Copyright registration

A buyer of a content, design or software business meets copyright registration when asking who owns the work. Section 54(1) of the Copyright Act provides for a Register of Copyrights kept at the Copyright Office, and s. 53(1) makes the Register evidence of the particulars entered in it. The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) says an assignment, licence or other document can also be registered.

What a certificate says

• Copyright: under s. 53(2), a certificate of registration is evidence that the copyright subsists and that the person registered is the owner.
• Assignment: under s. 53(2.1), a certificate is evidence that the right recorded has been assigned and that the assignee registered is the owner of that right.
• Licence: under s. 53(2.2), a certificate is evidence that the interest recorded has been granted and that the licensee registered is the holder of it.

What to ask

Ask the seller which works are registered, for the certificates, and whether any assignments or licences are registered. Section 55(1) lets the author, the owner, an assignee, or a licensee, or someone on their behalf, apply to register a copyright in a work, so check who applied. The Act calls a certificate “evidence”; a lawyer can say what that means for your deal. See what if the seller never properly registered the software’s IP.