Required To Obtain a Filing Date
- Name and address of applicant.
- Title and brief description of the nature of the work.
- Name, address and nationality of author(s), if different from applicant.
- If author is different from applicant, an explanation as to how applicant owns the copyright (e.g., by assignment or author was applicant's employee and the work was created within the scope of that employment)
- Whether author is deceased and if so the date of his/her death.
- Location and date of first publication, if registering copyright in a published work.
Notes
1. Subject Matter
Copyright subsists in Canada in every original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work including computer programs, data bases and other compilations, books, brochures, advertisements, charts, maps, plans, audio visual works, including websites and digital products and services and films. Sound recordings, performers' rights in their performances and broadcast signals also receive a level of copyright protection under the Copyright Act.
2. Applicant
Works created by nationals or residents of Berne Convention or WTO countries or first published in a Berne Convention or WTO country will be protected under Canadian copyright law. Copyright, in most cases, vests in the author of a work, with some limited exceptions, e.g. where the author created the work as an employee in the course of such employment, the employer owns the first copyright. Copyright ownership can be transferred to a third party provided such transfer or assignment is in writing. Accordingly, the applicant can be either the author or a third party where such third party is the author's employer or a subsequent assignee of the copyright. An applicant should, in any event, ensure that it can demonstrate its ownership and can identify the author and any earlier owners, and has assignments or other documents that establish chain of title.
3. Assignments
Assignments and license agreements can be registered in the Copyright Office and the date of recordal creates a general system of priority for determining the rights of subsequent assignees and licensees.
4. Publication
Publication of a work is generally defined as "making copies of the work or sound recording available to the public.