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Government of Canada:
Communicators Conference 2003

You asked us : Questions and Answers
Wednesday, May 27, 2003
Session leader : Christiane Séguin
Director, Publishing and Depository Services
Communication Canada

• Crown copyright
• Publishing process
• Role of the DSP
• Access to information
• Communications Policy
• Electronic documents
• Co-publishing
• Delegation of publishing
• Other topics

Crown copyright

Q - When you hire a contractor to write the text of a publication, who owns the copyright?

A - Section 12 of the Copyright Act states " 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 copyright in the work shall, subject to any agreement with the author, belong to Her Majesty "

All contractual documents related to the creation of a new work should clearly define who owns copyright in the finished work.

Government of Canada departments or agencies can obtain more information about ownership of copyright in the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's Policy on Title to Intellectual Property Arising Under Crown Procurement Contracts, which is available at the following address:

http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/dcgpubs/Contracting/tipaucpc_e.asp

Q - How long must a former employee wait before being able to write, for example, an insider's account of something in GoC without being sued?

A - It is not a copyright issue whereby a former employee wishes to write a document on a subject related to GoC. However, if the former employee wishes to use an existing document, copyright clearance must be secured before using this document.

Q - How do we manage/assign copyright to a publication/CD-ROM/video produced under a private/public sector partnership, i.e. private sector industry partner, science museum, govt. dept? May each promote and accept royalties separately or individually? May departments retain royalties or are they returned to the Receiver General?

A - The management of copyright should comply with the terms and conditions established by the contract or the agreement between the parties.

The assignment of Crown copyright works in the federal government must be done in accordance with the Surplus Crown Assets Act, or an Order-in-Council must be obtained that permits the transfer. Departments or agencies might wish to consult with their legal services before entering into such arrangements with other private or public sector entities.

It is beneficial to all the parties involved to determine who will manage the receipt of royalties. When royalties are payable to the Government of Canada, payment is normally returned to the Receiver General of Canada. Departments and agencies that wish to retain payment of royalties must ensure that they have the authority to receive these payments under the terms of the Financial Administration Act. This information may also be obtained from the department or agency's financial services.

Q - What about copyright of images and photographic works to be used in publications and Web sites? Do standard formats exist?

A - The same rules of copyright apply to the use of images and photographic works as to works produced in other existing formats.

Government of Canada departments and agencies who wish to use images and photographs belonging to a third party must ensure that written permission is obtained from the copyright holder before such work is used in Government of Canada publications and Web sites.

Technically, Government of Canada departments or agencies are not required to seek permission to reproduce the work of other departments or agencies since we are all considered part of the "Crown". However, because images and photographic works found in Government of Canada works are subject to copyrights held by third parties, some restrictions on the reproduction of these materials may apply and it may be necessary to seek permission from the third party rights holder prior to reproduction of the material in question.

Q - What do public servants need to know about Crown copyright?

A - Under Section 12 of the Copyright Act, copyright belongs automatically to the Crown for all works created by, for or under the direction of the Government of Canada, unless a legal agreement has been signed that specifies otherwise.

The term of Crown copyright begins on the date of publication of the work, i.e. the date when the work is made available to the public, and for a period of fifty years following the end of that calendar year.

While the Government of Canada may own copyright in a work, the creator of the work retains moral rights in the work (if these moral rights have not been waived).

With few exceptions, permission must be sought and received before any Crown copyright work can be reproduced.

The reproduction of a Crown copyright work without permission is an infringement of the rights granted under the Copyright Act.

For your information, the following documents on Crown copyright are also available:

• The Copyright Act (specifically Section 12)
• The Communications Policy of the Government of Canada

Q - Where a government scientist publishes an article in a scientific publication (a peer-reviewed journal) and that journal has a policy where it requires the author to transfer copyright to the journal, how does/should that scientist's department (and, by default) the Government of Canada respond?

A - Neither the employee(s) nor the department or the agency that created the work has the authority to transfer the copyright to any other party. If a Government of Canada employee agrees to a transfer of copyright, such agreement has no validity under the law.

Government of Canada institutions that wish to transfer copyright in any of their works to a third party must act in accordance with the provisions of the Surplus Crown Assets Act, or must obtain an Order-in-Council that permits the transfer. Institutions must also consult with their legal services before entering into such arrangements with other private or public sector entities.

Q - From a practical standpoint, how would I in PWGSC go about copyrighting a publication? Do I start with someone internally or contact someone in your area?

A - For works produced and published by or for the Government of Canada, it is recommended that the copyright symbol "©", followed by a copyright and instruction notice be placed on all works, regardless of format. The following copyright notices are recommended to Government of Canada departments and agencies, with a few exceptions:

Paid publications
"© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Public Works and Government Services (year);

Free publications
© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of (Legal Name of Department/Agency) (year)."

The following example is one of several instruction notices available to the Government of Canada departments and agencies.

"All rights reserved. No part of this information (publication or product) may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system, without prior written permission of the Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1M4"

By affixing a copyright and an instruction notice to a work effectively ensures that the reader is aware that copyright exists and the organization(s) to which copyright belongs. It also gives the reader vital information as to whom they should request permission in the case of a reproduction or other end-use.

Publishing process

Q - Where does the intellectual property fit into the publishing process?

A - There are five kinds of intellectual property: copyright, trademark, patent, industrial design and integrated circuit topographies. Copyright provides legal protection for literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, sound recordings, performances, and communications signals.

Government of Canada works are automatically protected under the Copyright Act (unless otherwise specified) for a period that begins on the date of publication of the work, and for a period of fifty years following the end of that calendar year. The work falls into the public domain when the term of copyright expires, which means that everyone may use this work without permission.

Q - Who do we contact for more information about the publishing process (i.e. getting our publications listed on your site)?

A - Contact Gay Lepkey (613) 943-1389.

Q - What is the role of the Departmental Publishing officer?

A - The Publishing Officer plans, manages and coordinates publications products and services for federal government departments and agencies. Most often the officer is the lead coordinator and manages publications from the beginning and throughout the lifespan of the product. The officer also provides expert guidance and advice to clients on all publications related matters.

Q - Are there guidelines available to the GoC community about what publications require an ISSN or ISBN?

A - For ISSN information visit :

http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/6/13/index-e.html
http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/6/13/index-f.html

For ISBN information visit:

http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/ISBN/isbn-e.html
http://dsp-psd.tpsgc.gc.ca/ISBN/isbn-f.html

Q - Is a departmental catalogue number sufficient for free pamphlets/brochures/posters?

A - Both ISBN's and catalogue numbers are applied to pamphlets and brochures; posters usually require only a catalogue number with the exception of those posters that use a large amount of text (rather than images) as a means of conveying information (e.g., The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms)

Q - Does a printed publication and a publication on the Internet have the same ISBN?

A - No. All publication formats (print, large print, Braille, CD-ROM, HTML, PDF etc.) should have separate Catalogue numbers and ISBN's.

Q - What about consultation documents with a short shelf life, should these be distributed with an ISBN?

A - If these documents are published (i.e., distributed to the public in print or in electronic format on a publicly accessible Web server), and have an identifiable author and title, then they should have a Catalogue Number and an ISBN.

Q - Do I still need to get an ISBN number if it has internal or limited outside distribution?

A - No.

Q - How does one identify an Internet publication with an ISBN no.? Internet 56789...?

A - This is a difficult issue that is still being discussed by National libraries and other central bibliographic control agencies. The central question is how to do distinguish between a Web "publication" and every other type of Web page (e.g., splash pages, contact pages, etc.). Dynamically generated Web content also poses problems. Additionally, all of these Web products fit the standard definition of a hard-copy publication. Tentatively then, some desirable features of a Web publication are: stability (e.g. static html, pdf format, no evidence of continual modification and / or updates), clearly stated author and title; table of contents; bibliography; control numbers (ISBN, GoC Catalogue number; author agency catalogue number).

Role of the DSP

Q - When you say 92% of Canadians live near a Depository library, how many kilometers is "near"?

A - 50 kilometers.

Q - What is the DSP's role and how does it affect the distributing of products by an authoring department?

A - The DSP is responsible for supplying GoC Catalogue numbers and ISBN's before publication. This process includes the creation of a catalogue record in the central Publications database. Following the actual publication, the catalogue record is updated, QA'd and made available to the public via the Government of Canada Publications Web site and on the Weekly Checklist of Canadian Government Publications (WCL). The WCL is distributed to a network of about 900 depository libraries in Canada and abroad and to all Members of Parliament and Senators. Depository libraries may select available publications from the WCL and subsequently receive them free of charge. This brings about a wide, regional distribution of author agency publications that ultimately includes professional support services (e.g., reference services), long term preservation and public access. It is estimated that the annual aggregate value of these support services for Canadian Federal Government publications that are provided by depository libraries to the Canadian public amount to $90 million. The cost to author agencies amounts to the cost of supplying copies to the DSP for distribution. The quantities normally requested by the DSP for this purpose are in the range of 150-350 in English or Bilingual and 45-120 in French, depending upon the anticipated audience for them. The DSP also acquires catalogues and makes available electronic editions of Government publications whenever possible. Collectively, these activities form part of an "information safety-net" for Government information for the Canadian public.

Q - Why do we have to give so many copies to the DSP? (I remember an example a few years back where we had to give several copies depending on quantity printed [%]. The budget was not there to give away hundreds of copies that we never found out what happened to at the other end)

A - The DSP has about 52 Full depositories which automatically receive all publications distributed by the program. These institutions are mainly the large academic libraries and the large central public library systems. There are about 850 selective depositories which must order their publications from the WCL on a weekly basis. These institutions typically have limited or special collections and clientele and they order publications accordingly. Consequentially, not all selective depositories order everything all of the time. The DSP requests from author agencies about 150-350 copies in English or Bilingual editions and 45-120 copies in French editions, depending upon the anticipated audience for them. DSP distribution history and staff experience provide a reliable authority for estimating the number of copies required for a given title.

Author agencies with limited publication budgets may negotiate the number of quantities with the DSP, but supplying the DSP with copies is a requirement under the TB Communication Policy. Therefore, author agencies should take this requirement into consideration during pre-publication planning.

Q - Is there a standard amount of publications that must be sent to the Depository program and does this change based on the type of publication?

A - See the response to the two previous questions.

Access to information

Q - If a government department must ensure that all documents are sent to the Government Depository, is it also necessary to send a copy to Communication Canada? Does this comply with Access to Information?

A - Author agencies must send two copies of all publications to the National Library of Canada in order to meet legal deposit legislation requirements. In addition, author agencies are required under Treasury Board Communication Policy to supply the DSP with copies for distribution as outlined above. No other copies need to be sent to Communication Canada.

Q - How can the general public access a work if they only know the subject?

A - There are a number of possibilities for subject access to Canadian Government information. The Publications database (http://publications.gc.ca) offers a thesaurus-assisted search whereby a searcher selects a subject descriptor from the thesaurus and then carries out a search on the subject field of publication records in the database. Alternately, a keyword search can be carried out on the title and subject fields via the "Search for publication" button. A wider keyword search can be carried on the Canada Site and a subject search can also be carried on the National Library's AMICUS database. Subject searches can also be done on departmental websites. Statistics Canada also offers a thesaurus-assisted search of its Web sites and databases.

Communications Policy

Q - What do new entrants into the communications community need to know about the Communications Policy?

A - They should familiarize themselves with the policy as a whole in order to ensure that communications across the Government of Canada are well coordinated, and responsive to the diverse information needs of the public.

Q - What is the difference between a "publication" and an "advertisement"? Does the GoC Communications Policy make this distinction?

A - For Canadian Government Publishing the definition of a "publication" is a physical entity on or in which information (Intellectual content) is written, recorded, stored or reproduced, which is capable of being read or otherwise perceived that is issued to the general public with or without charge. Publications exist in a wide range of formats, including books, brochures, pamphlets, periodicals, printed sheets such as maps, charts, prints, etc., audio recordings, video recordings, films, microforms, CD-ROM's, diskettes, and electronic documents, regardless of file types.

All messages that aim to promote a service or a product are considered an "advertisement". This can be delivered through different mediums such as writing, imagery, broadcasting and electronic. These definitions may vary from one organization to another.

The Communications Policy does not specifically make the distinction between a "publication" and an "advertisement". However, you may refer to Section 23 of the policy for additional information on Advertising.

Q - Is there access to a presentation (deck) that provides a good synopsis of Communications Policy items in plain language for federal public servants?

A - Not to our knowledge, but you may wish to contact Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat for additional information.

Electronic documents

Q - When a document has a lot of tables/charts, must it be in HTML format or is PDF sufficient?

A - Under Common Look & Feel guidelines, Web publications must be in static html as a primary publication format. Other file formats may be made available as alternates once the html requirement is met.

Q - We publish data in a database. Would you consider a database a publication?

A - No

Co-publishing

Q - Is there a coordinating body, central resource, to assist with exploring co-publishing ventures?

A - Yes, it is the responsibility of the Publishing Programs Section of Canadian Government Publishing under Communication Canada.

Q - Do co-publishers share copyright? If so, what happens if there is a disagreement regarding use of their publication?

A - In co-publishing projects, the Crown retains copyright of the work while co-publishers, are in general, granted a sole license for 3-5 years.

Delegation of publishing

Q - Explain delegation of publishing in general.

A - The Minister of PWGSC may grant a special delegation of purchasing authority for publishing, provided that copies of any publications published under this delegation are provided, at no cost, to the Depository Services Program, as per the requirements of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat Policy.

Note: Excluded from the printing and publishing delegations are some authorities which remain the sole responsibility of the Minister of Public Works and Government Services. These are the publication of the Statutes of Canada, the Canada Gazette and other mandatory publications as outlined in the corresponding Communications Policy Procedures for planning and producing publications for sale. Also excluded are the co-publishing services and the administration of Crown copyright.

These delegations do not give the delegated minister the authority to act as a publisher for other organizations or for material from other organizations.

Other topics

Q - Is it cheaper to buy directly or to go through a bookstore?

A - The cost of publications is the same whether you buy directly from us or go through a bookstore.

Q - If a researcher writes a book and a company publishes it and makes money, is that O.K.?

A - Yes, generally a private company may publish a book and make a profit. However, the terms and conditions of each publishing project may vary and would have to be assessed individually.

Q - Is a paid print ad a publication?

A - No, however it does constitute a form of advertising. Please refer to Section 23 of the Communications Policy on "Advertising".