Canada enters a public domain pause as copyright laws change to match other nations

Excited about Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books entering the public domain in Canada? Thanks to recent changes to copyright laws here, you'll now be waiting a couple more decades. 

When the copyright on a work expires anyone is free to use it without needing to seek permission. This is known as public domain. In Canada, copyright laws meant that books, films, songs or other works entered public domain 50 years after the death of the creator.

But last week, the country updated those laws, tacking on an extra 20 years, so works don't enter the public domain until 70 years after the creator's death. This means additional content will not enter the public domain in Canada until at least 2043. So the copyright on the works of fantasy author J.R.R. Tolkien, who died in 1973, will now expire in 2043, meaning the Lord of the Rings trilogy and many of his other works will become public domain on Jan. 1, 2044. 

The change brings Canada in line with other jurisdictions that lengthened their copyright terms decades ago. Some artists and creative unions welcome the change, while others feel the duration hampers public access to artistic works.

Canadian songwriter Marc Jordan from Toronto, whose credits include 1978's Rhythm of my Heart, feels the copyright extension has benefits for his work down the road.

"If you're going to go into this business, you want to know that there is some way you can make a living, and I think by extending this the extra 20 years … adds a little bit of value to what you're doing," he said. 

"People, companies will still make money from those songs if they're used to promote a product or they're used as a theme song, so why shouldn't the heirs have some access to the value of that?"

Intellectual property lawyer Elizabeth Dipchand says this recent change is the result of what's happening outside our borders. 

"It is absolutely about copyright, but it's actually more so about trade rights," she said. "The management of intangible assets [doesn't] stop at the borders."

Both the European Union and the U.S. extended their copyright terms to 70 years after an author's death at separate points during the 1990s (in the U.S., there are also different copyright rules regarding corporate-owned works and those from before 1978.)

In a statement to CBC News, the Office of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry cited the Canada-U.S.-Mexico (CUSMA) trade agreement as the reason for the change last week.

"In keeping with our trade obligations under CUSMA, Canada was required to extend copyright term protection by 20 years, to 70 years after end of life prior to January 1. This puts Canada in line with many other jurisdictions in the world, including Europe, the U.K. and Australia."

But the change to Canada's copyright laws is not retroactive, so any works whose creators died before 1972 are still available in the public domain.

This means for the next 20 years, there are a number of titles that have entered the public domain in Canada that still have copyright protection in most of the world. Some examples include the works of authors Ernest Hemingway, Sylvia Plath and James Bond creator Ian Fleming.