When do printed works fall into the public domain?
The general rule for printed works is “life of the author, remainder of calendar year in which author dies, and period of fifty years following the end of calendar year”. This duration is the “life-plus-fifty rule”. Exceptions to the rule are works owned by government. Works published or prepared by federal, provincial or territorial governments base their copyright duration on the first published date. Once published, copyright “continues for a period of fifty years to the calendar year-end from the date of the first publication of the work”. For government works that are never published, they have perpetual copyright protection. (For more information see Harris, Lesley Ellen. Canadian Copyright Law. 3rd ed.
