What+is+Copyright

Copyright is the exclusive right to copy a creative work or allow someone else to do so. It includes the sole right to publish, produce or reproduce, to perform in public, to communicate a work to the public by telecommunication, to translate a work, and in some cases, to rent the work. @http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/C-42
 * What is Copyright? **

Copyright law in Canada is regulated under the Canadian Copyright Act. While copyright law may differ from country to country, international agreements exist between many of the world’s nations that ensure cooperation, where appropriate, in the enforcement of respective copyright laws. In Canada, copyright owners are entitled to recourse under the law when their rights are infringed upon. Copyright applies to all original: Copyright also applies to three other kinds of subject matter: performer’s performances (section 15); broadcast communication signals (section 21); and sound recordings such as records, cassettes and CDs (section 18).
 * literary or textual works: books, pamphlets, poems, computer programs
 * dramatic works: films, videos, plays, screenplays and scripts
 * musical works: compositions consisting of both words and music, or music only (lyrics without music are considered literary works)
 * artistic works: paintings, drawings, maps, photographs, and sculptures
 * architectural works

Names, ideas, themes, most titles, catch-phrases, and other short-word combinations of no considerable substance are not protected by copyright.

Generally, the owner of the copyright is the creator of the work. However, this is not always the case. In some cases copyright belongs to the employer. For instance, if the work was created as part of your conditions of employment and there was no agreement to the contrary the copyright rests with the employer.

In addition, if a work is commissioned and has been paid for, and if there is no agreement to the contrary, the copyright would belong to the party that commissioned the work. Another example where copyright does not rest with the original owner or creator is in the case where the original owner has transferred the copyright to another party.

Copyright is established as soon as an original work is created copyright exists. Nothing needs to be done to establish copyright. It is established automatically upon creation of the work and your copyright is protected. You can however register your copyright with the copyright office and indicate notice of copyright on your work if you want to strengthen your claim in the event of a copyright dispute. Generally, copyright in Canada exists for the life of the author plus 50 years following death.

**Can libraries or educational institutions copy parts of books or articles for student use without restriction?** No. The making of multiple copies requires the consent of the copyright owner. If the institution holds a licensing agreement with a photocopying collective multiple copies may be allowed for a fee. However, the Copyright Act does allow minimal amounts of copying by individuals of parts of works for private study or research. This exception falls under Section 29 of the Copyright Act under Fair Dealing.

**Digital Copyright** Under its "fair dealing" provisions, the Copyright Act does allow individuals or organizations to use original works without such use being considered an infringement: criticism and review, news reporting, and private study or research (section 29). The Act also exempts certain categories of users, such as non-profit educational institutions (section 29.4).

Therefore, the "fair dealing" provision is an exception to Copyright, it gives people a limited right to quote part of a work if it is for the purpose of education or reporting or some other legitimate purpose specified in the Copyright Act. []

Fair dealing refers to the use or reproduction of a work for research, criticism, review, news reporting, or private study. Section 29.4 through 29.9 in the Canadian Copyright Act addresses Fair Dealing with regards to Educational Institutions.
 * Fair dealing and Copyright Collectives **

If you work in an educational institution, or if you are a student, it's a good idea to check out the institution's policies and procedures regarding copyrighted materials. Your educational institution likely subscribes to one or more copyright collectives that have the authority to grant permission to use the works they administer the rights for.

Two collectives that administer the rights of works relevant to education are The Educational Rights Collective of Canada (ERCC) and Access Copyright, The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency.

ERCC is a non-profit collective established in 1998 to represent the interests of copyright owners of television and radio programs (news, commentary programs and all other programs), when these programs are reproduced and performed in public by educational institutions for educational or training purposes.

Access Copyright, The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency, represents writers, publishers and other creators for the administration of copyright in all provinces except Quebec. The purpose of the collective is to provide easy access to copyright material by negotiating comprehensive licenses with user groups, such as schools, colleges, universities, governments, corporations, etc. permitting reproduction rights, such as photocopy rights, for the works it administers.

In Canada, the Canadian Copyright Board is the government body mandated with establishing the royalties to be paid for the use of copyrighted works when the administration of copyright is entrusted to a collective-administration society. The Board also has the right to supervise agreements between users and licensing bodies and issues licences when the copyright owner cannot be located. @http://www.cb-cda.gc.ca/societies-societes/index-e.html 

Some works are not protected under copyright. This could be because the term of protection has expired, or because the creator released his/her work to the public domain without claiming copyright. Works in the public domain can be used by anyone without liability for copyright infringement.
 * What is public domain? **

Creative Commons (CC) helps let artists define the degree to which their work can be used in specific situations for sharing and developing. According to creativecommons.org, "Creative Commons defines the spectrum of possibilities between full copyright and the public domain. From //all rights reserved// to //no rights reserved//." Creative Commons licenses can make works available to the public for certain kinds of uses while ensuring that copyright owners retain certain rights. Visit the [|Creative Commons] website for more details.
 * Creative Commons **

Harvard professor Larry Lessig is one of our foremost authorities on copyright issues, with a vision for reconciling creative freedom with marketplace competition.

=Larry Lessig on laws that choke creativity=

media type="custom" key="8529934" Larry Lessig, the Net’s most celebrated lawyer, cites John Philip Sousa, celestial copyrights and the "ASCAP cartel" in his argument for reviving our creative culture.

= Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore's Obamaesque Speech On Copyright =

media type="youtube" key="C_OHx2PpsoQ" height="390" width="640"

= Bill C‐32 and the Access Copyright Tariff: Double Trouble for Educators and Students =

media type="youtube" key="NoY3YwTYhYc" height="390" width="480" 


 * References **
 * 1) Department of Justice Canada, Copyright Act (R.S., 1985, c. C-42) Retrieved from @http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/C-42
 * 2) World Intellectual Property Organization, Berne Convention Retrieved from @http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/treaties/en/ip/berne/pdf/trtdocs_wo001.pdf
 * 3) Copyright Board of Canada, What's New At the Copyright Board Retrieved from @http://www.cb-cda.gc.ca/societies-societes/index-e.html
 * 4) http://www.ted.com/talks/larry_lessig_says_the_law_is_strangling_creativity.html
 * 5) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_OHx2PpsoQ&feature=related
 * 6) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoY3YwTYhYc
 * 7) []