Required To Obtain A Filing Date

1. Name and address of applicant.
2. Title and brief description of the nature of the work.
3. Name, address and nationality of author(s), if different from applicant.
4. Location and date of first publication, if registering copyright in a published work.

Notes

1. Subject Matter

Copyright may subsist in Canada in every original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work including computer programs, data bases and other compilations, books, brochures, advertisements, audio visual works, sound recordings, and films.

2. Applicant

Works created by nationals or residents of Berne Convention countries or first published in a Berne Convention country will generally be protected under Canadian copyright law. Copyright generally vests in the author of a work, unless the author created the work as an employee in the course of such employment, in which case the employer owns the first copyright. 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 its chain of title.

3. Assignments

Assignments and license agreements can be registered in the Copyright Office and the date of recordal creates a system of priority for determining the rights of subsequent assignees and licensees.

4. Publication

Publication of a work is defined as "making copies of the work available to the public".