Section 77 — Copyright Act: Circumstances in which licence may be issued by Board

Where, on application to the Board by a person who wishes to obtain a licence to use a published work, a fixation of a performer’s performance, a published sound recording, or a fixation of a communication signal in which copyright subsists, the Board is satisfied that the applicant has made reasonable efforts to locate the owner of the copyright and that the owner cannot be located, the Board may issue to the applicant a licence to do an act mentioned in section 3, 15, 18 or 21, as the case may be. A licence issued under subsection (1) is non-exclusive and is subject to such terms and conditions as the Board may establish. The owner of a copyright may, not later than five years after the expiration of a licence issued pursuant to subsection (1) in respect of the copyright, collect the royalties fixed in the licence or, in default of their payment, commence an action to recover them in a court of competent jurisdiction. The Copyright Board may make regulations governing the issuance of licences under subsection (1).