What is the Canadian Copyright Law?

A general overview of Copyright Law in Canada.

Under Canadian law, a musical work is copyrighted if its author is still living, or if the author died less than 50 years ago. If more than one author created the work, copyright extends until 50 years after the death of the last surviving author.

Under Canadian law, the “author” means both the composer of the music and the lyricist. If more than 50 years have elapsed, the work is in the public domain.

This means that there is no copyright and, in effect, no one owns it. An arrangement of a public domain work, however, is itself copyrighted for the life of the arranger plus 50 years.

The owner of a copyright has certain exclusive rights regarding the use of the musical work. This means that the owner is the only person that can reproduce (i.e. make copies of) of the work or perform it in public, and is the only person that can authorize others to do the same. If a person exercises those rights without the copyright holder’s consent, it is called an infringement of the copyright and is subject to civil and criminal proceedings.

You can find more information at www.ic.gc.ca

Pro Tip: Copyright law is different in every territory, so always make sure check your local laws.

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Disclaimer: This article is for educational and informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. The content contained in this article is not legal advice or a legal opinion on any specific matter or matters.