What categories of works are protected by copyright?

 

Artistic works
Dramatic works
Literary works
Musical works
Compilations

 

Text, more text and even more text... but also software!

This category includes all forms of written documents. The protection extends to all types of text and is not limited to "great literature" or fiction. The protection is in effect whenever the work has a literary aspect without regard to its merit or status. Because of this, protection applies to correspondence, definitions, memorandums and newspaper articles. Also included are tables, computer programs (software) and compilations of literary works.

Thus, software that is incorporated, in whole or in part, into multimedia products (2D and 3D graphics software, multimedia integration software, database management software, etc.) falls under the category of literary works within the meaning of the Act.

From visual art to simple graphics...

This category includes, among others, paintings, drawings, sculptures, architectural works, engravings and photographs, artistic handicrafts, as well as graphics, maps, plans and compilations of artistic works.

Careful! Not the disk but the song...
This category includes musical compositions - with or without lyrics - whether set down in scores or in sound recordings, and all compilations thereof. This category of works should not be confused with the category of sound recordings that incorporate musical works. They will be discussed below.

Maybe not as dramatic as all that...

This category includes plays, operas, musical comedies, choreographic works where the stage arrangements or the staging are set down in writing or otherwise, cinematographic works (films and audiovisual works) and compilations of dramatic works.

As we have seen, each category of protected works also includes compilations of works in the same category. The compilation can also include works from other categories. A compilation is defined as follows:

A work resulting from the selection or arrangement of literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works or of parts thereof, or a work resulting from the selection or arrangement of data.

The category of compilations thus includes data banks, computerized or not, and most multimedia products. In fact, in Canada, it is generally accepted that, as compilations of various works and of data, multimedia products are protected by the Copyright Act.

Basic rule to remember:

The Act contains specific provisions regarding the level of originality required to protect the compilation: this originality is assessed in relation to the selection andarrangement of the works or the data that constitute the compilation.

The Act includes a recent provision to the effect that the compilation of works from different categories is presumed to constitute a compilation in the category that represents the most substantial part. The Act also provides that the incorporation of a work into a compilation does not alter the protection conferred on this work by the Act in respect of copyright and moral rights.

This provision is particularly relevant when determining the system of protections applicable to a multimedia product, because the category of works to which it belongs will depend on the reply to this question. In other words, will the final multimedia product be considered an artistic, literary, dramatic or musical work?

The Act does not give any guidance on how "substantial part" is to be determined. Is it in terms of the physical space the work occupies on the disk, the number of files in each category, the potential real use of each file or their commercial value? This rule is significant for the protection of multimedia products.