owner of a restored copyright could file an
the copyright owner sends you an NIE
NIE with the U.S. Copyright Office or send
directly. Alternatively, you may stop
it directly to the reliance party. As of today,
using the work or obtain permission
however, the NIE must be sent directly to
from the copyright owner to continue
the reliance party. The Copyright Office
using it.
no longer accepts NIEs. NIEs can be sent
The copyright owners have until the end
to reliance parties until the end of the U.S.
of the copyright term of the restored work
copyright term for the restored work. After
to file the notice. After that date, the U.S.
that date, the U.S. copyright expires and the
copyright expires and the work reenters the
public domain.
work reenters the public domain.
CHAPTER 12 | INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT PROTECTION | 335
NIEs must:
system. You must use the paper registration
• be signed by the owner or the owner’s
forms the Copyright Office specifically
agent (if signed by an agent, the agency designed for GATT registrations. They are:
relationship must have been set forth
• Form GATT, used to register individual
in writing and signed by the owner
restored works and restored works
before sending the notice)
published under a single series title, and
• identify the restored work and the work
• Form GATT/CON, a page providing
in which the restored work is used, if any
additional space that may be used with
• include an English translation of the
either of the GATT application forms.
title and any other alternative titles
The forms may be downloaded from the
known to the owner
Copyright Office website at www.copyright.
• identify the use or uses of the restored
gov.
work by the reliance party to which the
One copy of each restored work must
owner objects—for example, unauthor- be submitted along with the registration
ized publication and distribution of the application. This is cal ed a copyright deposit.
work, and
Normal y, the deposit must be the first
• provide an address and telephone
published version of a work. (See Chapter
number at which the reliance party
3, “Copyright Registration.”) However,
may contact the owner.
because some applicants may have difficulty
There is no Copyright Office form for
submitting a deposit of an older work as first
such a notice. You can simply draft a letter
published, the Copyright Office permits
containing the required information.
a deposit of other than the first published
edition of the work, if absolutely necessary.
Registering restored works with
This can be either a reprint of the original
U.S. Copyright Office
work, a photocopy of the first edition, or
It is not necessary to register a foreign work
a revised version including substantial
to bring a copyright infringement action
copyright from the restored work with a
in the United States. However, registration
statement of the percentage of the restored
is al owed, and doing so results in the
work appearing in the revision. No deposit
important benefits of being able to obtain
need be made for works previously registered
statutory damages and attorneys’ fees in a
with the Copyright Office.
successful infringement suit. (See Chapter 3.)
The filing fee for registering a single work
You can’t register restored works using
or group of works published under a single
the Copyright Office’s online registration
series title is $85.
336 | THE COPYRIGHT HANDBOOK
All GATT applications for registration
As in the United States, copyright
should be sent to:
protection does not extend to ideas or
Library of Congress, Copyright Office
facts, only to the way they are expressed
101 Independence Avenue, SE
by a particular author. Nor does copyright
Washington, DC 20559
protect individual words, titles, short
The application, fee, and deposit should
phrases, slogans, or blank forms.
be sent in a single package.
Scope of Copyright Rights
Copyright Protection in Canada
The rights of a copyright owner in Canada
Canada’s copyright law is similar, though
are virtually the same as in the United
not identical, to that of the United States.
States. The owner has the exclusive right to:
Canada is a member of all the major
• reproduce all or a substantial part of
copyright conventions discussed above.
the protected work
Thus, U.S. citizens enjoy the same copyright
• publish the work
protection in Canada as do Canadian
• perform the work in public—for
citizens, and vice versa.
example, to perform a play in public
or display in public an artistic work
created after June 7, 1988, and
Works Protected by Copyright
• adapt the work—for example, to
The requirements for copyright protection
convert a novel into a screenplay,
in Canada are essential y the same as in the
translate a work into another language,
United States. Protection begins automatical y
or record a book on tape.
the moment you create an original work of
As in the United States, the copyright
authorship. Canadian law protects:
owner may transfer or license any of these
• all types of written works, such as
rights to others.
books, pamphlets, poems, and other
Under Canadian law, all authors also have
works consisting of text, including
certain moral rights which are stronger than
computer programs
in the United States. No one is al owed to
• dramatic works, such as films, videos,
distort, mutilate, or otherwise modify an
plays, and screenplays
author’s work in a way that is prejudicial to his
• musical compositions
or her honor or reputation. In addition, the
• paintings, sculpture, drawings,
author’s name must be included on the work.
graphics, and other artwork
Moral rights belong only to the creator of
• photographs, films, and videos
a work; they cannot be sold or transferred
• architectural works, and
to anyone else. However, authors may waive
• all types of recordings.
their moral rights when they sell their work.
CHAPTER 12 | INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT PROTECTION | 337
Moral rights exist for the same length of
Copyright Dur
ation
time as copyright and pass to an author’s
heirs, even if they do not inherit ownership The basic copyright term in Canada is the
of the copyright itself.
life of the author plus 50 years. If a work
has more than one author, the copyright
lasts for 50 years after the last author’s
Canadian Government Works
death. All copyright terms last until the end
Protected by Copyright
of the year in which the author dies and
Unlike in the United States where works
then continue for an additional 50 calendar
of the federal government are general y in
years. How ever, the term of the copyright
the public domain, Canadian government
depends on the nature of the work.
works are general y protected by what
is called Crown copyright. However,
Photographs
permission is not required to reproduce
The term of protection for photographs
Canadian government works for personal
depends on the author. There are three
or public noncommercial purposes, or for
possible terms of protection:
cost-recovery purposes, unless:
• When the author is a natural person
• otherwise specified in the material
(as opposed to a business entity, such as
you wish to reproduce, or
a corporation), the copyright lasts for
• you plan to revise, translate, or adapt
50 years after the author dies.
the work.
• If the author of a photograph is a cor-
Public noncommercial purposes mean a
poration, the copyright lasts 50 years
distribution of the reproduced information
after “the making of the initial negative
either for your own purposes only, or for
or plate from which the photograph
a distribution at large whereby no fees
whatsoever will be charged.
was derived or, if there is no negative or
Permission is always required when the
plate, of the initial photograph.”
work being reproduced will be distributed
• If the majority of voting shares
for commercial purposes.
in a corporate owner are owned
Permission to reproduce other
by a natural person who would
Canadian government documents must be
have qualified as the author of the
obtained from the department or agency
photograph, the copyright lasts 50
that created the work. Contact points
years after the photographer dies.
for permissions from al the Canadian
Before 1994, photographs had a copyright
government’s departments and agencies
term of 50 years after creation of the original
can be found at http://publications.gc.ca/
negative. Under a special transitional rule, a
site/eng/ccl/index.html.
50-year term is provided for photographs first
338 | THE COPYRIGHT HANDBOOK
created between January 1, 1994 through
by Crown copyright. Copyright in these works
December 31, 1998.
lasts for 50 years from the year of publication.
Copyright in unpublished government works
Films and videos
is perpetual. However, anyone may, without
Canadian copyright differentiates between
charge or request for permission, reproduce
films (including videos) that do and do not laws enacted by the government of Canada,
have a dramatic quality—that is, “in which and decisions and reasons for decisions of
the arrangement or acting form or the
Canadian federal courts and administrative
combination of incidents represented give
tribunals. The copier must exercise due
the work a dramatic character.” Films with
diligence to ensure the accuracy of the
dramatic quality are protected for the life of materials reproduced and that the reproduction the author plus 50 years.
is not represented as an official version.
Works that don’t have a dramatic quality
would include, for example, most home
Unknown authors
movies. If such a film or video is published
The copyright in a work written by an
within 50 years of creation, it is protected
anonymous or pseudonymous author lasts
for 50 years from the date of publication.
for either 50 years after publication or 75
If it was not published within that 50-year
years after creation, whichever is shorter.
period, it is protected for 50 years from the However, if the author’s identity becomes
year of creation.
known, the copyright will last for 50 years
after the author dies. The same terms apply
Sound recordings, broadcasts,
to joint anonymous or pseudonymous
and performances
authors, except that if one or more of the
The copyright in a sound recording lasts for authors’ identities becomes known, the
50 years from the end of the year in which
copyright lasts for 50 years after the last of
the original master or tape was created. The such known authors dies.
copyright in a broadcast lasts for 50 years
after the initial broadcast. The copyright in Posthumous works
a performer’s performance lasts for 50 years A posthumous work is a work that was under
after the performance is first fixed or, if it is copyright when its author died, but was not not fixed, 50 years after it is performed.
published before the death. The duration of
the copyright in these works depends upon
Canadian government works
their date of creation. For such works created
Works created by Canadian federal and
after July 25, 1997, the term of copyright
provincial government employees are protected protection is the normal life-of-the-author-plus-50-year term. However, any of three
CHAPTER 12 | INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT PROTECTION | 339
different terms may apply if the work was
Limited Fair Use Rights
created before July 25, 1997:
• If the author died and the work was
One major difference between the United
subsequently published, performed
States and Canada is in the area of fair use.
or delivered before July 25, 1997, the
Canada has no “fair use” as such. Instead,
copyright lasts for 50 years after such
it has what is cal ed “fair dealing.” Fair
publication.
dealing is much more limited than fair use
• If the author died during the period
in the United States. It al ows people such
from 1927 through 1997—and the
as critics, reviewers, and researchers to quote
work was not published, performed,
from other authors’ works without obtaining
or delivered before July 25, 1997—the permission, but only for purposes of private
copyright lasts until January 1, 2048.
study, research, or criticism. In the case of
• If the author died before 1927—and
a published review, criticism, or newspaper
the work wa
s not published before July summary, the user is required to give the
25, 1997—the work is in the Canadian source and the author’s name, if known.
public domain.
Recent amendments to the Canadian
copyright laws establish a major new right to
copy on the part of libraries, archives, and
Copyright Ownership
nonprofit educational institutions. Under
Copyright ownership rules are very similar
these new amendments, nonprofit libraries,
to those in the United States. Any work of
archives, and museums are permitted to:
authorship created by an employee within
• make copies of published or unpublished
the course of employment is automatically
works that are not com mercial y available
owned by the employer unless there is an
in a medium and of a quality that meets
agreement to the contrary.
their users’ needs in order to maintain or
Works created by independent contractors
manage their permanent collections
—that is, nonemployees—are owned by the
• reproduce an entire article in a news-
contractor, not the hiring firm, unless there is
paper or magazine if the edition is at least
an express or implied agreement transferring
12 months old at the time of copying,
ownership to the hiring firm. For example,
and provided the copy is used for private
a work contributed by a freelance writer to a
study or for research purposes, and
magazine is owned by the writer unless there
• make a single copy of an article from
is an agreement to the contrary.
a scientific, technical, or scholarly
periodical at any time.
340 | THE COPYRIGHT HANDBOOK
In addition, nonprofit educational
How to register
institutions will be permitted to reproduce
Each separate work must be separately
copyrighted materials for the purpose of
registered. There is no group registration
instruction, tests, or examinations.
of a number of works as in the United
States. The registration process is very easy.
Copyright Notice
You merely fill out an extremely simple
No copyright notice is required for works
application and send it to the Canadian
published in Canada and no legal benefits
Copyright Office with the required fee.
are obtained from having one. However,
Unlike in the United States, you are not
it’s still advisable to include a notice on
required to deposit a copy of your work.
any work that might be distributed outside
The Copyright Handbook Page 59