Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42)

Parallel Importation of Books

Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note: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).

• Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note: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.

• Marginal note: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.

28 [Repealed, 1997, c. 24, s. 15]

28.01 [Repealed, 1997, c. 24, s. 16]

28.02 and 28.03 [Repealed, 1997, c. 24, s. 17]

Moral Rights Infringement

Marginal note:Infringement generally

28.1 Any act or omission that is contrary to any of the moral rights of the author of a work or of the performer of a performer’s performance is, in the absence of the author’s or performer’s consent, an infringement of those rights.

Marginal note:Nature of right of integrity

• 28.2 (1) The author’s or performer’s right to the integrity of a work or performer’s performance is infringed only if the work or the performance is, to the prejudice of its author’s or performer’s honour or reputation,

  • (a) distorted, mutilated or otherwise modified; or

  • (b) used in association with a product, service, cause or institution.

• Marginal note:Where prejudice deemed

  (2) In the case of a painting, sculpture or engraving, the prejudice referred to in subsection (1) shall be deemed to have occurred as a result of any distortion, mutilation or other modification of the work.

• Marginal note:When work not distorted, etc.

  (3) For the purposes of this section,

  • (a) a change in the location of a work, the physical means by which a work is exposed or the physical structure containing a work, or

  • (b) steps taken in good faith to restore or preserve the work

  shall not, by that act alone, constitute a distortion, mutilation or other modification of the work.

Exceptions

Fair Dealing

Marginal note:Research, private study, etc.

29 Fair dealing for the purpose of research, private study, education, parody or satire does not infringe copyright.

Marginal note:Criticism or review

29.1 Fair dealing for the purpose of criticism or review does not infringe copyright if the following are mentioned:

• (a) the source; and

• (b) if given in the source, the name of the

  • (i) author, in the case of a work,

  • (ii) performer, in the case of a performer’s performance,

  • (iii) maker, in the case of a sound recording, or

  • (iv) broadcaster, in the case of a communication signal.

Marginal note:News reporting

29.2 Fair dealing for the purpose of news reporting does not infringe copyright if the following are mentioned:

• (a) the source; and

• (b) if given in the source, the name of the

  • (i) author, in the case of a work,

  • (ii) performer, in the case of a performer’s performance,

  • (iii) maker, in the case of a sound recording, or

  • (iv) broadcaster, in the case of a communication signal.

Non-commercial User-generated Content

Marginal note:Non-commercial user-generated content

• 29.21 (1) It is not an infringement of copyright for an individual to use an existing work or other subject-matter or copy of one, which has been published or otherwise made available to the public, in the creation of a new work or other subject-matter in which copyright subsists and for the individual — or, with the individual’s authorization, a member of their household — to use the new work or other subject-matter or to authorize an intermediary to disseminate it, if

  • (a) the use of, or the authorization to disseminate, the new work or other subject-matter is done solely for non-commercial purposes;

  • (b) the source — and, if given in the source, the name of the author, performer, maker or broadcaster — of the existing work or other subject-matter or copy of it are mentioned, if it is reasonable in the circumstances to do so;

  • (c) the individual had reasonable grounds to believe that the existing work or other subject-matter or copy of it, as the case may be, was not infringing copyright; and

  • (d) the use of, or the authorization to disseminate, the new work or other subject-matter does not have a substantial adverse effect, financial or otherwise, on the exploitation or potential exploitation of the existing work or other subject-matter — or copy of it — or on an existing or potential market for it, including that the new work or other subject-matter is not a substitute for the existing one.

• Marginal note:Definitions

  (2) The following definitions apply in subsection (1).

  intermediary

  intermediary means a person or entity who regularly provides space or means for works or other subject-matter to be enjoyed by the public. (intermédiaire)

  use

  use means to do anything that by this Act the owner of the copyright has the sole right to do, other than the right to authorize anything. (utiliser)

Reproduction for Private Purposes

Marginal note:Reproduction for private purposes

• 29.22 (1) It is not an infringement of copyright for an individual to reproduce a work or other subject-matter or any substantial part of a work or other subject-matter if

  • (a) the copy of the work or other subject-matter from which the reproduction is made is not an infringing copy;

  • (b) the individual legally obtained the copy of the work or other subject-matter from which the reproduction is made, other than by borrowing it or renting it, and owns or is authorized to use the medium or device on which it is reproduced;

  • (c) the individual, in order to make the reproduction, did not circumvent, as defined in section 41, a technological protection measure, as defined in that section, or cause one to be circumvented;

  • (d) the individual does not give the reproduction away; and

  • (e) the reproduction is used only for the individual’s private purposes.

• Marginal note:Meaning of medium or device

  (2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b), a medium or device includes digital memory in which a work or subject-matter may be stored for the purpose of allowing the telecommunication of the work or other subject-matter through the Internet or other digital network.

• Marginal note:Limitation — audio recording medium

  (3) In the case of a work or other subject-matter that is a musical work embodied in a sound recording, a performer’s performance of a musical work embodied in a sound recording or a sound recording in which a musical work or a performer’s performance of a musical work is embodied, subsection (1) does not apply if the reproduction is made onto an audio recording medium as defined in section 79.

• Marginal note:Limitation — destruction of reproductions

  (4) Subsection (1) does not apply if the individual gives away, rents or sells the copy of the work or other subject-matter from which the reproduction is made without first destroying all reproductions of that copy that the individual has made under that subsection.

Fixing Signals and Recording Programs for Later Listening or Viewing

Marginal note:Reproduction for later listening or viewing

• 29.23 (1) It is not an infringement of copyright for an individual to fix a communication signal, to reproduce a work or sound recording that is being broadcast or to fix or reproduce a performer’s performance that is being broadcast, in order to record a program for the purpose of listening to or viewing it later, if

  • (a) the individual receives the program legally;

  • (b) the individual, in order to record the program, did not circumvent, as defined in section 41, a technological protection measure, as defined in that section, or cause one to be circumvented;

  • (c) the individual makes no more than one recording of the program;

  • (d) the individual keeps the recording no longer than is reasonably necessary in order to listen to or view the program at a more convenient time;

  • (e) the individual does not give the recording away; and

  • (f) the recording is used only for the individual’s private purposes.

• Marginal note:Limitation

  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the individual receives the work, performer’s performance or sound recording under an on-demand service.

• Marginal note:Definitions

  (3) The following definitions apply in this section.

  broadcast

  broadcast means any transmission of a work or other subject-matter by telecommunication for reception by the public, but does not include a transmission that is made solely for performance in public. (radiodiffusion)

  on-demand service

  on-demand service means a service that allows a person to receive works, performer’s performances and sound recordings at times of their choosing. (service sur demande)

Backup Copies

Marginal note:Backup copies

• 29.24 (1) It is not an infringement of copyright in a work or other subject-matter for a person who owns — or has a licence to use — a copy of the work or subject-matter (in this section referred to as the “source copy”) to reproduce the source copy if

  • (a) the person does so solely for backup purposes in case the source copy is lost, damaged or otherwise rendered unusable;

  • (b) the source copy is not an infringing copy;

  • (c) the person, in order to make the reproduction, did not circumvent, as defined in section 41, a technological protection measure, as defined in that section, or cause one to be circumvented; and

  • (d) the person does not give any of the reproductions away.

• Marginal note:Backup copy becomes source copy

  (2) If the source copy is lost, damaged or otherwise rendered unusable, one of the reproductions made under subsection (1) becomes the source copy.

• Marginal note:Destruction

  (3) The person shall immediately destroy all reproductions made under subsection (1) after the person ceases to own, or to have a licence to use, the source copy.

Acts Undertaken without Motive of Gain

Marginal note:Motive of gain

• 29.3 (1) No action referred to in section 29.4, 29.5, 30.2 or 30.21 may be carried out with motive of gain.

• Marginal note:Cost recovery

  (2) An educational institution, library, archive or museum, or person acting under its authority does not have a motive of gain where it or the person acting under its authority, does anything referred to in section 29.4, 29.5, 30.2 or 30.21 and recovers no more than the costs, including overhead costs, associated with doing that act.

Educational Institutions

Marginal note:Reproduction for instruction

• 29.4 (1) It is not an infringement of copyright for an educational institution or a person acting under its authority for the purposes of education or training on its premises to reproduce a work, or do any other necessary act, in order to display it.

• Marginal note:Reproduction for examinations, etc.

  (2) It is not an infringement of copyright for an educational institution or a person acting under its authority to

  • (a) reproduce, translate or perform in public on the premises of the educational institution, or

  • (b) communicate by telecommunication to the public situated on the premises of the educational institution

  a work or other subject-matter as required for a test or examination.

• Marginal note:If work commercially available

  (3) Except in the case of manual reproduction, the exemption from copyright infringement provided by subsections (1) and (2) does not apply if the work or other subject-matter is commercially available, within the meaning of paragraph (a) of the definition commercially available in section 2, in a medium that is appropriate for the purposes referred to in those subsections.