First, if you need to enforce your copyright as part of a legal action against an alleged infringer, the copyright registration can be used as evidence against the infringing party alleging „innocent infringement.“ An „innocent infringer“ can argue in court that he had no knowledge of any copyright in the infringing work because of the lack of registration. Courts will generally impose less severe penalties if the offender is effectively found to be an „innocent infringer.“ In the simplest sense, „copyright“ means „right to copy.“ In general, copyright means the exclusive right to produce or reproduce a work or a substantial part thereof in any form. It includes the right to perform or, in the case of a conference, to deliver the work or a substantial part thereof. If the work is not published, copyright includes the right to publish the work or a substantial part of it. We discuss some exceptions below, but there are other exceptions as well. If you need clarity on the duration of copyright in a particular work, you should use the services of a lawyer who is knowledgeable in the field of intellectual property. An assignment occurs when a copyright owner transfers all or part of his rights to another party. The assignment may be made for the entire term of the copyright or for a specific part of it. An original work is usually automatically protected by copyright upon its creation. It is automatic for anyone living in Canada and extends to most other countries. As a rule, the author of the work is the first owner of the copyright. However, if the author creates copyrighted works as part of a job, the employer is the owner, unless otherwise specified in the employment contract. Marking a work with the copyright symbol is not mandatory under Canadian copyright law, but some other countries require it.
The marking consists of the symbol ©, the name of the copyright holder, and the year of first publication. Although there is no international copyright registration system, there are international treaties and conventions such as the Berne Convention and the WIPO Copyright Treaty that can extend copyright protection to foreign jurisdictions without the need to register copyright. These international treaties require members to recognize the copyright of authors and rights holders from other signatory states as if the work had been created in the member`s jurisdiction. The Copyright Act states that a certificate of copyright registration is proof that the copyright exists and that the registered person is the owner. However, the Copyright Office is not responsible for monitoring or examining registered works and their use. Nor can it guarantee that the legitimacy of ownership or the originality of a work will never be questioned. The copyright owner is usually the author of the work, the creator`s employer, or any other person (natural or legal person) who acquired ownership through a transfer of ownership such as an assignment. Copyright is valid until the expiration of a period of 50 years after the end of the calendar year in which the service takes place. If the performance is incorporated into a sound recording before the copyright expires, the copyright remains in force for 50 years after the end of the calendar year in which the performance is first recorded.
If the phonogram is published before the copyright expires, the copyright continues to exist until 50 years after the end of the calendar year in which the first publication takes place or 99 years after the end of the calendar year in which the performance takes place, whichever is earlier. A copyrighted work is an original literary, artistic, musical and/or dramatic work. Copyright generally applies to the life of the author plus an additional 50 years. By exploiting your copyright, you have the exclusive right to prevent another person from reproducing your work. A trademark is defined as a word, symbol or design used to distinguish the goods or services of one person or organization from those of others in the marketplace. This is different from a trade name, which is essentially the name under which you operate your business. If you have other general questions about copyright: It is important to note that you must be protected separately in other countries. If you want to do business in other countries and want to obtain exclusive design rights in those countries, you must keep your design secret until all design applications have been filed worldwide.
Copyright is valid for up to 50 years after the end of the calendar year in which the work was first registered. If the sound recording is published before the copyright expires, the copyright remains in force for 50 years after the end of the calendar year in which the first publication takes place. A registered trademark is a registered trademark that is registered in the trademark register. You are not required to register your trademark, as its use for a period of time gives you common law ownership. Nevertheless, it is highly recommended. For example, registration gives you the exclusive right to use the trademark anywhere in Canada for 15 years. It is also a valuable asset for business expansion through franchises. You can submit your copyright application to CIPO electronically, by mail or by fax. Applications submitted electronically pay a fee of $50 (CAD), while a fee of $65 (CAD) will be charged for each application submitted by mail or fax. Second, the registration can be presented in court as evidence that copyright exists and that the owner is the owner of the work. The Registration and incorporation of businesses section provides information on how to name and register your business in Canada. If you have a question about copyright tariffs and tariff procedures: The Copyright Board of Canada is the regulator that sets royalties for the use of copyrighted works when the administration of that copyright has been delegated to a collecting society.
The Board may also monitor agreements or licences between users and licensors and issue licences if a copyright owner cannot be located. The National Research Council of Canada offers an Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) to help Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises improve their ability to innovate and, as a result, create new, cost-effective products, processes or services. No, Canadian copyright laws do not require a work to bear the copyright symbol (©) in order for the work to be protected. Nevertheless, there may be some benefits to marking your works with the copyright symbol. For example, the copyright symbol serves as a deterrent and reminder that copyright is claimed in the work. In the event of a lawsuit, the copyright symbol could also be used as evidence of „innocent infringement.“ Since there are some jurisdictions where works must be marked, it may be a safer option to mark works with the copyright symbol if they are used online or in a foreign jurisdiction. Customer lists and customer data can be valuable business assets that are protected as trade secrets. There is no way to register your trade secrets, but in order to maintain their commercial value, trade secrets must remain secret. The copyright owner is generally the performer in the case of a performance, the producer in the case of a sound recording (the person who arranges for the first recording of sounds), the broadcaster who broadcasts the communication signal in the case of a communication signal, or any other person who has acquired ownership through a transfer of ownership such as an assignment. For more information on intellectual property, please contact CIPO`s Client Service Centre or one of the regional business development officers. You can obtain copyright registration by filing an application with the appropriate fee. Secret formulas can be valuable business assets.
The Coca-Cola recipe, the colonel`s secret recipe for KFC or the ingredients of the WD-40 are valuable trade secrets. In general, copyright applies to the life of the author, to the remainder of the calendar year in which the author dies, and for 50 years after the end of that calendar year. Therefore, protection expires on December 31 of the 50th year after the death of the author. Here`s an example: If your company name is GoTax Ltd. and you sell tax software under the GoTax brand, GoTax is your brand. This guide explores what copyright is, the copyright registration process in Canada, and the benefits of registration. Copyright is sometimes confused with patents, trademarks, industrial designs and topographies of integrated circuits. Like copyright, these are other rights that are granted for intellectual creativity and are forms of intellectual property. However, there are important differences: a broadcaster holds copyright in the communication signal it broadcasts if it is established in Canada, a WTO Member or a Rome Convention country and broadcasts the communication signal from that country.