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Transfer, assignment and licensing
Transfer and assignment
What rules, restrictions and procedures govern the transfer and assignment of copyright? Are any formalities required to secure the legal effect of the transfer or assignment?
An assignment must be in writing and signed by the copyright owner or the owner’s duly authorised agent. While the recordal of a copyright assignment is not mandatory, recording establishes priority of rights as between conflicting assignments of ownership. This means that the first recorded copyright assignment will be taken as valid against an earlier assignment that has not been recorded.
Moral rights – which are the right to the integrity and paternity in the work – cannot be assigned. They may be only waived, in whole or in part. There is no presumption of a waiver of moral rights when the work is assigned.
Where the author of a work is the first owner of the copyright, the assignment of the work other than by will is subject to a reversionary interest 25 years from the death of the author. This means that the work devolves on the author’s legal representatives as part of the author’s estate. This rule does not apply to the assignment of the copyright in a collective work.
Licensing
What rules, restrictions and procedures govern copyright licensing?
The Copyright Act permits the grant of licences, provided that the license is in writing. The licence must be signed by the copyright owner or the owner’s duly authorised agent. While the recordal of a licence agreement is not mandatory, recording establishes priority of rights as between conflicting assignments and licences.
An exclusive licensee can do any act that is subject to copyright to the exclusion of all others, including the copyright owner.
The grant of a licence is subject to a reversionary interest. Where the author of a work is the first owner of the copyright, the grant of a license other than by will reverts to the author’s legal representatives as part of the author’s estate 25 years from the death of the author. This rule does not apply to a licence to publish a work as part of a collective work.
The registration of a licence creates a presumption as to the existence of the licence and that the registered licensee is the holder of that interest. The licensee may obtain a copyright registration on behalf of its owner.
Are there any special provisions governing sub-licensing?
There are no provisions regarding sub-licensing in the Copyright Act. Sub-licensing is permissible in the absence of an agreement to the contrary.
What collective licensing bodies operate in your jurisdiction and how are their activities regulated?
Many collective societies operate in Canada, some of which are affiliated with foreign societies. The Copyright Board of Canada regulates the collective societies. The board oversees the tariff-setting process for all copyrights and approves agreements entered into by users and collectives. Board decisions may be reviewed by the Federal Court of Appeal.
For audiovisual and multimedia, the collective societies are:
- Audio Ciné Films;
- the Canadian Screenwriters Collection Society;
- Christian Video Licensing International;
- Criterion Pictures;
- the Directors Rights Collective of Canada;
- the Producers Audiovisual Collective of Canada; and
- Société civile des auteurs multimédias.
For educational rights, the collective society is the Educational Rights Collective of Canada.
For literary (eg, literary works, dramatic works and texts), the collective societies are:
- Access Copyright, the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency;
- the Playwrights Guild of Canada;
- Société des auteurs et compositeurs dramatiques;
- Société québécoise de gestion collective des droits de reproduction; and
- Société québécoise des auteurs dramatiques.
For media monitoring, the collective society is the Canadian Broadcasters Rights Agency.
For music, the collective societies are:
- ACTRA Performers’ Rights Society;
- ArtistI;
- the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency;
- Christian Copyright Licensing Inc;
- CMRRA-SODRAC Inc;
- Connect Music Licensing;
- the Musicians’ Rights Organisation Canada;
- Re: Sound Music Licensing Company;
- Société de gestion collective des droits des producteurs de phonogrammes et vidéogrammes du Québec;
- Société de gestion des droits des artistes-musiciens Inc;
- the Society for Reproduction Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers in Canada; and
- the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada.
For private copying, the collective society is the Canadian Private Copying Collective.
For retransmission, the collective societies are:
- Border Broadcasters Inc;
- the Canadian Broadcasters Rights Agency;
- the Canadian Retransmission Collective;
- the Canadian Retransmission Right Association;
- the Copyright Collective of Canada;
- Direct Response Television Collective;
- FWS Joint Sports Claimants;
- the Major League Baseball Collective of Canada; and
- the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada.
For visual arts (eg, photographs and paintings), the collective societies are:
- Copyright Visual Arts; and
- the Society for Reproduction Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers in Canada.
