What Type of Work Does Canada's Copyright Act Protect

Issues related to copyright and trademark infringement may occur if someone copies, displays, or performs a protected work in a public place without seeking permission from the work’s owner. A typical example of this is plagiarism. This is when someone copies another person’s work and claims it is their own. It’s important to note that it is not the copyright agency that prevents copyright infringement. It is up to the copyright owner to police their own rights and to take action when necessary to stop it.

Before diving into copyright infringement, it is important to understand how copyright is defined. It’s common for people to confuse copyright with other forms of intellectual property such as patents, trademarks, integrated topography, and industrial designs.

• Copyright: Copyright offers protection for musical work, computer programs, artistic, performances, communication signals, and literary work.
• Patents: Provide protection for inventions which can be new or improved upon an existing invention
• Trademarks: Provide protection for brands and brand identifiers that distinguish the origin of a particular good or service from others.

Examples of what may not be protected by copyright include:

• Ideas
• Facts
• Short titles

Before registering your work, you can also search the Copyright Office for more information with regards to ownership.

You can visit this Copyrights Database by clicking here and view Canadian records that have been registered since 1991.

If you have assets that are protected under Canada’s Copyright Act, then there are a few benefits of registering for protection that you should consider. A copyright certificate may be used as evidence that copyright of your work exists, offering you protection for your work. The copyright protection for an author lasts for the remainder of the life of the author, plus an additional 50 years.

The application fees to register copyright are much lower than trademarks or patents. You can click here for the full list of copyright fees as outlined in the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.

For more questions about copyrights or intellectual property infringement, contact our trademark lawyers and agents today.