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Copyright

This logo despicts four sectors of the cultural industries - arts, literature, film and music.Copyright is the right of a creator to control the reproduction of their creation, in all its forms—novels, paintings, music, software, speeches, posters, motion pictures and so forth. This means that when someone creates something original that can be copied, 
the original creator retains control over when their creation is reproduced. Regardless of the artistic, scientific or 
commercial merits, Canadian law considers all creative products 
to be worthy of copyright protection.

In Canada, the Copyright Act ensures that creative efforts are protected, prohibiting the copying of individual work without the creator's permission. To be covered under Canadian copyright law, the copyright holder must be a Canadian citizen or resident, the work must be original and in a form that has some degree of permanence. The Act was created in 1924, and has, over the years, had many amendments to deal with the changing nature of copyright eligibility and infringement.

As with many aspects of intellectual property, enforcing copyright protection can be difficult. The availability of computers, photocopiers and recording devices, to name a few, make unlawful use difficult to curtail. Further, copyright is only one form of protecting intellectual property, and it comes with a variety of limitations. Chiefly, it only protects the original work, so if a published article describes a scientific method, the article itself would be copyright, but the method would not be. In essence, copyright protects the expression of an idea, but not the idea itself. Complications may also arise when the employer holds ownership of work created by an employee, or when a creative product comes from the work of a team.

Determining copyright eligibility, ownership and duration, the accompanying limitations and the remedies for copyright violation can make copyright an intricate way of protecting intellectual property. It is, therefore, in the best interest of all involved in the creative process to be aware of their rights. Of the utmost importance is communication, so that all parties taking part in the production of creative works are aware of their intellectual property rights.

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