Copyright for Photography

Canada's original Copyright Act dates back to 1921. It was last updated in 2020, and prior to that in 2012 and 1997.

Prior to the 2012 amendment, photography had special rules about ownership. Copyright was granted to the person who owned the film/memory card or, in the case of commissioned photographs, to the customer (provided they had paid in full). Now photography is treated like all other works.

The 2012 amendment also introduced the concept of technological neutrality, meaning that principles in the Act apply to all works regardless of format (i.e. physical or digital). 

Court decisions provide guidance about how to interpret the Copyright Act and ultimately inform the way we use copyright-protected content. The higher the court, the more important the ruling. 

The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) is the highest court in this country. The SCC rarely rules on copyright cases, so the SCC decisions we do have form an important part of the Canadian copyright landscape. 

There is no international copyright law. Instead, countries around the world have signed international copyright treaties that outline minimum standards that member countries must follow. 

Canada is a signatory of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. This is the primary international treaty governing copyright law. One condition of this treaty is "life +50" (life of the creator +50 years) as the minimum term of copyright protection. 

In 2012 a private use provision was added to the Act that allows individuals to use commissioned photographs for non-commercial purposes (see s. 32.2(1)(f)). This allows clients to do things like print images from family photo shoots on Christmas cards.

Many family and wedding photographers have a clause in their contract that allows them to use photographs they have taken for advertising purposes (e.g. in their portfolio or on social media).

National treatment means that all Berne Convention signatory countries (181 in total!) agree to treat works created in other countries as they would their own. 

So, if you are in Canada and using a work created in India, you follow Canadian copyright law. This spares everyone from having to know other countries' copyright laws.