On the Uneasy Interface between Economic Rights, Moral Rights and Users’ Rights in Copyright Law: Can Canada Learn from the UK Experience?

Abstract

Copyright in Canada is subject to a number of statutory defences, of which parodies and non-commercial user-generated content (UGC) are but two examples. However, the interface between these defences and the protection of moral rights is not very clearly delineated in Canada’s Copyright Act. The statutory defences appear to immunise a user from liability for traditional copyright infringement but not from claims of moral rights infringement. Under this fragmentary approach, users engaging in acts of fair dealing or in the production of non-commercial UGC might still find themselves vulnerable to attack from author-claimants alleging that their moral rights have been violated. Through a comparative survey of key legislative provisions in Canada and the United Kingdom, this article explores the extent to which Canada can learn from the UK experience, and considers the viability of streamlining the scope of the statutory defences to copyright infringement, in order to clarify the interface between users’ rights, moral rights and economic rights.