Copyright Act
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 1 — Short title
This Act may be cited as the Copyright Act .
Section 2 — Definitions
In this Act, architectural work means any building or structure or any model of a building or structure; ( oeuvre architecturale ) architectural work of art [Repealed, 1993, c. 44, s. 53] artistic…
Section 2.1 — Compilations
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…
Section 2.11 — Definition of maker
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,…
Section 2.2 — Definition of publication
For the purposes of this Act, publication means in relation to works, making copies of a work available to the public, the construction of an architectural work, and the incorporation of an artistic…
Section 2.3 — Telecommunication
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…
Section 2.4 — Communication to the public by telecommunication
For the purposes of communication to the public by telecommunication, persons who occupy apartments, hotel rooms or dwelling units situated in the same building are part of the public, and a…
Section 2.5 — What constitutes rental
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, it is in…
Section 2.6 — Exclusive distributor
The Governor in Council may make regulations establishing distribution criteria for the purpose of paragraph (b) of the definition exclusive distributor in section 2.
Section 2.7 — Exclusive licence
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…
Section 3 — Copyright in works
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…
Section 4
[Repealed, 1997, c. 24, s. 4]
Section 5 — Conditions for subsistence of copyright
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…
Section 6 — Term of copyright
Except as otherwise expressly provided by this Act, the term for which copyright subsists is the life of the author, the remainder of the calendar year in which the author dies, and a period of 70…
Section 6.1 — Anonymous and pseudonymous works
Except as provided in section 6.2 and in subsection (2), where the identity of the author of a work is unknown, copyright in the work shall subsist until the end of 75 years following the end of the…
Section 6.2 — Anonymous and pseudonymous works of joint authorship
Except as provided in subsection (2), where the identity of all the authors of a work of joint authorship is unknown, copyright in the work shall subsist until the end of 75 years following the end…
Section 7 — Term of copyright in certain posthumous works
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…
Section 8
[Repealed, 1993, c. 44, s. 59]
Section 9 — Cases of joint authorship
In the case of a work of joint authorship, except as provided in section 6.2 or subsection 7(1) or (3), copyright subsists during the life of the author who dies last, for the remainder of the…
Section 10
[Repealed, 2012, c. 20, s. 6]
Section 11
[Repealed, 1997, c. 24, s. 8]
Section 11.1 — Cinematographic works
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…
Section 12 — Where copyright belongs to Her Majesty
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…
Section 13 — Ownership of copyright
Subject to this Act, the author of a work shall be the first owner of the copyright therein. [Repealed, 2012, c. 20, s. 7] Where the author of a work was in the employment of some other person under…
Section 14 — Limitation where author is first owner of copyright
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,…
Section 14.01
[Repealed, 1997, c. 24, s. 12]
Section 14.1 — Moral rights
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…
Section 14.2 — Term
Moral rights in respect of a work subsist for the same term as the copyright in the work. The moral rights in respect of a work pass, on the death of its author, to the person to whom those rights…
Section 15 — Copyright in performer’s performance
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…
Section 16 — Contractual arrangements
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.
Section 17 — Cinematographic works
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…
Section 17.1 — Moral rights
In the cases referred to in subsections 15(2.1) and (2.2), a performer of a live aural performance or a performance fixed in a sound recording has, subject to subsection 28.2(1), the right to the…
Section 17.2 — Application and term
Subsection 17.1(1) applies only in respect of a performer’s performance that occurs after the coming into force of that subsection. The moral rights subsist for the same term as the copyright in that…
Section 18 — Copyright in sound recordings
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…
Section 19 — Right to remuneration — Canada
If a sound recording has been published, the performer and maker are entitled, subject to subsection 20(1), to be paid equitable remuneration for its performance in public or its communication to the…
Section 19.1 — Deemed publication — Canada
Despite subsection 2.2(1), a sound recording that has been made available to the public by telecommunication in a way that allows a member of the public to access it from a place and at a time…
Section 19.2 — Deemed publication — WPPT country
Despite subsection 2.2(1), a sound recording that has been made available to the public by telecommunication in a way that allows a member of the public to access it from a place and at a time…
Section 20 — Conditions — Canada
The right to remuneration conferred by subsection 19(1) applies only if the maker was, at the date of the first fixation, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident within the meaning of subsection…
Section 21 — Copyright in communication signals
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…
Section 22 — Reciprocity
If the Minister is of the opinion that a country other than a Rome Convention country or a WPPT country grants or has undertaken to grant to performers and to makers of sound recordings, or to…
Section 23 — Term of copyright — performer’s performance
Subject to this Act, copyright in a performer’s performance subsists until the end of 50 years after the end of the calendar year in which the performance occurs. However, if the performance is fixed…
Section 24 — Ownership of copyright
The first owner of the copyright in a performer’s performance, is the performer; in a sound recording, is the maker; or in a communication signal, is the broadcaster that broadcasts it.
Section 25 — Assignment of rights
Subsections 13(4) to (7) apply, with such modifications as the circumstances require, in respect of the rights conferred by this Part on performers, makers of sound recordings and broadcasters.
Section 26 — Performer’s performance in WTO country
Where a performer’s performance takes place on or after January 1, 1996 in a country that is a WTO Member, the performer has, as of the date of the performer’s performance, a copyright in the…
Section 27 — Infringement generally
It is an infringement of copyright for any person to do, without the consent of the owner of the copyright, anything that by this Act only the owner of the copyright has the right to do. It is an…
Section 27.1 — Importation of books
Subject to any regulations made under subsection (6), it is an infringement of copyright in a book for any person to import the book where copies of the book were made with the consent of the owner…
Section 28
[Repealed, 1997, c. 24, s. 15]
Section 28.01
[Repealed, 1997, c. 24, s. 16]
Section 28.02 and 28.03
[Repealed, 1997, c. 24, s. 17]
Section 28.1 — Infringement generally
Any act or omission that is contrary to any of the moral rights of the author of a work or of the performer of a performer’s performance is, in the absence of the author’s or performer’s consent, an…