Copyright

= ﻿ What does the term Copyright mean? = (image courtesy of [])


 * Copyright** is a set of exclusive rights granted to the author or creator of an original work, including the right to copy, distribute and adapt the work. The exclusive rights are however balanced for public interest purposes with limitations and exceptions to the exclusive right - such as fair dealing and fair use. Literally translated, copyright means the "right to copy". A medium may be owned by someone who does not have the 'right to copy' the information contained. (2)

According to the Canadian Copyright Act, the term “copyright, in relation to a work, means the sole right to produce or reproduce the work or any substantial part thereof in any material form whatever, to perform the work or any substantial part thereof in public or, if the work is unpublished, to publish the work or any substantial part thereof."

It also includes the right to:
 * to produce, reproduce, perform or publish any translation of the work
 * convert a work from written to performed
 * to convert a work from non-dramatic to dramatic
 * to communicate a literary or musical work through telecommunication
 * to rent out a sound recording in which a copyrighted work is embodied (1)

Ideas are not available for copyright, it is the expression of those ideas that can exist under copyright for a time so their creator can benefit.

Protection under copyright laws is automatic in Canada. As soon as an original work is written down, recorded or entered as a computer file, it is immediately copyright-protected. (3)

Copyright continues for the lifetime of the producer and for 50 years following the producer's death after which then becomes public domain. (3)

Some of the places you may find copyright statements on various websites may appear as links as follows: Note: sometimes you have to go to the "home" page of a website to find information on copyright. (4)
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