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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

NATIONAL LEGISLATION - CANADA

Bill C-32: An Act to amend the Copyright Act


 

RIGHTS OF BROADCASTERS
Copyright in communication signals

 

21. (1) Subject to subsection (2), a broadcaster has a copyright in the communication signals that it broadcasts, consisting of the sole right to do the following in relation to the communication signal or any substantial part thereof:

 

 

    (a) to fix it,

 

    (b) to reproduce any fixation of it that was made without the broadcaster's consent,

 

    (c) to authorize another broadcaster to retransmit it to the public simultaneously with its broadcast, and

 

    (d) in the case of a television communication signal, to perform it in a place open to the public on payment of an entrance fee,

 

and to authorize any act described in paragraph (a), (b) or (d).

 

Conditions for copyright

 

(2) Subsection (1) applies only if the broadcaster

 

 

    (a) at the time of the broadcast, had its headquarters in Canada, in a country that is a WTO Member or in a Rome Convention country; and

 

    (b) broadcasts the communication signal from that country.
Exception

 

(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), if the Minister is of the opinion that a Rome Convention country or a country that is a WTO Member does not grant the right mentioned in paragraph (1)(d), the Minister may, by a statement published in the Canada Gazette, declare that broadcasters that have their headquarters in that country are not entitled to that right.

 

 

RECIPROCITY
Reciprocity

 

22. (1) Where the Minister is of the opinion that a country other than a Rome Convention country grants or has undertaken to grant

 

 

    (a) to performers and to makers of sound recordings, or

 

    (b) to broadcasters

 

that are Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada within the meaning of the Immigration Act or, if corporations, have their headquarters in Canada, as the case may be, whether by treaty, convention, agreement or law, benefits substantially equivalent to those conferred by this Part, the Minister may, by a statement published in the Canada Gazette,

 

 

    (c) grant the benefits conferred by this Part

 

      (i) to performers and to makers of sound recordings, or

 

      (ii) to broadcasters

 

    as the case may be, that are citizens, subjects or permanent residents of or, if corporations, have their headquarters in that country, and

 

    (d) declare that that country shall, as regards those benefits, be treated as if it were a country to which this Part extends.
Reciprocity

 

(2) Where the Minister is of the opinion that a country other than a Rome Convention country neither grants nor has undertaken to grant

 

 

    (a) to performers, and to makers of sound recordings, or

 

    (b) to broadcasters

 

that are Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada within the meaning of the Immigration Act or, if corporations, have their headquarters in Canada, as the case may be, whether by treaty, convention, agreement or law, benefits substantially equivalent to those conferred by this Part, the Minister may, by a statement published in the Canada Gazette,

 

 

    (c) grant the benefits conferred by this Part to performers, makers of sound recordings or broadcasters that are citizens, subjects or permanent residents of or, if corporations, have their headquarters in that country, as the case may be, to the extent that that country grants those benefits to performers, makers of sound recordings or broadcasters that are Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada within the meaning of the Immigration Act or, if corporations, have their headquarters in Canada, and

 

    (d) declare that that country shall, as regards those benefits, be treated as if it were a country to which this Part extends.
Application of Act

 

(3) Any provision of this Act that the Minister specifies in a statement referred to in subsection (1) or (2)

 

 

    (a) applies in respect of performers, makers of sound recordings or broadcasters covered by that statement, as if they were citizens of or, if corporations, had their headquarters in Canada; and

 

    (b) applies in respect of a country covered by that statement, as if that country were Canada.
Application of Act

 

(4) Subject to any exceptions that the Minister may specify in a statement referred to in subsection (1) or (2), the other provisions of this Act also apply in the way described in subsection (3).

 

 

TERM OF RIGHTS

Term of rights

 

23. (1) Subject to this Act, the rights conferred by sections 15, 18 and 21 terminate fifty years after the end of the calendar year in which

 

 

    (a) in the case of a performer's performance,

 

      (i) its first fixation in a sound recording, or

 

      (ii) its performance, if it is not fixed in a sound recording,

 

    occurred;

 

    (b) in the case of a sound recording, the first fixation occurred; or

 

    (c) in the case of a communication signal, it was broadcast.
Term of right to remuneration

 

(2) The rights to remuneration conferred on performers and makers by section 19 have the same terms, respectively, as those provided by paragraphs (1)(a) and (b).

 

Application of subsections (1) and (2)

 

(3) Subsections (1) and (2) apply whether the fixation, performance or broadcast occurred before or after the coming into force of this Part.

 

Berne Convention countries, Rome Convention countries, WTO Members

 

(4) Where the performer's performance, sound recording or communication signal meets the requirements set out in section 15, 18 or 21, as the case may be, a country that becomes a Berne Convention country, a Rome Convention country or a WTO Member after the date of the fixation, performance or broadcast is, as of becoming a Berne Convention country, Rome Convention country or WTO Member, as the case may be, deemed to have been such at the date of the fixation, performance or broadcast.

 

Where term of protection expired

 

(5) Subsection (4) does not confer any protection in Canada where the term of protection in the country referred to in that subsection had expired before that country became a Berne Convention country, Rome Convention country or WTO Member, as the case may be.

 

 

OWNERSHIP OF COPYRIGHT
Ownership of copyright

 

24. The first owner of the copyright

 

 

    (a) in a performer's performance, is the performer;

 

    (b) in a sound recording, is the maker; or

 

    (c) in a communication signal, is the broadcaster that broadcasts it.
Assignment of rights

 

25. Subsections 13(4) to (7) apply, with such modifications as the circumstances require, in respect of the rights conferred by this Part on performers, makers of sound recordings and broadcasters.

 

 

PERFORMERS' RIGHTS - WTO COUNTRIES
Performer's performance in WTO country

 

26. (1) Where a performer's performance takes place on or after January 1, 1996 in a country that is a WTO Member, the performer has, as of the date of the performer's performance, a copyright in the performer's performance, consisting of the sole right to do the following in relation to the performer's performance or any substantial part thereof:

 

 

    (a) if it is not fixed, to communicate it to the public by telecommunication and to fix it in a sound recording, and

 

    (b) if it has been fixed in a sound recording without the performer's authorization, to reproduce the fixation or any substantial part thereof,

 

and to authorize any such acts.

 

Where country joins WTO after Jan. 1, 1996

 

(2) Where a performer's performance takes place on or after January 1, 1996 in a country that becomes a WTO Member after the date of the performer's performance, the performer has the copyright described in subsection (1) as of the date the country becomes a WTO Member.

 

Performer's performances before Jan. 1, 1996

 

(3) Where a performer's performance takes place before January 1, 1996 in a country that is a WTO Member, the performer has, as of January 1, 1996, the sole right to do and to authorize the act described in paragraph (1)(b).

 

Where country joins WTO after Jan. 1, 1996

 

(4) Where a performer's performance takes place before January 1, 1996 in a country that becomes a WTO Member on or after January 1, 1996, the performer has the right described in subsection (3) as of the date the country becomes a WTO Member.

 

Term of performer's rights

 

(5) The rights conferred by this section subsist for the remainder of the calendar year in which the performer's performance takes place and a period of fifty years following the end of that calendar year.

 

Assignment of rights

 

(6) Subsections 13(4) to (7) apply, with such modifications as the circumstances require, in respect of a performer's rights conferred by this section.

 

Limitation

 

(7) Notwithstanding an assignment of a performer's right conferred by this section, the performer, as well as the assignee, may

 

 

    (a) prevent the reproduction of

 

      (i) any fixation of the performer's performance, or

 

      (ii) any substantial part of such a fixation,

 

    where the fixation was made without the performer's consent or the assignee's consent; and

 

    (b) prevent the importation of any fixation of the performer's performance, or any reproduction of such a fixation, that the importer knows or ought to have known was made without the performer's consent or the assignee's consent.
R.S., c. 1 (3rd Supp.), s. 13; c. 10 (4th Supp.), s. 5; 1993, c. 44, s. 64(1), (2)

 

15. The heading before section 27 and sections 27 and 28 of the Act are replaced by the following:

 


PART III:

INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT AND MORAL RIGHTS AND EXCEPTIONS TO INFRINGEMENT

 

 

INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT

 

General
Infringement generally

 

27. (1) It is an infringement of copyright for any person to do, without the consent of the owner of the copyright, anything that by this Act only the owner of the copyright has the right to do.

 

Secondary infringement

 

(2) It is an infringement of copyright for any person to

 

 

    (a) sell or rent out,

 

    (b) distribute to such an extent as to affect prejudicially the owner of the copyright,

 

    (c) by way of trade distribute, expose or offer for sale or rental, or exhibit in public,

 

    (d) possess for the purpose of doing anything referred to in paragraphs (a) to (c), or

 

    (e) import into Canada for the purpose of doing anything referred to in paragraphs (a) to (c),

 

a copy of a work, sound recording or fixation of a performer's performance or of a communication signal that the person knows or should have known infringes copyright or would infringe copyright if it had been made in Canada by the person who made it.

 

Knowledge of importer

 

(3) In determining whether there is an infringement under subsection (2) in the case of an activity referred to in any of paragraphs (2)(a) to (d) in relation to a copy that was imported in the circumstances referred to in paragraph (2)(e), it is irrelevant whether the importer knew or should have known that the importation of the copy infringed copyright.

 

Plates

 

(4) It is an infringement of copyright for any person to make or possess a plate that has been specifically designed or adapted for the purpose of making infringing copies of a work or other subject-matter.

 

Public performance for profit

 

(5) It is an infringement of copyright for any person, for profit, to permit a theatre or other place of entertainment to be used for the performance in public of a work or other subject-matter without the consent of the owner of the copyright unless that person was not aware, and had no reasonable ground for suspecting, that the performance would be an infringement of copyright.

 

 

Parallel Importation of Books
Importation of books

 

27.1 (1) Subject to any regulations made under subsection (6), it is an infringement of copyright in a book for any person to import the book where

 

 

    (a) copies of the book were made with the consent of the owner of the copyright in the book in the country where the copies were made, but were imported without the consent of the owner of the copyright in the book in Canada; and

 

    (b) the person knows or should have known that the book would infringe copyright if it was made in Canada by the importer.
Secondary infringement

 

(2) Subject to any regulations made under subsection (6), where the circumstances described in paragraph (1)(a) exist, it is an infringement of copyright in an imported book for any person who knew or should have known that the book would infringe copyright if it was made in Canada by the importer to

 

 

    (a) sell or rent out the book;

 

    (b) by way of trade, distribute, expose or offer for sale or rental, or exhibit in public, the book; or

 

    (c) possess the book for the purpose of any of the activities referred to in paragraph (a) or (b).
Limitation

 

(3) Subsections (1) and (2) only apply where there is an exclusive distributor of the book and the acts described in those subsections take place in the part of Canada or in respect of the particular sector of the market for which the person is the exclusive distributor.

 

Exclusive distributor

 

(4) An exclusive distributor is deemed, for the purposes of entitlement to any of the remedies under Part IV in relation to an infringement under this section, to derive an interest in the copyright in question by licence.

 

Notice

 

(5) No exclusive distributor, copyright owner or exclusive licensee is entitled to a remedy under Part IV in relation to an infringement under this section unless, before the infringement occurred, notice has been given within the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner to the person referred to in subsection (1) or (2), as the case may be, that there is an exclusive distributor of the book.

 

Regulations

 

(6) The Governor in Council may, by regulation, establish terms and conditions for the importation of certain categories of books, including remaindered books, books intended solely for re-export and books imported by special order.

 

1988, c. 65, s. 63

 

16. Section 28.01 of the Act is renumbered as section 31 and that section and the heading before it are repositioned accordingly and that heading is replaced by the following:

 

 

Retransmission
1994, c. 47, s. 60

 

17. The heading before section 28.02 and sections 28.02 and 28.03 of the Act are repealed.

 

1994, c. 47, s. 61

 

18. (1) Section 29 of the Act and the heading before it are replaced by the following:

 

Continue with Bill C-32: PART III: Exceptions

 

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