In most cases, the author of the work is the initial owner of the copyright. The most prominent exception to this rule is that copyright in works created in the course of employment initially belongs to the employer unless there is an agreement to the contrary. In the case of an independent contractor or consultant, it is necessary to stipulate ownership of the copyright in a written agreement. The existence of a copyright gives the copyright holder an exclusive right to use, publish, produce, reproduce, translate, broadcast or adapt the copyright works; to perform or cause them to be performed in public; and to give the right to others to exercise any of those rights and commercially exploit the work covered by the copyright. The Copyright Act was amended, effective on December 30, 2022, to extend the term of copyright protection in Canada in accordance with CUSMA. As a result, copyright now generally exists in Canada for the life of the author plus 70 years following the end of the year of the author’s death. Different criteria are applied to determine the duration of copyright in certain types of works, such as posthumous works and jointly authored works. In addition to the rights mentioned above, the Copyright Act gives authors certain moral rights. These include the right of an author or creator to claim authorship of the work and the right of integrity of the work – that is, the right to restrain any distortion or modification of the work that prejudices the integrity or reputation of the creator. Moral rights exist for the same term as copyright in the work. They belong to the author alone and may not be assigned, although they may be waived in whole or in part. The assignment of copyright in a work does not by itself constitute a waiver of any moral right.
The Copyright Act also establishes a regulatory framework for the collective administration of performing rights, including a compulsory licensing scheme to collect royalties for distribution of a work to the public by telecommunications media. Infringement of copyrights can give rise to criminal sanctions, fines and civil actions for relief, including an injunction, damages (including statutory damages), an accounting of profits resulting from the infringement, and punitive damages. Marking of copyright material is not essential in Canada, but is advisable as it may provide additional protection and rights to its owner in litigation. Generally, copyright exists in Canada for the life of the author plus 70 years following the end of the year of the author’s death.
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Doing Business in Canada
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