United States of America
Canada
Copyright and Related Rights
6. Please explain whether the listing of copyright rights in Section 3(1) of the Copyright Act, which explicitly includes certain types of adaptations, also encompasses the general right “of authorizing adaptations, arrangements and other alterations” required by Berne Article 12 (as incorporated through TRIPS Article 9.1)
Although the Canadian Copyright Act lacks a general adaptation right, the statute gives the author the exclusive right to convert a dramatic work into a novel or another non-dramatic work and to adapt a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work by cinematograph. Canada complies with Article 12 of the Berne Convention via these rights and by the domestic reproduction right which has been given a very extensive scope by Canadian courts. Accordingly, the Canadian legal system handles by way of the reproduction right much of what some other countries handle by way of a general adaptation right. With respect to adaptation, it is also pertinent that the Canadian Copyright Act specifically gives the author moral rights to the integrity of his work.