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the author. They can, however, be waivedirrevocably.In Canada, the term of copyright protectiongenerally subsists for the life of the authorplus 50 years but there are exceptionsdepending on the type of work and whetherit was authored by one or more persons.The general rule is that the author of thework is its first owner. However, when awork is created by an employee in thecourse of his or her employment, thecopyright relating to that work isautomatically owned by the employer unlessthere is an agreement to the contrary. Awork created by an independent contractoris owned by the independent contractorunless there is an agreement to thecontrary, despite the fact that the work inquestion may have been commissioned andpaid for by someone else.Exceptions to InfringementThere are certain uses that can be made ofcopyrighted material that do not constituteinfringement and, as such, are legaldefences to claims of infringement.Historically, such defences have beencalled “fair dealing” (in contrast to “fair use”in the US legislation, although thesubstantive differences are minor).However, as a result of a recent line oflandmark decisions of the Supreme Court ofCanada, fair dealing is now moreappropriately described as “user rights” inCanada. User rights must be exercisedfairly and must fall within one or more of theseven enumerated statutory purposes: (i)research; (ii) private study; (iii) education;(iv) parody; (v) satire; (vi) criticism or review;and (vii) news reporting. There are also anumber of other specific exceptions toinfringement contained in the Copyright Act,however they are extremely detailed,relatively narrow and beyond the scope ofthis summary.PATENTSPatent law in Canada is governedexclusively by the federal Patent Act. Apatent gives the owner of the patent theexclusive right to manufacture, use and sellthe invention claimed in the patent, and theability to prevent others from doing thesame. A patent protects the claimedinvention only, and not just the expressionof the inventive idea, like copyright. Thus,even if you independently developinventions on your own, without anyknowledge of an existing patent, you maystill be barred from making, using or sellingthe invention until the patent that previouslyclaimed the invention has expired.Patents offer inventors monopolies on theircreations for specific periods, and thusprovide incentives for research anddevelopment. The length of time duringwhich a patentee is able to exercise itsexclusive rights is currently 20 years fromthe Canadian application date. Without thepossibility of patent protection, many peoplemight not take the risks or invest the timeand money involved in devising andperfecting new products.Patents are also a means of advancingtechnology. The patent discloses in clearand specific terms how the invention beingpatented works although no one else canuse the information until the patent hasexpired. Because of the rigid tests andjurisprudence governing the patentability ofinventions, patents are more difficult toIntellectual Property 80