Who owns the copyright?

Posted on February 26, 2011 by: Andrew

Copyright in Canada is an interesting case. It is immediately attributed to the author of any expression of an idea (a creative work) for a period of 50 years. Unlike the US, there is no need to file for copyright protection, as it is automatically awarded the the author. The exception is when the author is working as an employee, the copyright is then awarded to the employer. This is upheld in law by any signatory nation in the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.

Unless there is a contract explicitly reassigning rights, it remains with the author and the party commissioning the work is granted license to use the work.

For more information on this topic, please see the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada website here.

Andrew

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