Copyright Explained

Know Your Rights & Responsibilities

Copyright can be confusing, but it doesn’t have to be. Whether you copy or share published content at work or school, or are a creator or publisher creating new works, understanding copyright is the first step in using content responsibly and navigating licensing with confidence.

What Is Copyright?

Copyright is the legal protection given to original works of authorship such as literary, artistic, musical, dramatic, and other creative forms. Protection begins the moment a work is created and fixed in a tangible form.Copyright exists to encourage creativity, outlining how copyright-protected works can be copied and shared legally and providing protection to copyright owners over how their work is used.
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Here is what that means in practice:

• It grants creators exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, adapt, perform, and display their work.It outlines how users can responsibly and legally copy and share copyright-protected content.
• It outlines how users can responsibly and legally copy and share copyright-protected content.
• It does not protect ideas, facts, or methods. It protects only the unique expression of those ideas.
• In Canada, it generally lasts for the life of the creator plus 70 years.