On November 23, 2022, the Government of Canada announced that an Order in Council has been signed to bring into force the amendments to the Copyright Act that were included in Bill C-19, the Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1. The amendments will now come into force on December 30, 2022.
As discussed in a previous Cassels Comment, Bill C-19 will extend the term of copyright protection in literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works from 50 years to 70 years after the end of the year of the author's death. This long-awaited amendment fulfills one of Canada's key commitments under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) and brings its term of copyright protection in line with most of its major trading partners.
The term extension will not apply to works that are already in the public domain before the amendments come into force. But any copyrights that were set to expire this year will now be extended through December 31, 2042.
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