Does that ring a bell?

No? Then this article is for you!
Yes, a little? Read it anyway, you will surely learn a lot!

Understanding the basics

Basically, it's a law .

A law that protects the property of others, whether material or digital, such as literary, musical or artistic works, to name a few.

Concretely, copyright exists as soon as a work is created.

Yes, yes, you read that right!

In Canada, it is not necessary for the work to be registered with the Copyright Office of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office .

So as soon as a painting, a drawing, a text, a sculpture, a photo, a video or a song is created, all the rights belong to the person who initially designed it.

These rights follow him throughout his life, from 50 to 70 years after his death.

Concretely, on a daily basis

Maybe you or someone you know has already broken this law without even knowing it! Here are some examples;

• You see a product in a store or on a website. You say to yourself "I can do it myself and it will cost me less". Although I have no doubt about your artistic talents, reproducing WITH or WITHOUT MODIFICATION is to infringe the copyright of the person who created it. In order to reproduce (in part or in full) a work, the written authorization of the copyright holder is required. Oops!

• For your wedding or for one of your children's birthdays, you hired a professional photographer. You pay him, he provides you with a few photos, life is beautiful! A few months later, you come across these photos again and one of them seems a little too shaded or dark. You decide to give it some "pep" by modifying the brightness with an application on your phone. Once again, copyright has not been respected. The rights of the work prevent it from being distorted or modified and used in a way that harms the honor or reputation of the author.

• Maybe you've seen local artisans designing beautiful products using fabrics or designs from Disney © (or Harry Potter ©, or Spider-man © or Pokemon © or ... You know what I mean! ;) ). This is illegal and they are breaking the law. Although some licenses can be obtained to have the right to use this type of character, the creators have seen big and grand ! Each license is individual for each character and sells for several thousand dollars. We're talking about fees in the 5 or 6 figures here!! And you know that in these big companies, a full team works day and night to find all those who violate their rights. Re-Oup$!

• Then there are also those who share a drawing, an image or a painting because they are downright in love with the work! It is a very nice gesture in itself but is not really so if the author of this work is not cited anywhere. The creator must absolutely be named or identified in order to respect the limits of intellectual property.

More advanced concepts

Regardless, this article only covers the basics and more in-depth research will need to be done to ensure that you are respecting copyright, intellectual property, and all the permissible exceptions. Whether it is patents, trademarks, industrial designs, or trade secrets, each of these areas requires more serious reading.

In conclusion

Whether the company is small or large, known or not, the damage is very real. It harms not only the notoriety but also the reputation of the one who defies the law, in addition to risking facing one or more lawsuits from the creator(s). It's a think about it, right?

References

Here are some sites to visit to learn more

• Copyright Act | Copyright Office (ulaval.ca) .
• Copyright - Canada.ca
• Intellectual Property and Copyright - Canada.ca

Last updated 2023-02-23