Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42)

Marginal note:Non-commercial user-generated content

• 29.21 (1) It is not an infringement of copyright for an individual to use an existing work or other subject-matter or copy of one, which has been published or otherwise made available to the public, in the creation of a new work or other subject-matter in which copyright subsists and for the individual — or, with the individual’s authorization, a member of their household — to use the new work or other subject-matter or to authorize an intermediary to disseminate it, if

  • (a) the use of, or the authorization to disseminate, the new work or other subject-matter is done solely for non-commercial purposes;

  • (b) the source — and, if given in the source, the name of the author, performer, maker or broadcaster — of the existing work or other subject-matter or copy of it are mentioned, if it is reasonable in the circumstances to do so;

  • (c) the individual had reasonable grounds to believe that the existing work or other subject-matter or copy of it, as the case may be, was not infringing copyright; and

  • (d) the use of, or the authorization to disseminate, the new work or other subject-matter does not have a substantial adverse effect, financial or otherwise, on the exploitation or potential exploitation of the existing work or other subject-matter — or copy of it — or on an existing or potential market for it, including that the new work or other subject-matter is not a substitute for the existing one.

• Marginal note:Definitions

  (2) The following definitions apply in subsection (1).

  intermediary

  intermediary means a person or entity who regularly provides space or means for works or other subject-matter to be enjoyed by the public. (intermédiaire)

  use

  use means to do anything that by this Act the owner of the copyright has the sole right to do, other than the right to authorize anything. (utiliser)