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Crown Copyright & Licensing

About Copyright

What is Copyright

Copyright is the exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish and sell a work. In other words, the Copyright Act [http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/C-42/index.html] provides copyright protection to what is referred to as “authors/creators”.

Under copyright legislation, the author/creator is the party that not only writes something, but that also takes a photograph, designs computer software, produces audiovisual materials, composes music, designs maps, or draws plans or illustrations in either paper format or other mediums.

It is important to note that the Copyright Act does not protect ideas, concepts, or themes, but that it does protect the language and words used to express such ideas, concepts and themes.

In Canada, copyright in a work comes into existence when a work is created. Under Canadian copyright legislation rights of the author/creator are protected whether or not he or she has marked the work with the standard copyright symbol “©”.

Copyright in works are divided into seven categories.