copyright information
Copyright
issues are close to every artist's heart. We pour our souls into our works and
want to protect them form unauthorized use. This
section describes the Canadian Copyright law as it applies to fine art in general
terms and is not to be
used in place of proper legal advice. This is only my personal interpretation,
please do not quote me.
- Under
Canadian Copyright the artist, or the person who creates a piece of art,
retains full copyright to that work. This
means only the artist himself/herself is allowed to copy, reproduce, or make
profit from their work. Any copying or recreation of the work by other
parties without express, written permission, often in a form of a written
contract, is against the law and can be prosecuted under the Copyright law.
- If
an artist is employed to create a piece of art, the copyright belongs to the
person employing the artist unless a written contract stating otherwise is
drawn up and signed by both the employer and the artist. This applies to
commissioned work. In the absence of the above-mentioned contract, only the
person commissioning the portrait has the right to copy or reproduce the
work they paid for.
If
you have more questions about Copyright in Canada in relation to art, please
e-mail me or visit the Canadian Intellectual
Property Office site.
