As of December 30, 2022, the term of copyright in Canada was extended from 50 years after the death of the last surviving author to 70 years after the death of the last surviving author. All copyright protected works whose copyright already expired on or before December 2021 will remain in the public domain; however, works for which the last surviving author died on January 1, 1972 or later will have copyright protection for a period of 70 years following the end of the year of death of that last surviving author.
As an example, if a writer died on July 30, 1972, his or her solely written works will go into the public domain on January 1, 2043. If a writer died on July 30, 1971, his or her solely written works went into public domain on January 1, 2022.
For licensing purposes, please note there are many copyrighted arrangements of public domain works. A licence will be required to reproduce these. If a song is confirmed to be in the public domain, and you’re producing your own arrangement, you do not require a licence and no royalties are owed.
For more information, you may wish to visit CMRRA’s Repertoire. You may also wish to read more on our Music Copyright & Publishing FAQ.
