Copyright – The BPC

Copyright is a legal concept, honoured by most governments, giving the creators of works exclusive rights to their creations. While copyright generally is a “right to copy,” it also gives copyright holders the right to determine how their works can be adapted, who may perform the works and who may benefit from them financially. Issues of copyright have been generating a lot of conversation lately because older copyright laws do not take into account the technologies that have emerged with the invention of the computer and the Internet.

Canada

Access Copyright
Access Copyright provides businesses, educators, governments and other organizations with innovative licensing solutions. Access Copyright ensures that creators and publishers are compensated when their works are copied.

Canadian Copyright Institute
The Canadian Copyright Institute is an association of creators, producers, publishers and distributors which encourages a better understanding of the law of copyright and tries to foster dialogue among all sides of copyright issues.

Canadian Intellectual Property Office
The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) is a special operating agency associated with Industry Canada. The CIPO is responsible for administering and processing intellectual property in Canada, including the filing of copyrights.

Copyright Act
The latest version of the Copyright Act has been in force since December 12, 2005.

Copyright Board of Canada
The Copyright Board of Canada is a regulatory body empowered to establish the royalties to be paid for copyrighted works when the copyright is entrusted to a collective-administration society.

Copyright Policy Branch of Canadian Heritage
The Copyright Policy Branch of the Department of Canadian Heritage works with Industry Canada to formulate and implement an integrated Canadian copyright policy.

Digital Copyright Canada
Digital Copyright Canada is a forum that allows for a public response to Canadian copyright revisions. The forum focuses on issues of digital copyright, but it also includes discussions on patents, trademarks and other intellectual property issues.

Online Rights Canada
Online Rights Canada (ORC) is a grassroots organization that promotes the public’s interest in technology and information policy.

Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic
The Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) was established at the University of Ottawa and is a body that was created to ensure balance in policy and processes with issues that affect the internet and public intere

Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada
Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a copyright collective that represents more than 80,000 Canadian music creators and publishers. SOCAN provides performing rights licences to businesses.

United States

Lawrence Lessig
Lawrence Lessig is a professor of law at Harvard Law School and is one of the people behind the creation of the Creative Commons.

U.S. Copyright Office
The U.S. Copyright Office allows authors to register their copyrights. The office’s Web site includes a fully searchable catalogue of all records since 1978. The office is also responsible for granting licences.

International

Creative Commons
Creative Commons was founded in 2003. Works are offered to the commons with “some rights reserved.” What this means is that the creator is able to control the work but allow some pre-defined uses by others.

International Intellectual Property Alliance
The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) is a private-sector coalition formed to represent U.S. copyright-based industries to improve international protection of copyrighted materials.

World Intellectual Property Organization
The World Intellectual Property Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to developing an accessible intellectual property system. Its headquarters are in Geneva.