INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

NATIONAL LEGISLATION - CANADA

Copyright Act - Chapter C-42

27. (1) 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.

(3) In determining whether there is an infringement under subsection (2) in the case of an activity referred to in any of paragraphs (2)(a) to (d) in relation to a copy that was imported in the circumstances referred to in paragraph (2)(e), it is irrelevant whether the importer knew or should have known that the importation of the copy infringed copyright.

(4) It is an infringement of copyright for any person to make or possess a plate that has been specifically designed or adapted for the purpose of making infringing copies of a work or other subject-matter.

(5) It is an infringement of copyright for any person, for profit, to permit a theatre or other place of entertainment to be used for the performance in public of a work or other subject-matter without the consent of the owner of the copyright unless that person was not aware, and had no reasonable ground for suspecting, that the performance would be an infringement of copyright.

R.S., 1985, c. C-42, s. 27; R.S., 1985, c. 1 (3rd Supp.), s. 13, c. 10 (4th Supp.), s. 5; 1993, c. 44, s. 64; 1997, c. 24, s. 15.

27.1 (1) 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

1. copies of the book were made with the consent of the owner of the copyright in the book in the country where the copies were made, but were imported without the consent of the owner of the copyright in the book in Canada; and

2. the person knows or should have known that the book would infringe copyright if it was made in Canada by the importer.

(2) Subject to any regulations made under subsection (6), where the circumstances described in paragraph (1)(a) exist, it is an infringement of copyright in an imported book for any person who knew or should have known that the book would infringe copyright if it was made in Canada by the importer to

1. sell or rent out the book;

2. by way of trade, distribute, expose or offer for sale or rental, or exhibit in public, the book; or

3. possess the book for the purpose of any of the activities referred to in paragraph (a) or (b).

(3) Subsections (1) and (2) only apply where there is an exclusive distributor of the book and the acts described in those subsections take place in the part of Canada or in respect of the particular sector of the market for which the person is the exclusive distributor.

(4) An exclusive distributor is deemed, for the purposes of entitlement to any of the remedies under Part IV in relation to an infringement under this section, to derive an interest in the copyright in question by licence.

(5) No exclusive distributor, copyright owner or exclusive licensee is entitled to a remedy under Part IV in relation to an infringement under this section unless, before the infringement occurred, notice has been given within the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner to the person referred to in subsection (1) or (2), as the case may be, that there is an exclusive distributor of the book.

(6) The Governor in Council may, by regulation, establish terms and conditions for the importation of certain categories of books, including remaindered books, books intended solely for re-export and books imported by special order.

28.1 Any act or omission that is contrary to any of the moral rights of the author of a work is, in the absence of consent by the author, an infringement of the moral rights.

28.2 (1) The author's right to the integrity of a work is infringed only if the work is, to the prejudice of the honour or reputation of the author,

1. distorted, mutilated or otherwise modified; or

2. used in association with a product, service, cause or institution.

(2) In the case of a painting, sculpture or engraving, the prejudice referred to in subsection (1) shall be deemed to have occurred as a result of any distortion, mutilation or other modification of the work.

29. Fair dealing for the purpose of research or private study does not infringe copyright.

R.S., 1985, c. C-42, s. 29; R.S., 1985, c. 10 (4th Supp.), s. 7; 1994, c. 47, s. 61; 1997, c. 24, s. 18.

29.1 Fair dealing for the purpose of criticism or review does not infringe copyright if the following are mentioned:

1. the source; and

2. if given in the source, the name of the

   1. author, in the case of a work,

   2. performer, in the case of a performer's performance,

   3. maker, in the case of a sound recording, or

   4. broadcaster, in the case of a communication signal.

29.2 Fair dealing for the purpose of news reporting does not infringe copyright if the following are mentioned:

1. the source; and

2. if given in the source, the name of the

   1. author, in the case of a work,

   2. performer, in the case of a performer's performance,

   3. maker, in the case of a sound recording, or

   4. broadcaster, in the case of a communication signal.

29.3 (1) No action referred to in section 29.4, 29.5, 30.2 or 30.21 may be carried out with motive of gain.

(2) An educational institution, library, archive or museum, or person acting under its authority does not have a motive of gain where it or the person acting under its authority, does anything referred to in section 29.4, 29.5, 30.2 or 30.21 and recovers no more than the costs, including overhead costs, associated with doing that act.

29.4 (1) It is not an infringement of copyright for an educational institution or a person acting under its authority

1. to make a manual reproduction of a work onto a dry-erase board, flip chart or other similar surface intended for displaying handwritten material, or

2. to make a copy of a work to be used to project an image of that copy using an overhead projector or similar device
   

(2) It is not an infringement of copyright for an educational institution or a person acting under its authority to

1. reproduce, translate or perform in public on the premises of the educational institution, or

2. communicate by telecommunication to the public situated on the premises of the educational institution a work or other subject-matter as required for a test or examination.

(3) Except in the case of manual reproduction, the exemption from copyright infringement provided by paragraph (1)(b) and subsection (2) does not apply if the work or other subject-matter is commercially available in a medium that is appropriate for the purpose referred to in that paragraph or subsection, as the case may be.

29.5 It is not an infringement of copyright for an educational institution or a person acting under its authority to do the following acts if they are done on the premises of an educational institution for educational or training purposes and not for profit, before an audience consisting primarily of students of the educational institution, instructors acting under the authority of the educational institution or any person who is directly responsible for setting a curriculum for the educational institution:

1. the live performance in public, primarily by students of the educational institution, of a work;

2. the performance in public of a sound recording or of a work or performer's performance that is embodied in a sound recording; and

3. the performance in public of a work or other subject-matter at the time of its communication to the public by telecommunication.

29.5 to 29.7 do not apply where the communication to the public by telecommunication was received by unlawful means.

30. The publication in a collection, mainly composed of non-copyright matter, intended for the use of educational institutions, and so described in the title and in any advertisements issued by the publisher, of short passages from published literary works in which copyright subsists and not themselves published for the use of educational institutions, does not infringe copyright in those published literary works if

1. not more than two passages from works by the same author are published by the same publisher within five years;

2. the source from which the passages are taken is acknowledged; and

3. the name of the author, if given in the source, is mentioned.

R.S., 1985, c. C-42, s. 30; R.S., 1985, c. 10 (4th Supp.), s. 7; 1997, c. 24, s. 18.

30.4 For greater certainty, the exceptions to infringement of copyright provided for under sections 29.4 to 30.3 and 45 also apply in respect of a library, archive or museum that forms part of an educational institution.

30.5 The National Archives of Canada may

1. make a copy of a recording, as defined in section 8 of the National Archives Act, for the purposes of that section; and

2. at the time that a broadcasting undertaking, within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Broadcasting Act, communicates a work or other subject-matter to the public by telecommunication, make a copy for archival purposes of the work or other subject-matter that is included in that communication.

30.6 It is not an infringement of copyright in a computer program for a person who owns a copy of the computer program that is authorized by the owner of the copyright to

1. make a single reproduction of the copy by adapting, modifying or converting the computer program or translating it into another computer language if the person proves that the reproduced copy is

   1. essential for the compatibility of the computer program with a particular computer,

   2. solely for the person's own use, and

   3. destroyed immediately after the person ceases to be the owner of the copy; or

2. make a single reproduction for backup purposes of the copy or of a reproduced copy referred to in paragraph (a) if the person proves that the reproduction for backup purposes is destroyed immediately when the person ceases to be the owner of the copy of the computer program.

31. (1) In this section,

"retransmitter" does not include a person who uses Hertzian waves to retransmit a signal but does not perform a function comparable to that of a cable retransmission system;

"signal" means a signal that carries a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work and is transmitted for free reception by the public by a terrestrial radio or terrestrial television station.

(2) It is not an infringement of copyright to communicate to the public by telecommunication any literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work if

1. the communication is a retransmission of a local or distant signal;

2. the retransmission is lawful under the Broadcasting Act;

3. the signal is retransmitted simultaneously and in its entirety, except as otherwise required or permitted by or under the laws of Canada; and

4. in the case of the retransmission of a distant signal, the retransmitter has paid any royalties, and complied with any terms and conditions, fixed under this Act.

(3) The Governor in Council may make regulations defining "local signal" and "distant signal" for the purposes of this section.

R.S., 1985, c. C-42, s. 31; R.S., 1985, c. 10 (4th Supp.), s. 7; 1988, c. 65, s. 63; 1997, c. 24, ss. 16, 52(F).

32. (1) It is not an infringement of copyright for a person, at the request of a person with a perceptual disability, or for a non-profit organization acting for his or her benefit, to

1. make a copy or sound recording of a literary, musical, artistic or dramatic work, other than a cinematographic work, in a format specially designed for persons with a perceptual disability;

2. translate, adapt or reproduce in sign language a literary or dramatic work, other than a cinematographic work, in a format specially designed for persons with a perceptual disability; or

3. perform in public a literary or dramatic work, other than a cinematographic work, in sign language, either live or in a format specially designed for persons with a perceptual disability.

(3) Subsection (1) does not apply where the work or sound recording is commercially available in a format specially designed to meet the needs of any person referred to in that subsection, within the meaning of paragraph (a) of the definition "commercially available".

R.S., 1985, c. C-42, s. 32; R.S., 1985, c. 10 (4th Supp.), s. 7; 1997, c. 24, s. 19.

32.1 (1) It is not an infringement of copyright for any person

1. to disclose, pursuant to the Access to Information Act, a record within the meaning of that Act, or to disclose, pursuant to any like Act of the legislature of a province, like material;

2. to disclose, pursuant to the Privacy Act, personal information within the meaning of that Act, or to disclose, pursuant to any like Act of the legislature of a province, like information;

3. to make a copy of an object referred to in section 14 of the Cultural Property Export and Import Act, for deposit in an institution pursuant to a direction under that section; and

4. to make a fixation or copy of a work or other subject-matter in order to comply with the Broadcasting Act or any rule, regulation or other instrument made under it.

(2) Nothing in paragraph (1)(a) or (b) authorizes a person to whom a record or information is disclosed to do anything that, by this Act, only the owner of the copyright in the record, personal information or like information, as the case may be, has a right to do.

(3) Unless the Broadcasting Act otherwise provides, a person who makes a fixation or copy under paragraph (1)(d) shall destroy it immediately on the expiration of the period for which it must be kept pursuant to that Act, rule, regulation or other instrument.

32.2 (1) It is not an infringement of copyright

1. for an author of an artistic work who is not the owner of the copyright in the work to use any mould, cast, sketch, plan, model or study made by the author for the purpose of the work, if the author does not thereby repeat or imitate the main design of the work;

2. for any person to reproduce, in a painting, drawing, engraving, photograph or cinematographic work

   1. an architectural work, provided the copy is not in the nature of an architectural drawing or plan, or

   2. a sculpture or work of artistic craftsmanship or a cast or model of a sculpture or work of artistic craftsmanship, that is permanently situated in a public place or building;

3. for any person to make or publish, for the purposes of news reporting or news summary, a report of a lecture given in public, unless the report is prohibited by conspicuous written or printed notice affixed before and maintained during the lecture at or about the main entrance of the building in which the lecture is given, and, except while the building is being used for public worship, in a position near the lecturer;

4. for any person to read or recite in public a reasonable extract from a published work; or

5. for any person to make or publish, for the purposes of news reporting or news summary, a report of an address of a political nature given at a public meeting.

(2) It is not an infringement of copyright for a person to do any of the following acts without motive of gain at any agricultural or agricultural-industrial exhibition or fair that receives a grant from or is held by its directors under federal, provincial or municipal authority:

1. the live performance in public of a musical work;

2. the performance in public of a sound recording embodying a musical work or a performer's performance of a musical work; or

3. the performance in public of a communication signal carrying

   1. the live performance in public of a musical work, or

   2. a sound recording embodying a musical work or a performer's performance of a musical work.

(3) No religious organization or institution, educational institution and no charitable or fraternal organization shall be held liable to pay any compensation for doing any of the following acts in furtherance of a religious, educational or charitable object:

1. the live performance in public of a musical work;

2. the performance in public of a sound recording embodying a musical work or a performer's performance of a musical work; or

3. the performance in public of a communication signal carrying

   1. the live performance in public of a musical work, or

   2. a sound recording embodying a musical work or a performer's performance of

      a musical work.

32.3 For the purposes of sections 29 to 32.2, an act that does not infringe copyright does not give rise to a right to remuneration conferred by section 19.

32.4 (1) Notwithstanding section 27, where a person has, before the later of January 1, 1996 and the day on which a country becomes a WTO member, incurred an expenditure or liability in connection with, or in preparation for, the doing of an act that would have infringed copyright under section 26 commencing on the later of those days, had that country been a WTO member, any right or interest of that person that

1. arises from or in connection with the doing of that act, and

2. is subsisting and valuable on the later of those days

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), a person's right or interest that is protected by that subsection terminates if and when the owner of the copyright pays that person such compensation as is agreed to between the parties or, failing agreement, as is determined by the Board in accordance with section 78.

(3) Nothing in subsections (1) and (2) affects any right of a performer available in law or equity.

32.5 (1) Notwithstanding section 27, where a person has, before the later of the coming into force of Part II and the day on which a country becomes a Rome Convention country, incurred an expenditure or liability in connection with, or in preparation for, the doing of an act that would have infringed copyright under section 15 or 21 commencing on the later of those days, had Part II been in force or had that country been a Rome Convention country, any right or interest of that person that

1. arises from or in connection with the doing of that act, and

2. is subsisting and valuable on the later of those days

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), a person's right or interest that is protected by that subsection terminates if and when the owner of the copyright pays that person such compensation as is agreed to between the parties or, failing agreement, as is determined by the Board in accordance with section 78.

(3) Nothing in subsections (1) and (2) affects any right of a performer available in law or equity.

33. (1) Notwithstanding subsections 27(1), (2) and (4) and sections 27.1, 28.1 and 28.2, where a person has, before the later of January 1, 1996 and the day on which a country becomes a treaty country, incurred an expenditure or liability in connection with, or in preparation for, the doing of an act that would have infringed a copyright owner's copyright or an author's moral rights had that country been a treaty country, any right or interest of that person that

1. arises from or in connection with the doing of that act, and

2. is subsisting and valuable on the latest of those days
   

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), a person's right or interest that is protected by that subsection terminates, as against the copyright owner or author, if and when that copyright owner or the author, as the case may be, pays that person such compensation as is agreed to between the parties or, failing agreement, as is determined by the Board in accordance with section 78.

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