So, You Want To Know About Copyright? A Beginner’s FAQ

Have you created something recently? Or are you thinking about creating something? Ever wondered about your copyright protections for the things you create? As the creator of creative works, you have copyright rights!

How does copyright work?
What are your rights?
How do you get copyright?
How do you maintain your copyright?
What if you don’t want copyright protections and want to share your work?

A quick search for these questions often brings up lots of legal jargon that doesn’t make a lot of sense and makes copyright even more confusing. This FAQ is designed to cut through the jargon and get to the big questions you have about copyright in a way that makes sense! Below you will find a beginner’s digest to all your questions about copyright! No question is too big or too small.

Please note this FAQ is not legal advice and should not be taken as such. Please visit the Canadian Intellectual Property Office’s website for more information about copyright in Canada.

What is copyright?

At its core, copyright is the legal term for author’s rights. Copyright describes the rights that authors and creators have over their literary and creative works.

What is the purpose of copyright?

There are two purposes, or rationales, for copyright:

To incentivize and motivate authors and creators to continue creating by social gains that will result from those works (including commercial and monetary gains). This is called the utilitarian rationale.
To recognize, and protect, the connection authors and creators have with their works. This is called the author's rights rationale and is based on the idea of moral rights. These moral rights ensure authors and creators are credited for their work which preserves the work’s integrity.

What can and can’t be copyright protected?

What can and can’t be copyrighted varies slightly from country to country. In general, literary and artistic works are copyrightable. In Canada, the Copyright Act states that “every original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work” so long as it meets the conditions.

It would be impossible to create an exhaustive list of what can and can’t be protected by copyright, but here is a list to give you some examples of what is and isn’t protected in Canada.

Can be copyright protected	Cant be copyright protected
Literary works (e.g., books and poems)	Facts
Databases	Themes
Computer programs/software	Ideas
Dramatic works (e.g., films and plays)	Concepts
Musical works (e.g., sheet music and compositions with or without words)

To read more about what can and can’t be protected in Canada, check out the Canadian Intellectual Property Office’s Guide to Copyright.

If my work is copyright protected does that mean no one else can use it?

While copyright protections in Canada gives creators the sole right to produce/reproduce, perform, and publish works, there are some important exemptions. Without exemptions, many activities such as scholarly research, teaching, and reviewing materials would be difficult. To protect both the author’s and public’s best interests, certain exemptions are written into the Canadian Copyright Act and called fair dealing. In the Copyright Act, fair dealing provides copyright exemptions for activities such as research, private study, education, parody, and satire. Other uses of copyrighted works may also be permitted if they meet the certain requirements.

To find out more about determining what uses are considered fair under the Fair Dealing exemptions, check out Western University’s Fair Dealing Analysis.

Another important exemption is the Marrakesh Treaty which allows works to be copied and/or modified for people with print disabilities.

What about trademarks and patents? Are those the same?

Copyright is actually just one of many types of copyright protections available in Canada! Trademarks and patents are other types of protections for your intellectual property. In Canada, a trademark is a sign that is used to distinguish goods and services from those from other similar goods and services. Trademarks are a way to protect the public from being confused about the source of goods and services. If you’ve invented something, you might also patent it. In Canada, a patent is a legal right that prevents anyone else from making, using, and/or selling your patented invention. To qualify for patent protection in Canada, your invention must be new, useful, and non-obvious.

To learn more about trademarks in Canada, check out the Canadian Intellectual Property Office’s Trademarks Guide. To learn more about patents in Canada, visit the Canadian Intellectual Property Office’s Learn Patents page.

How do I know what type of protection covers my intellectual property?

One of the best ways to know what types of protection(s) your intellectual property can be covered by in Canada is to check out the Canadian Intellectual Property Office’s Intellectual Property in Canada Comparison Chart. This chart covers all the types of intellectual property protections in Canada and will help you identify what your creative work can be protected by!

How do I get copyright protection for my work?

Unlike other types of intellectual property protection, copyright protection is automatic! In Canada, copyright is automatic as soon as a creative work is in a fixed material form (i.e., as soon as it’s written down or recorded somewhere).

If you don’t want to keep your copyright protection and want to share it, you can dedicate your work into the public domain! The public domain is essential to preserving history, inspiring future generations of creators, and furthering human knowledge. Works can become public domain in different ways:

The copyright protections expire
The work was never entitled to copyright protections (see question about what can’t be protected by copyright!)
The copyright holder doesn’t comply with formalities to maintain or acquire copyright protection for their work
The creator dedicates their work to the public domain (note: this has to be done before the copyright has expired)

If you want to dedicate your work to the public domain, you can use the CC0 public domain designation from Creative Commons. To learn more about the public domain and what that means for you as a creator, check out the Creative Commons CC0 FAQ

References

“2.1 Copyright Basics” (https://creativecommons.org/course/cc-cert-edu/unit-2-copyright-law/2-1-copyright-basics/) by Creative Commons. CC BY 4.0.
“2.2 Global Aspects of Copyright” (https://creativecommons.org/course/cc-cert-edu/unit-2-copyright-law/2-2-global-aspects-of-copyright/) by Creative Commons. CC BY 4.0.
“The Public Domain” (https://creativecommons.org/course/cc-cert-edu/unit-2-copyright-law/) by Creative Commons. CC BY 4.0.
“Exceptions and Limitations to Copyright” (https://creativecommons.org/course/cc-cert-edu/unit-2-copyright-law/2-4-exceptions-and-limitations-to-copyright/) by Creative Commons. CC BY 4.0.
“CC0 FAQ” (https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/CC0_FAQ#How_do_I_apply_CC0_to_my_work.3F) by Creative Commons. CC BY 4.0.
“Fair Dealing Exception Guidelines” (https://copyright.uwo.ca/guidelines_requirements/guidelines/fair_dealing_exception_guidelines.html) by Western University. CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Copyright Fair Dealing Analysis” (<https://copyright.uwo.ca/fair_dealing_analysis/index.html](url)) by Western University. CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Trademarks Guide” (https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/canadian-intellectual-property-office/en/trademarks/trademarks-guide)) by the Government of Canada.
“A Guide to Copyright” (https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/canadian-intellectual-property-office/en/guide-copyright) by the Government of Canada.
“Learn patents – Canadian Intellectual Property Office” (https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/canadian-intellectual-property-office/en/learn-patents-canadian-intellectual-property-office) by the Government of Canada.
Copyright Act, RSC 1985, c C-42. (https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-42/page-1.html#docCont) by the Government of Canada.

License

“Creative Commons Certificate Learning Space” by Anneliese Eber is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

For any questions about the site content please contact Anneliese Eber aeber@uwaterloo.ca Website theme: Hacker CC0