Who Owns The Copyright In A Registered Plan Of Survey?

The Ontario Court of Appeal recently¹ upheld a decision dismissing a class action brought on behalf of land surveyors in private practice in Ontario against Teranet, the operator of Ontario's electronic land registry system.  The representative plaintiff alleged that Teranet, by digitizing, storing and copying plans of survey that had been registered or deposited on title in the system, was infringing the copyright owned by the land surveyor in the plan of survey.

The Court of Appeal concluded that the land surveyor did not own the copyright in a plan of survey presented for registration or deposit in the system.  Instead, it held that the copyright in any such plan of survey was owned by the Province of Ontario as a result of s. 12 of the Copyright Act.  This section provides in part that "where any work is, or has been, prepared or published by or under the direction or control of Her Majesty [the government] or any government department, the copyright in the work