substantially the same basis as to its own citizens or copyright protection substantially equal to that conferred by this Act, the country shall, for the purpose of the rights conferred by this Act, be treated as if it were a country to which this Act extends, and the Minister may give a certificate, notwithstanding that the remedies for enforcing the rights, or the restrictions on the importation of copies of works, under the law of such country, differ from those in this Act.

(2.1) [Repealed, 1994, c. 47, s. 57]

(3) to (6) [Repealed, 1997, c. 24, s. 5]

(7) For greater certainty, the protection to which a work is entitled by virtue of a notice published under subsection (2), or under that subsection as it read at any time before the coming into force of this subsection, is not affected by reason only of the country in question becoming a treaty country.

R.S., 1985, c. C-42, s. 5; 1993, c. 15, s. 2, c. 44, s. 57; 1994, c. 47, s. 57; 1997, c. 24, s. 5; 2001, c. 34, s. 34.

6. The term for which copyright shall subsist shall, except as otherwise expressly provided by this Act, be the life of the author, the remainder of the calendar year in which the author dies, and a period of fifty years following the end of that calendar year.

R.S., 1985, c. C-42, s. 6; 1993, c. 44, s. 58.

6.1 Except as provided in section 6.2, where the identity of the author of a work is unknown, copyright in the work shall subsist for whichever of the following terms ends earlier:

(a) a term consisting of the remainder of the calendar year of the first publication of the work and a period of fifty years following the end of that calendar year, and

(b) a term consisting of the remainder of the calendar year of the making of the work and a period of seventy-five years following the end of that calendar year,

but where, during that term, the author’s identity becomes commonly known, the term provided in section 6 applies.

1993, c. 44, s. 58.

6.2 Where the identity of all the authors of a work of joint authorship is unknown, copyright in the work shall subsist for whichever of the following terms ends earlier:

(a) a term consisting of the remainder of the calendar year of the first publication of the work and a period of fifty years following the end of that calendar year, and

(b) a term consisting of the remainder of the calendar year of the making of the work and a period of seventy-five years following the end of that calendar year,

but where, during that term, the identity of one or more of the authors becomes commonly known, copyright shall subsist for the life of whichever of those authors dies last, the remainder of the calendar year in which that author dies, and a period of fifty years following the end of that calendar year.

1993, c. 44, s. 58.

7. (1) Subject to subsection (2), in the case of a literary, dramatic or musical work, or an engraving, in which copyright subsists at the date of the death of the author or, in the case of a work of joint authorship, at or immediately before the date of the death of the author who dies last, but which has not been published or, in the case of a lecture or a dramatic or musical work, been performed in public or communicated to the public by telecommunication, before that date, copyright shall subsist until publication, or performance in public or communication to the public by telecommunication, whichever may first happen, for the remainder of the calendar year of the publication or of the performance in public or communication to the public by telecommunication, as the case may be, and for a period of fifty years following the end of that calendar year.

(2) Subsection (1) applies only where the work in question was published or performed in public or communicated to the public by telecommunication, as the case may be, before the coming into force of this section.

(3) Where

(a) a work has not, at the coming into force of this section, been published or performed in public or communicated to the public by telecommunication,

(b) subsection (1) would apply to that work if it had been published or performed in public or communicated to the public by telecommunication before the coming into force of this section, and

(c) the relevant death referred to in subsection (1) occurred during the period of fifty years immediately before the coming into force of this section,

copyright shall subsist in the work for the remainder of the calendar year in which this section comes into force and for a period of fifty years following the end of that calendar year, whether or not the work is published or performed in public or communicated to the public by telecommunication after the coming into force of this section.

(4) Where

(a) a work has not, at the coming into force of this section, been published or performed in public or communicated to the public by telecommunication,

(b) subsection (1) would apply to that work if it had been published or performed in public or communicated to the public by telecommunication before the coming into force of this section, and

(c) the relevant death referred to in subsection (1) occurred more than fifty years before the coming into force of this section,

copyright shall subsist in the work for the remainder of the calendar year in which this section comes into force and for a period of five years following the end of that calendar year, whether or not the work is published or performed in public or communicated to the public by telecommunication after the coming into force of this section.

R.S., 1985, c. C-42, s. 7; 1993, c. 44, s. 58; 1997, c. 24, s. 6.

8. [Repealed, 1993, c. 44, s. 59]

9. (1) In the case of a work of joint authorship, except as provided in section 6.2, copyright shall subsist during the life of the author who dies last, for the remainder of the calendar year of that author’s death, and for a period of fifty years following the end of that calendar year, and references in this Act to the period after the expiration of any specified number of years from the end of the calendar year of the death of the author shall be construed as references to the period after the expiration of the like number of years from the end of the calendar year of the death of the author who dies last.

(2) Authors who are nationals of any country, other than a country that is a party to the North American Free Trade Agreement, that grants a term of protection shorter than that mentioned in subsection (1) are not entitled to claim a longer term of protection in Canada.

R.S., 1985, c. C-42, s. 9; 1993, c. 44, s. 60.

10. (1) Where the owner referred to in subsection (2) is a corporation, the term for which copyright subsists in a photograph shall be the remainder of the year of the making of the initial negative or plate from which the photograph was derived or, if there is no negative or plate, of the initial photograph, plus a period of fifty years.

(1.1) Where the owner is a corporation, the majority of the voting shares of which are owned by a natural person who would have qualified as the author of the photograph except for subsection (2), the term of copyright is the term set out in section 6.

(2) The person who

(a) was the owner of the initial negative or other plate at the time when that negative or other plate was made, or

(b) was the owner of the initial photograph at the time when that photograph was made, where there was no negative or other plate,

is deemed to be the author of the photograph and, where that owner is a body corporate, the body corporate is deemed for the purposes of this Act to be ordinarily resident in a treaty country if it has established a place of business therein.

R.S., 1985, c. C-42, s. 10; 1993, c. 44, s. 60; 1994, c. 47, s. 69(F); 1997, c. 24, s. 7.

11. [Repealed, 1997, c. 24, s. 8]

11.1 Except for cinematographic works in which the arrangement or acting form or the combination of incidents represented give the work a dramatic character, copyright in a cinematographic work or a compilation of cinematographic works shall subsist

(a) for the remainder of the calendar year of the first publication of the cinematographic work or of the compilation, and for a period of fifty years following the end of that calendar year; or

(b) if the cinematographic work or compilation is not published before the expiration of fifty years following the end of the calendar year of its making, for the remainder of that calendar year and for a period of fifty years following the end of that calendar year.

1993, c. 44, s. 60; 1997, c. 24, s. 9.

12. Without prejudice to any rights or privileges of the Crown, where any work is, or has been, prepared or published by or under the direction or control of Her Majesty or any government department, the copyright in the work shall, subject to any agreement with the author, belong to Her Majesty and in that case shall continue for the remainder of the calendar year of the first publication of the work and for a period of fifty years following the end of that calendar year.

R.S., 1985, c. C-42, s. 12; 1993, c. 44, s. 60.

13. (1) Subject to this Act, the author of a work shall be the first owner of the copyright therein.

(2) Where, in the case of an engraving, photograph or portrait, the plate or other original was ordered by some other person and was made for valuable consideration, and the consideration was paid, in pursuance of that order, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, the person by whom the plate or other original was ordered shall be the first owner of the copyright.

(3) Where the author of a work was in the employment of some other person under a contract of service or apprenticeship and the work was made in the course of his employment by that person, the person by whom the author was employed shall, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, be the first owner of the copyright, but where the work is an article or other contribution to a newspaper, magazine or similar periodical, there shall, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, be deemed to be reserved to the author a right to restrain the publication of the work, otherwise than as part of a newspaper, magazine or similar periodical.

(4) The owner of the copyright in any work may assign the right, either wholly or partially, and either generally or subject to limitations relating to territory, medium or sector of the market or other limitations relating to the scope of the assignment, and either for the whole term of the copyright or for any other part thereof, and may grant any interest in the right by licence, but no assignment or grant is valid unless it is in writing signed by the owner of the right in respect of which the assignment or grant is made, or by the owner’s duly authorized agent.

(5) Where, under any partial assignment of copyright, the assignee becomes entitled to any right comprised in copyright, the assignee, with respect to the rights so assigned, and the assignor, with respect to the rights not assigned, shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as the owner of the copyright, and this Act has effect accordingly.

(6) For greater certainty, it is deemed always to have been the law that a right of action for infringement of copyright may be assigned in association with the assignment of the copyright or the grant of an interest in the copyright by licence.

(7) For greater certainty, it is deemed always to have been the law that a grant of an exclusive licence in a copyright constitutes the grant of an interest in the copyright by licence.

R.S., 1985, c. C-42, s. 13; 1997, c. 24, s. 10.

14. (1) Where the author of a work is the first owner of the copyright therein, no assignment of the copyright and no grant of any interest therein, made by him, otherwise than by will, after June 4, 1921, is operative to vest in the assignee or grantee any rights with respect to the copyright in the work beyond the expiration of twenty-five years from the death of the author, and the reversionary interest in the copyright expectant on the termination of that period shall, on the death of the author, notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary, devolve on his legal representatives as part of the estate of the author, and any agreement entered into by the author as to the disposition of such reversionary interest is void.

(2) Nothing in subsection (1) shall be construed as applying to the assignment of the copyright in a collective work or a licence to publish a work or part of a work as part of a collective work.

(3) [Repealed, 1997, c. 24, s. 11]

(4) [Repealed, R.S., 1985, c. 10 (4th Supp.), s. 3]

R.S., 1985, c. C-42, s. 14; R.S., 1985, c. 10 (4th Supp.), s. 3; 1997, c. 24, s. 11.

14.01 [Repealed, 1997, c. 24, s. 12]

14.1 (1) The author of a work has, subject to section 28.2, the right to the integrity of the work and, in connection with an act mentioned in section 3, the right, where reasonable in the circumstances, to be associated with the work as its author by name or under a pseudonym and the right to remain anonymous.

(2) Moral rights may not be assigned but may be waived in whole or in part.

(3) An assignment of copyright in a work does not by that act alone constitute a waiver of any moral rights.

(4) Where a waiver of any moral right is made in favour of an owner or a licensee of copyright, it may be invoked by any person authorized by the owner or licensee to use the work, unless there is an indication to the contrary in the waiver.

R.S., 1985, c. 10 (4th Supp.), s. 4.

14.2 (1) Moral rights in respect of a work subsist for the same term as the copyright in the work.

(2) The moral rights in respect of a work pass, on the death of its author, to

(a) the person to whom those rights are specifically bequeathed;

(b) where there is no specific bequest of those moral rights and the author dies testate in respect of the copyright in the work, the person to whom that copyright is bequeathed; or

(c) where there is no person described in paragraph (a) or (b), the person entitled to any other property in respect of which the author dies intestate.

(3) Subsection (2) applies, with such modifications as the circumstances require, on the death of any person who holds moral rights.

R.S., 1985, c. 10 (4th Supp.), s. 4; 1997, c. 24, s. 13.

15. (1) Subject to subsection (2), a performer has a copyright in the performer’s performance, consisting of the sole right to do the following in relation to the performer’s performance or any substantial part thereof:

(a) if it is not fixed,

(i) to communicate it to the public by telecommunication,

(ii) to perform it in public, where it is communicated to the public by telecommunication otherwise than by communication signal, and

(iii) to fix it in any material form,

(b) if it is fixed,

(i) to reproduce any fixation that was made without the performer’s authorization,

(ii) where the performer authorized a fixation, to reproduce any reproduction of that fixation, if the reproduction being reproduced was made for a purpose other than that for which the performer’s authorization was given, and

(iii) where a fixation was permitted under Part III or VIII, to reproduce any reproduction of that fixation, if the reproduction being reproduced was made for a purpose other than one permitted under Part III or VIII, and

(c) to rent out a sound recording of it,

and to authorize any such acts.

(2) Subsection (1) applies only if the performer’s performance

(a) takes place in Canada or in a Rome Convention country;

(b) is fixed in

(i) a sound recording whose maker, at the time of the first fixation,

(A) if a natural person, was a Canadian citizen or permanent resident within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, or a citizen or permanent resident of a Rome Convention country, or

(B) if a corporation, had its headquarters in Canada or in a Rome Convention country, or

(ii) a sound recording whose first publication in such a quantity as to satisfy the reasonable demands of the public occurred in Canada or in a Rome Convention country; or

(c) is transmitted at the time of the performer’s performance by a communication signal broadcast from Canada or a Rome Convention country by a broadcaster that has its headquarters in the country of broadcast.

(3) The first publication is deemed to have occurred in a country referred to in paragraph (2)(b) notwithstanding that it in fact occurred previously elsewhere, if the interval between those two publications does not exceed thirty days.

R.S., 1985, c. C-42, s. 15; 1993, c. 44, s. 61; 1997, c. 24, s. 14; 2001, c. 27, s. 235.

16. Nothing in section 15 prevents the performer from entering into a contract governing the use of the performer’s performance for the purpose of broadcasting, fixation or retransmission.

R.S., 1985, c. C-42, s. 16; 1994, c. 47, s. 59; 1997, c. 24, s. 14.

17. (1) Where the performer authorizes the embodiment of the performer’s performance in a cinematographic work, the performer may no longer exercise, in relation to the performance where embodied in that cinematographic work, the copyright referred to in subsection 15(1).

(2) Where there is an agreement governing the embodiment referred to in subsection (1) and that agreement provides for a right to remuneration for the reproduction, performance in public or communication to the public by telecommunication of the cinematographic work, the performer may enforce that right against

(a) the other party to the agreement or, if that party assigns the agreement, the assignee, and

(b) any other person who

(i) owns the copyright in the cinematographic work governing the reproduction of the cinematographic work, its performance in public or its communication to the public by telecommunication, and

(ii) reproduces the cinematographic work, performs it in public or communicates it to the public by telecommunication,

and persons referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) are jointly and severally liable to the performer in respect of the remuneration relating to that copyright.

(3) Subsection (2) applies only if the performer’s performance is embodied in a prescribed cinematographic work.

(4) If so requested by a country that is a party to the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Minister may, by a statement published in the Canada Gazette, grant the benefits conferred by this section, subject to any terms and conditions specified in the statement, to performers who are nationals of that country or another country that is a party to the Agreement or are Canadian citizens or permanent residents within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and whose performer’s performances are embodied in works other than the prescribed cinematographic works referred to in subsection (3).

R.S., 1985, c. C-42, s. 17; 1994, c. 47, s. 59; 1997, c. 24, s. 14; 2001, c. 27, s. 236.

18. (1) Subject to subsection (2), the maker of a sound recording has a copyright in the sound recording, consisting of the sole right to do the following in relation to the sound recording or any substantial part thereof:

(a) to publish it for the first time,

(b) to reproduce it in any material form, and

(c) to rent it out,

and to authorize any such acts.

(2) Subsection (1) applies only if

(a) the maker of the sound recording was a Canadian citizen or permanent resident within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, or a citizen or permanent resident of a Berne Convention country, a Rome Convention country or a country that is a WTO Member, or, if a corporation, had its headquarters in one of the foregoing countries,

(i) at the date of the first fixation, or

(ii) if that first fixation was extended over a considerable period, during any substantial part of that period; or

(b) the first publication of the sound recording in such a quantity as to satisfy the reasonable demands of the public occurred in any country referred to in paragraph (a).

(3) The first publication is deemed to have occurred in a country referred to in paragraph (2)(a) notwithstanding that it in fact occurred previously elsewhere, if the interval between those two publications does not exceed thirty days.

R.S., 1985, c. C-42, s. 18; R.S., 1985, c. 10 (4th Supp.), s. 17(F); 1994, c. 47, s. 59; 1997, c. 24, s. 14; 2001, c. 27, s. 237.

19. (1) Where a sound recording has been published, the performer and maker are entitled, subject to section 20, to be paid equitable remuneration for its performance in public or its communication to the public by telecommunication, except for any retransmission.

(2) For the purpose of providing the remuneration mentioned in subsection (1), a person who performs a published sound recording in public or communicates it to the public by telecommunication is liable to pay royalties

(a) in the case of a sound recording of a musical work, to the collective society authorized under Part VII to collect them; or

(b) in the case of a sound recording of a literary work or dramatic work, to either the maker of the sound recording or the performer.

(3) The royalties, once paid pursuant to paragraph (2)(a) or (b), shall be divided so that

(a) the performer or performers receive in aggregate fifty per cent; and

(b) the maker or makers receive in aggregate fifty per cent.

R.S., 1985, c. C-42, s. 19; 1994, c. 47, s. 59; 1997, c. 24, s. 14.

20. (1) The right to remuneration conferred by section 19 applies only if

(a) the maker was, at the date of the first fixation, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, or a citizen or permanent resident of a Rome Convention country, or, if a corporation, had its headquarters in one of the foregoing countries; or

(b) all the fixations done for the sound recording occurred in Canada or in a Rome Convention country.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), if the Minister is of the opinion that a Rome Convention country does not grant a right to remuneration, similar in scope and duration to that provided by section 19, for the performance in public or the communication to the public of a sound recording whose maker, at the date of its first fixation, was a Canadian citizen or permanent resident within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act or, if a corporation, had its headquarters in Canada, the Minister may, by a statement published in the Canada Gazette, limit the scope and duration of the protection for sound recordings whose first fixation is done by a maker who is a citizen or permanent resident of that country or, if a corporation, has its headquarters in that country.

(3) If so requested by a country that is a party to the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Minister may, by a statement published in the Canada Gazette, grant the right to remuneration conferred by section 19 to performers or makers who are nationals of that country and whose sound recordings embody dramatic or literary works.

(4) Where a statement is published under subsection (3), section 19 applies

(a) in respect of nationals of a country mentioned in that statement, as if they were citizens of Canada or, in the case of corporations, had their headquarters in Canada; and

(b) as if the fixations made for the purpose of their sound recordings had been made in Canada.

R.S., 1985, c. C-42, s. 20; 1994, c. 47, s. 59; 1997, c. 24, s. 14; 2001, c. 27, s. 238.

21. (1) Subject to subsection (2), a broadcaster has a copyright in the communication signals that it broadcasts, consisting of the sole right to do the following in relation to the communication signal or any substantial part thereof:

(a) to fix it,

(b) to reproduce any fixation of it that was made without the broadcaster’s consent,

(c) to authorize another broadcaster to retransmit it to the public simultaneously with its broadcast, and

(d) in the case of a television communication signal, to perform it in a place open to the public on payment of an entrance fee,

and to authorize any act described in paragraph (a), (b) or (d).

(2) Subsection (1) applies only if the broadcaster

(a) at the time of the broadcast, had its headquarters in Canada, in a country that is a WTO Member or in a Rome Convention country; and