Date: 20090610
Docket: T-1709-08
Citation: 2009 FC 628
Ottawa, Ontario, June 10, 2009
PRESENT: The Honourable Mr. Justice Beaudry
BETWEEN:
NORIE
LYNN JACOBS
Applicant
and
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CANADA AND
THE REGISTRAR OF COPYRIGHTS
Respondents
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT AND JUDGMENT
[1]
This
is an application, pursuant to paragraph 57(4)(c) of the Copyright Act, R.S., 1985, c. C-42, by the Applicant, Norie Lynn Jacobs, who seeks
an order permitting Registration No. 1061165 to be amended to the name of the
Applicant’s pseudonym, Lynn Michaels.
Factual Background
[2]
The
Applicant is author of a textbook entitled Jack of All Trades, Master of
None… But One!, which details the stories of individuals who have had
relationships with people who have been alleged to have mental health
disorders. The author changed the names of these individuals and the places
where the events occurred, but could not change the characteristics of the
events. As such, certain stories are recognizable to those involved.
[3]
On
August 20, 2008, the Applicant employed the services of the Business
Development Centre to register the copyright to her book. Contrary to her
instructions, on August 28, 2008, it registered the copyright under her legal
name, Norie Lynn Jacobs, instead of the pseudonym, Lynn Michaels.
[4]
Subsequent
to discussions with various officers at the Canadian Intellectual Property
Office, an officer elected to amend the registration in question to the
pseudonym of the author, namely, Lynn Michaels.
[5]
The
Applicant fears that the copyright as it was registered on August 28, 2008
could provoke a person mentioned in the book or a person connected to such a
person, to seek retribution against her given the sensitive nature of the
material in the book and this could present a danger to her safety.
[6]
The
Attorney General of Canada and the Registrar of Copyrights take no position
with respect to the matter, did not file any material and did not appear at the
hearing.
Relevant Legislation
[7]
For
ease of convenience, relevant legislative provisions referred to in these
reasons are reproduced in an Annex.
Analysis
[8]
The
Applicant notes that pursuant to section 6.1, the Copyright Act provides
protection for, among other things, pseudonymous works. Prior to the adoption
of this provision, the Supreme Court of Canada held that where it is impossible
to determine who the author is, the work will be protected for 50 years from
the date of its publication (Massie & Renwick Ltd. v. Underwriters’
Survey Bureau Ltd., [1940] S.C.R. 218 at 245).
[9]
Pursuant
to subsection 14.1(1) of the Copyright Act, an author has the right to
be associated with the work under a pseudonym and also has the right to remain
anonymous. The right to be associated with a work as its author by name or
under a pseudonym will be infringed if the work is attributed to someone else. In
Fawcett Modern Fiction Ltd. v. Turvey (1949), 66 R.P.C. 230 (H.C.J. ch.
D.), the Court found that an applicant had a right to the exclusive use of a
pseudonym under which he or she had written.
[10]
Section
55 of the Copyright Act sets out the procedures for application for
registration of a work. Specifically, paragraph 55(2)(a) requires that a name and
address of the owner of the copyright in the work be provided in the application.
[11]
Section
14.1 of the Copyright Act states that an author can be associated with
the work as its author by name or under a pseudonym and maintains the right to
remain anonymous. In such a situation, it should be reasonable to seek
registration under a pseudonym.
[12]
The
Applicant submits that if the amendment by the Copyright Office of the
registration of the work in question was merely an exercise of the authority of
the Copyright Office to correct a clerical error, the Registrar of Copyrights
exercised its authority correctly under section 61 of the Copyright Act.
However, if the amendment of the author’s name is considered in law to be more
than a clerical correction, then rectification of the copyright register may
only be carried out by an order of the Federal Court pursuant to section
57 of the Copyright Act.
[13]
On
the day of the hearing in Toronto on May 21, 2009, during
oral submissions, it was discussed that the remedy sought was in fact in place
as the Copyright Office had amended the original registration to be in the
pseudonym of the author.
[14]
On
the same date, the Court received a letter from the Applicant’s counsel in
which it was alleged that the Copyright Office had once again amended the registration
such that it is now in the full legal name of the author and not the pseudonym
of the Applicant.
[15]
Further
to a direction from the Court, the respondent confirmed that on February 12,
2009, the Copyright Register was erroneously amended by the registrar who
believed that the Applicant’s motion record was an order of the Federal Court.
[16]
When
the error was discovered on May 19, 2009, the information on the Copyright
Register was reverted back to reflect the information found on the original
copyright application. The Applicant was not aware on May 21 that
another amendment had been made to the Register.
[17]
Under
section 57(4)(c) of the Copyright Act, the Federal Court can order the
rectification of the Register of Copyrights.
JUDGMENT
THIS COURT
ORDERS that the Registration No. 1061165
be amended to the name of the Applicant’s pseudonym Lynn Michaels as of August
28, 2008, without costs.
“Michel
Beaudry”
ANNEX
Copyright Act, R.S., 1985, c. C-42:
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6. The term for which copyright shall
subsist shall, except as otherwise expressly provided by this Act, be the
life of the author, the remainder of the calendar year in which the author
dies, and a period of fifty years following the end of that calendar year.
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6. Sauf disposition contraire
expresse de la présente loi, le droit d’auteur subsiste pendant la vie de
l’auteur, puis jusqu’à la fin de la cinquantième année suivant celle de son
décès.
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6.1 Except as provided in section 6.2,
where the identity of the author of a work is unknown, copyright in the work
shall subsist for whichever of the following terms ends earlier:
(a) a term
consisting of the remainder of the calendar year of the first publication of
the work and a period of fifty years following the end of that calendar year,
and
(b) a term
consisting of the remainder of the calendar year of the making of the work
and a period of seventy-five years following the end of that calendar year,
but where,
during that term, the author’s identity becomes commonly known, the term
provided in section 6 applies.
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6.1 Sous réserve de l’article
6.2, lorsque l’identité de l’auteur d’une oeuvre n’est pas connue, le droit
d’auteur subsiste jusqu’à celle de ces deux dates qui survient en premier :
a)
soit la fin de la cinquantième année suivant celle de la première publication
de l’oeuvre;
b)
soit la fin de la soixante-quinzième année suivant celle de la création de
l’oeuvre.
Toutefois,
lorsque, durant cette période, l’identité de l’auteur devient généralement
connue, c’est l’article 6 qui s’applique.
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14.1 (1) The author of a work has, subject
to section 28.2, the right to the integrity of the work and, in connection
with an act mentioned in section 3, the right, where reasonable in the
circumstances, to be associated with the work as its author by name or under
a pseudonym and the right to remain anonymous.
(2) Moral
rights may not be assigned but may be waived in whole or in part.
(3) An
assignment of copyright in a work does not by that act alone constitute a
waiver of any moral rights.
(4) Where a
waiver of any moral right is made in favour of an owner or a licensee of
copyright, it may be invoked by any person authorized by the owner or
licensee to use the work, unless there is an indication to the contrary in
the waiver.
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14.1 (1) L’auteur d’une oeuvre a le droit, sous
réserve de l’article 28.2, à l’intégrité de l’oeuvre et, à l’égard de tout
acte mentionné à l’article 3, le droit, compte tenu des usages raisonnables,
d’en revendiquer, même sous pseudonyme, la création, ainsi que le droit à
l’anonymat.
(2)
Les droits moraux sont incessibles; ils sont toutefois susceptibles de
renonciation, en tout ou en partie.
(3)
La cession du droit d’auteur n’emporte pas renonciation automatique aux
droits moraux.
(4)
La renonciation au bénéfice du titulaire du droit d’auteur ou du détenteur
d’une licence peut, à moins d’une stipulation contraire, être invoquée par
quiconque est autorisé par l’un ou l’autre à utiliser l’oeuvre.
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55. (1)
Application for the registration of a copyright in a work may be made by or
on behalf of the author of the work, the owner of the copyright in the work,
an assignee of the copyright, or a person to whom an interest in the
copyright has been granted by licence.
(2) An
application under subsection (1) must be filed with the Copyright Office, be
accompanied by the fee prescribed by or determined under the regulations, and
contain the following information:
(a) the name
and address of the owner of the copyright in the work;
(b) a
declaration that the applicant is the author of the work, the owner of the
copyright in the work, an assignee of the copyright, or a person to whom an
interest in the copyright has been granted by licence;
(c) the
category of the work;
(d) the title
of the work;
(e) the name
of the author and, if the author is dead, the date of the author’s death, if
known;
(f) in the
case of a published work, the date and place of the first publication; and
(g) any
additional information prescribed by regulation.
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55. (1) La demande
d’enregistrement d’un droit d’auteur sur une oeuvre peut être faite par
l’auteur, le titulaire ou le cessionnaire du droit d’auteur, ou le titulaire
d’une licence accordant un intérêt dans ce droit, ou en leur nom.
(2)
Elle doit être déposée au Bureau du droit d’auteur avec la taxe dont le
montant est fixé par les règlements ou déterminé en conformité avec ceux-ci,
et comporter les renseignements suivants :
a)
les nom et adresse du titulaire du droit d’auteur;
b)
une déclaration précisant que le demandeur est l’auteur, le titulaire ou le
cessionnaire de ce droit ou le titulaire d’une licence accordant un intérêt
dans celui-ci;
c)
la catégorie à laquelle appartient l’oeuvre;
d)
le titre de l’oeuvre;
e)
le nom de l’auteur et, s’il est décédé, la date de son décès si elle est
connue;
f)
dans le cas d’une oeuvre publiée, la date et le lieu de la première
publication;
g)
tout renseignement supplémentaire prévu par règlement.
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57. (1)
The Registrar of Copyrights shall register an assignment of copyright, or a
licence granting an interest in a copyright, on being furnished with
(a) the
original instrument or a certified copy of it, or other evidence satisfactory
to the Registrar of the assignment or licence; and
(b) the fee
prescribed by or determined under the regulations.
(2) [Repealed, 1992, c. 1, s. 51]
(3) Any
assignment of copyright, or any licence granting an interest in a copyright,
shall be adjudged void against any subsequent assignee or licensee for
valuable consideration without actual notice, unless the prior assignment or
licence is registered in the manner prescribed by this Act before the
registering of the instrument under which the subsequent assignee or licensee
claims.
(4) The
Federal Court may, on application of the Registrar of Copyrights or of any
interested person, order the rectification of the Register of Copyrights by
(a) the making
of any entry wrongly omitted to be made in the Register,
(b) the
expunging of any entry wrongly made in or remaining on the Register, or
(c) the
correction of any error or defect in the Register,
and any
rectification of the Register under this subsection shall be retroactive from
such date as the Court may order.
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57. (1) Le registraire des
droits d’auteur enregistre, sur production du document original ou d’une
copie certifiée conforme ou de toute autre preuve qu’il estime satisfaisante
et sur paiement de la taxe dont le montant est fixé par les règlements ou
déterminé conformément à ceux-ci, l’acte de cession d’un droit d’auteur ou la
licence accordant un intérêt dans ce droit.
(2)
[Abrogé, 1992, ch. 1, art. 51]
(3)
Tout acte de cession d’un droit d’auteur ou toute licence concédant un
intérêt dans un droit d’auteur doit être déclaré nul à l’encontre de tout
cessionnaire du droit d’auteur ou titulaire de l’intérêt concédé qui le
devient subséquemment à titre onéreux sans connaissance de l’acte de cession
ou licence antérieur, à moins que celui-ci n’ait été enregistré de la manière
prévue par la présente loi avant l’enregistrement de l’instrument sur lequel
la réclamation est fondée.
(4)
La Cour fédérale peut, sur demande du registraire des droits d’auteur ou de
toute personne intéressée, ordonner la rectification d’un enregistrement de
droit d’auteur effectué en vertu de la présente loi :
a)
soit en y faisant une inscription qui a été omise du registre par erreur;
b)
soit en radiant une inscription qui a été faite par erreur ou est restée dans
le registre par erreur;
c)
soit en corrigeant une erreur ou un défaut dans le registre.
Pareille
rectification du registre a effet rétroactif à compter de la date que peut
déterminer la Cour.
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61. Clerical errors in any instrument of
record in the Copyright Office do not invalidate the instrument, but they may
be corrected under the authority of the Registrar of Copyrights.
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61. Un document d’enregistrement
n’est pas invalide en raison d’erreurs d’écriture; elles peuvent être
corrigées sous l’autorité du registraire des droits d’auteur.
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FEDERAL COURT
NAME OF COUNSEL AND SOLICITORS
OF RECORD
DOCKET: T-1709-08
STYLE OF CAUSE: NORIE LYNN
JACOBS and
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CANADA AND
THE REGISTRAR OF COPYRIGHTS
PLACE OF HEARING:
Toronto, Ontario
DATE OF HEARING: May 21, 2009
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
AND JUDGMENT:
Beaudry J.
DATED: June 10, 2009
APPEARANCES:
Nicholas
Cartel FOR
THE APPLICANT
No
appearance FOR
THE RESPONDENTS
SOLICITORS OF RECORD:
Borden
Ladner Gervais LLP FOR THE APPLICANT
Vancouver, British
Columbia
John
H. Sims, Q.C. FOR
THE RESPONDENTS
Deputy
Attorney General
Vancouver,
BC
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