During the winter break, Canada extended its term of copyright protection by twenty years. As of December 30, 2022, literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works are now protected for the life of the creator plus 70 years.
The term extension was agreed to in the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) trade treaty, after years of debate and consultation. The new term matches the general copyright term in the United States and a number of other countries around the world.
Once copyright expires, a work enters the public domain where it can be used freely without payment or permission from the copyright owner. The term extension creates two rules for determining whether a work is protected by copyright or in the public domain in Canada:
- If the creator died in 1971 or earlier, copyright has expired and their works are now in the public domain;
- If the creator died in 1972 or later, their works are protected for their life plus 70 years.
Very few works will enter the Canadian public domain in the next twenty years (2023-2042). Poet Ezra Pound, artist M.C. Escher, and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover are just a few of the noteworthy figures whose works were set to enter the public domain this year prior to the legislative change.
A robust public domain is important for the education sector. Langara College and other Canadian post-secondary institutions advocated for preservation of the “life plus 50” term of copyright protection during government consultations.
Questions? Please contact Langara’s Copyright Office at copyright@langara.ca.
