What are protected works?

Copyright is automatically granted when you create an original work in a tangible form, such as a book. This protection covers various types of works, including:

• literary works
• artistic works
• dramatic works
• musical works
• performances (live or recorded)
• sound recordings
• communication signals (broadcasts)

Copyright protects the specific way you express your ideas, but it does not protect the ideas, concepts or themes themselves.

Holding copyright in a work means that you have the exclusive right to:

• produce or reproduce the work or any significant part of it
• perform the work or any significant part of it
• deliver a written lecture
• publish the work if it hasn't been published yet

Literary works

Literary works include written works, such as periodicals, monographs, pamphlets, newspapers, poetry and letters. Some examples include:

• government records and reports
• statistics and computer software
• legal documents (statutes, law reports, judicial decisions, court records)
• databases and research papers
• financial reports (brokers' reports, stock reports, annual reports)
• manuscripts and microforms
• theses and conference proceedings
• industry standards and Braille materials
• internet postings and large-print materials
• compilations of literary works on CD-ROMs and databases

Artistic works

Artistic works include creations such as:

• paintings, drawings, illustrations, sketches, digital images, art prints and art slides
• photographs (including photo-lithographs and any work expressed by any process akin to photography)
• engravings (including etchings, lithographs, woodcuts, prints and other similar works)
• patterns, stage and costume designs, and mosaics
• sculptures (including a cast or model), works of artistic craftsmanship, architectural works (meaning buildings or structures or any model of a building or structure), architectural drawings, and plans
• maps, charts and atlases
• compilations of artistic works on CD-ROMs and on websites

Dramatic works

Dramatic works include:

• video recordings
• documentaries
• films
• radio, television and cable programs
• plays
• screenplays
• scripts
• choreography
• CD-ROMs containing compilations of dramatic works

Musical works

A musical work can be:

• sheet music
• songs with or without words
• audiocassettes
• audio CDs
• compilations of musical works

Performances

Examples of performances protected by copyright include:

• recorded performances of actors, authors, singers, musicians and dancers on tapes, cassettes, CDs, CD-ROMs, video recordings and films
• compilations of performances by performers on records, CDs, and in audiovisual formats

Sound recordings

Examples of sound recordings include:

• talking books, audiobooks, oral history tapes
• vinyl albums, phonograph records, audio cassettes and CDs
• seminar papers and audio tapes of speeches and lectures
• sound effects and spoken word recordings, ESL language cassettes
• compilations of sound recordings on CDs and other formats

This does not include movie soundtracks when they are part of the movie.

Communication signals

Copyright protects television and radio signals.

Crown copyright

Copyright in government publications (including legislation), published by the Crown, lasts for the rest of the year when first published, and continues for 50 years.

If an individual author owns copyright, the standard copyright term applies.

Copyright ownership

Author/creator

The author is usually the first owner of copyright. If there are multiple authors, they share ownership.

Owners can transfer or license their rights through a written agreement. For example, an author can transfer or assign their rights to a publisher in a publishing contract.

Alternatively, authors can use open licenses (for example, a Creative Commons license). This lets them keep copyright ownership while allowing broad distribution and sharing under specific terms.

Employer of the author/creator

The author does not always own copyright in the original work. If the work is created during employment, the employer usually owns the copyright unless there is an agreement stating otherwise.

Questions?

If you have any questions, please contact the Copyright Office at copyright@uvic.ca.