• FR
  • EN

CMRRA

Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency

Menu
  • Who We Are
    • CMRRA in Brief
    • Meet the Team
    • Governance
    • Join Our Team
  • Services
    • Our Services
    • International Collections
    • TikTok
    • Affiliation Agreement
    • Forms for Music Publisher Clients
    • Common Works Registration (CWR)
  • Obtain a Licence
    • Need a Licence?
    • Pay-As-You-Press
    • Mechanical Licensing Agreement
    • Tariffs
    • Forms for Licence Applicants
  • Resources
    • Locate a Music Publisher
    • Search Our Song Database
    • Unclaimed Works Portal
    • Address Update
    • FAQ
      • Music Copyright & Publishing
      • General Licensing
      • Cross-border Licensing
      • PAYP/Import Licensing
      • Online Licensing
      • Counterclaims
      • Synchronization Licensing
      • International Collections
      • TikTok
  • News
    • News
    • Legal Notices
    • Newsletter
  • CMRRA Direct
    • Register for CMRRA Direct
    • CMRRA Direct Login
    • CMRRA Direct for Music Publishers
    • CMRRA Direct for Licensees
  • Contact Us
    • Contact Info
    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility Policy
    • FR
    • EN

What is music copyright?

Copyright is a form of property. Under Canadian law, a musical work is copyrighted if its author is still living, or if the author died less than 70 years ago. If more than one author created the work, copyright extends until 70 years after the death of the last surviving author. In the language of copyright, “author” means both the composer of the music and the lyricist. If more than 70 years have elapsed, the work is said to be “in the public domain”. This means that there is no copyright and, in effect, no one owns it. An arrangement of a public domain work, however, is itself copyrighted for the life of the arranger plus 70 years.

The owner of a copyright has certain exclusive rights regarding the use of the musical work. Put simply, this means that he or she is the only person that can reproduce (i.e. make copies of) of the work or perform it in public, and is the only person that can authorize others to do the same. If a person exercises those rights without the copyright holder’s consent, such use is called an infringement of the copyright and is subject to civil and criminal proceedings.

Search

Recent Posts

  • A 50th Anniversary Reflection with Former CMRRA President David Basskin
  • Writers on Track Featuring Joce Reyome
  • United for Success: Publishers Reflect on CMRRA’s Legacy
  • Writers on Track Featuring Josh Ramsay
  • CMRRA Announces 2024 Year-End Results and Looks Ahead to 50th Anniversary in 2025

Categories

  • Legal Notices
  • News
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Who We Are
    • CMRRA in Brief
    • Meet the Team
    • Governance
    • Join Our Team
    • CMRRA-SODRAC Inc. (CSI)
  • Services
    • Our Services
    • International Collections
    • TikTok
    • Affiliation Agreement
    • Forms for Music Publisher Clients
    • CMRRA Direct for Music Publishers
    • Common Works Registration (CWR)
  • Obtain a License
    • Need a Licence?
    • Pay-As-You-Press
    • Mechanical Licensing Agreement
    • Tariffs
    • Forms for Licence Applicants
    • CMRRA Direct for Licensees
  • Resources
    • Repertoire
    • Locate a Music Publisher
    • Search Our Song Database
    • Unclaimed Works Portal
    • Address Update
  • Contact Us
    • Contact Info
    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility Policy
  • News
    • News
    • Legal Notices
  • FAQ
    • Music Copyright & Publishing
    • General Licensing
    • Cross-border Licensing
    • Pay-As-You-Press/Import Licensing
    • Mechanical Licensing
    • Online Licensing
    • Counterclaims
    • Synchronization Licensing
    • International Collections
    • TikTok

Search

  • Facebook icon Like on Facebook
  • Twitter icon Follow on Twitter
  • LinkedIn icon Connect on LinkedIn
  • Site Map
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

copyright © 2025 CMRRA | Website by Madfatter Inc. Return to top of page