Amended "Copyright Act" - Updated Advertisers And Marketers

Following three previous attempts to amend the Copyright Act, Bill C-11 came into force on November 7, 2012. The legislative changes to Canadian copyright law ushered in by Bill C-11 are far ranging (for a summary of the changes, see: http://bit.ly/SqR97L). What follows is a summary of the most important changes in terms of their potential impact on the advertising and marketing industry.

Ownership of Copyright in Commissioned Photographs

Previously, if a photographer was commissioned to take photographs, the person or entity that commissioned the photographs was the owner of copyright in the photographs. Bill C-11 has changed this arrangement so that now the photographer will own the copyright in the photographs, absent any contractual provision that specifies otherwise. Consequently, contracts for a photographer's services should be reviewed to ensure they contain provisions indicating both that the photographer assigns copyright ownership in the photographs that