Wiki-Shangri-La:Copyrights

Basics of Canadian Copyright Law

The GCR Wiki follows Canadian copyright laws because the website is physically hosted in Canada.

To simplify, Canadian copyright expires 50 years after the death of the composer or other author. Only works first published in countries that are members of the WTO or Berne Convention are subject to copyright in Canada. In most cases this applies retrospectively, unless the work was already public domain in the country where it was first published when either treaty was signed.

Works published before 1923 are public domain in the US, but may not be in Canada and other countries.

Legal Uploading

While works in the Canadian public domain that remain protected in the US are allowed for inclusion in the archive, it is possible that scanning and uploading such a work could constitute a violation of the US law for those who reside in the US.

Determining Copyright Tables

The following tables apply to 2026. The term "author" refers to either the composer, an orchestrator, arranger, or an editor.

Copyright on the composition and publication if author known, first published before 1923

Author's death	Canada, life+50 countries	United States	EU, Russia, life+70 countries	Template to be used on W S-L Wiki
< 1956	public domain (life+50)	public domain†	public domain (life+70)	None: always public domain
1956-1975			copyrighted	Work:
> 1975	copyrighted			Composer: Work: File:

• †(Extremely Rare Exception: certain foreign works published after 1909 might be protected in the western US states under
  the jurisdiction of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals.)

Copyright on the composition and publication if author known, first published after 1923

Author's death	Canada, life+50 countries	United States	EU, Russia, life+70 countries	Template to be used on W S-L Wiki
< 1956	public domain (life+50)	copyrighted unless proof of non-renewal and NIE status is provided‡	public domain (life+70)
1956-1975		copyrighted unless proof of non-renewal and NIE status is provided‡	copyrighted	Composer: Work: File:
> 1975	copyrighted			Composer: Work: File:

    ‡(US:Proof of non-renewal and NIE status applies only to works published 1923-1963. All works published 1964-1977 have been renewed
    automatically and enjoy a full term of 95 years after first publication. Those published 1978 and later are under copyright for life-plus-70.)

Corporate copyright on the publication, no author identified

Year Published	Canada, life+50 countries	United States	EU, Russia, life+70 countries	Template to be used on W S-L Wiki
before 1923	public domain (pub+50)	public domain	public domain (pub+70 in most countries)	None: always public domain
1923-1955		copyrighted (pub.+95), unless public domain in country of first publication in 1996		File:
1956-1975			Copyrighted	File:
> 1975	copyrighted			File:

Editions of Public Domain Works

Determining Type

There is no copyright in Canada purely in the act of publication itself. Thus any non-edited reprint or re-engraving of a public domain edition is also public domain. The term "edition" or the credit "edited by" has been liberally applied by publishers for items ranging from serious re-arrangements and re-orchestrations of the original work to completely unaltered reprints of older, public domain scores.

Reprint Editions

Reprint editions of publications that are in public domain are not subject to copyright in Canada, the USA, the EU, and most (if not all) of the world. No copyright can be claimed on the scanning of a public domain work regardless of whether the original scanned is in printed or manuscript form.

International Copyright Treaties

See also:

• Berne Convention (Wikipedia)
• Rule of the shorter term
• List of parties to international copyright treaties (look up TRIPS agreement here)
• International Copyright Relations of the United Stats - lists bilateral treaties

Rule of the Shorter Term

In Berne signatory countries

This rule basically states that if a work is in the public domain in the country of origin, it is also public domain in any country that signed the Berne Convention. This rule has not been adopted by the USA or Canada.

The European Union applies the Rule of the Shorter Term for works whose country of origin is outside the EU. Thus, a work by an American composer which entered the public domain in the USA, is public domain in the EU. Under the Berne treaty, the Country of Origin is defined as the country of first publication of a given work.

In NAFTA Parties (U.S.A, Canada, Mexico)

North American Free Trade Agreement: Article 1703: National Treatment

1. Each Party shall accord to nationals of another Party treatment no less favorable than that it accords to its own nationals with regard to the protection and enforcement of all intellectual property rights.

More information

• Wikipedia (public domain)
• a very useful table at Cornell about U.S. copyright.
• Wikipedia (copyright situations by country)
• Wikipedia (copyright length by country)
• Wikipedia (Canadian Copyright Law)
• Copyright Act of Canada (section:Term of Copyright)
• World Intellectual Property Organisation providing legislative text of all countries.
• WP:Non-U.S. Copyrights