1st Session, 36th Parliament,
46 Elizabeth II, 1997

The House of Commons of Canada

BILL C-220

An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Copyright Act (profit from authorship respecting a crime)

      Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

R.S., c. C-46; R.S., cc. 2, 11, 27, 31, 47, 51, 52 (1st Supp.), cc. 1, 24, 27, 35 (2nd Supp.), cc. 10, 19, 30, 34 (3rd Supp.), cc. 1, 23, 29, 30, 31, 32, 40, 42, 50 (4th Supp.); 1989, c. 2; 1990, cc. 15, 16, 17, 44; 1991, cc. 1, 4, 28, 40, 43; 1992, cc. 1, 11, 20, 21, 22, 27, 38, 41, 47, 51; 1993, cc. 7, 25, 28, 34, 37, 40, 45, 46; 1994, cc. 12, 13, 38, 44; 1995, cc. 5, 19, 22, 27, 32, 39, 42; 1996, cc. 7, 8, 16, 19, 31, 34

CRIMINAL CODE

1. The definition ``proceeds of crime'' in section 462.3 of the Criminal Code is amended by striking out the word ``or'' at the end of paragraph (a), by adding the word ``or'' at the end of paragraph (b) and by adding the following after para graph (b):

    (c) the creation within or outside Canada of a work that recounts or depicts the commis sion of an actual offence of which a person has been convicted or that is based substan tially on the commission of such an offence or the circumstances surrounding it, if

      (i) the offence is one that may be proceeded against by indictment, and

      (ii) the person convicted of the offence or a member of his family or a person dependent on him, with whom the person convicted collaborated, receives or be comes entitled to receive the property, benefit or advantage as a result of the authorship of or any collaboration or cooperation in the creation or publication of the work.

2. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 729:

Copyright in works based on offence

729.1 Where a person is convicted of an offence that may be proceeded against by indictment, there is deemed to be included in and be a part of the sentence an order of the court that the convicted person and any work related to the offence are subject to section 12.1 of the Copyright Act.

R.S., c. C-42; R.S., c. 10 (1st Supp.); cc. 1, 41 (3rd Supp.); c. 10, (4th Supp.); 1988, c. 65; 1990, c. 37; 1992, c. 1; 1993, cc. 15, 23, 44; 1994, c. 47; 1995, c. 1; 1997, c. 24

COPYRIGHT ACT

3. The Copyright Act is amended by adding the following after section 12:

Works by convicted persons relating to the crime

12.1 (1) Where a work is created, prepared or published by or in collaboration with a person who has been convicted of an offence under the Criminal Code that may be proceed ed against by way of indictment, and the work is substantially based on the indictable offence or the circumstances of its commission, any copyright in the work that would otherwise vest in the convicted person shall belong to Her Majesty and shall subsist for the time that the copyright would subsist if it belonged to the convicted person.

Application from date of charge

(2) Subsection (1) applies to any work published at any time following the time that the convicted person is charged with the indictable offence or with any other offence on the basis of the same circumstances.

No reversion to convicted person

(3) For greater certainty, copyright in a work that would otherwise vest in a convicted person but vests in the Crown by the applica tion of subsection (1) does not revert to the convicted person on the completion of any sentence imposed with respect to the offence but continues to vest in the Crown.