Copyright law in Canada: how to avoid problems
What an immigrant needs to know to avoid trouble.
When moving to another country, it is important to know at least the basic laws to avoid problems. Ignorance of the law does not exempt from responsibility, so it is worth knowing in advance how to behave.
Copyright is an important part of life in Canada. Attitudes toward content theft are stricter here than in many other countries. For example, you can't download music or books from torrents, or add someone else's image to your website design. It can cause serious problems. The fine for copyright infringement is higher than the cost of a subscription to a streaming service or a photobank.
Torrents and pirate sites
It is forbidden to use them in Canada; it is punishable by law. In the past, the residents of the country somehow got around this ban, but now the control over this area has increased. As soon as you go to a pirated site, your ISP will send you a notice. The second time, you get a fine.
It is easier to subscribe to a streaming service because its price is lower than the fine.
Some adventurers try not to get caught and use VPNs, but some ISPs will successfully decrypt them. In our opinion, the game is not worth the candle. Besides, with a Canadian salary you will earn more per hour than you spend on leisure subscriptions.
Content on the Internet has rights holders
We strongly discourage the use of photographs, drawings, audio files, and other materials that you are not sure of their origin. They may be copyrighted. If the copyright holder finds out that you have used their material without permission, they will sue you for a lot of money. It's even worse if you use such material in your work for a major customer. If a business uses stolen content, the fine can run into thousands of CAD. It doesn't matter if the content was stolen on purpose or unintentionally — you will still have to answer to the law.
When is it okay to use other people's content?
The Canadian Copyright Act provides an exception: "fair dealing". It allows the use of a work without the author's permission in certain cases, such as research, teaching or informational purposes. Each case is considered individually. Usually scientists, educators, teachers, etc. fall into the category of the lucky ones who are not afraid of the law. It is important that other people's materials are not used for profit. For example, if you teach in a school, you can insert someone else's photos in an educational video for children. If you plan to sell the video, you can't use other people's content there.
