Copyright Info for Visual Artists

What Is Copyright?

Copyright is the exclusive legal right to control how an original artwork is used. This includes the right to reproduce, publish, display, and share your work.

For visual artists, copyright applies to original artworks that are fixed in a material form, such as:

• Paintings, drawings, prints, and sculptures

• Photographs and video works

• Digital files saved on a computer, hard drive, or memory card

In Canada, copyright lasts for the artist’s lifetime plus 70 years after death.

To qualify for copyright protection, a work must meet three conditions:

1. Originality

2. Expression

3. Fixation