Here is the Canadian copyright site, its much better to use than the USPTO's site: http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/sc_mrksv/cipo/cp/copy_gd_main-e.html
The guide explains the basics of copyright, which are pretty much the same around the world, certainly between the US and Canada.
It's worth noting that copyright is a form of intellectual property, just like patents and trademarks are also IP. That means that the copyright is intangable property that can be bought and sold seperatly from the physical work that the copyright is protecting. Thus if you buy a box of slides at a garage sale, you don't necessarly own the copyright.
There are special rules for photographs that determine the length of the copyright protection, depending upon who the creator is. There can be authors who are natural people, and two different types of corporations, depending upon the ownership of the voting shares.
Another concept important to us is Moral Rights. Essentialy what this is, is if you sell a copyright to someone they are not allowed to distort, mutilate or otherwise modify your work in a way that is prejudicial to your honour or reputation.
The guide explains the basics of copyright, which are pretty much the same around the world, certainly between the US and Canada.
It's worth noting that copyright is a form of intellectual property, just like patents and trademarks are also IP. That means that the copyright is intangable property that can be bought and sold seperatly from the physical work that the copyright is protecting. Thus if you buy a box of slides at a garage sale, you don't necessarly own the copyright.
There are special rules for photographs that determine the length of the copyright protection, depending upon who the creator is. There can be authors who are natural people, and two different types of corporations, depending upon the ownership of the voting shares.
Another concept important to us is Moral Rights. Essentialy what this is, is if you sell a copyright to someone they are not allowed to distort, mutilate or otherwise modify your work in a way that is prejudicial to your honour or reputation.
