How do I secure the rights to reprint publications of the Canadian government?

March 25, 2009 11:51 AM

Whose permission do I need to reprint publications of the Canadian government?

I am currently doing some work helping somebody prepare a (scholarly) book for publication. One of the things that said person would like to include in the book is an appendix that includes reprints of publications of the Canadian Prime Minister's Office (such as press releases) as well as the exact wording of debates and discussion in provincial legislatures and the federal parliament.

My job at the moment is to find out who needs to be contacted to obtain these permissions, but I can't for the life of me figure out who I need to talk to. I have found, for instance, that the material is protected by Canadian copyright law and that it is he author's / publisher's responsibility to determine who has the rights and to secure the rights. However, nowhere can I find any indication as to who posseses the rights to, say, the text contained in hansard.

We've tried contacting people via e-mail, but responses are few and far between. Short of hiring a copyright lawyer (which is an expense that the author would prefer to avoid if it is at all possible) how do I go about making sure that the text can be legally reprinted?

posted by synecdoche to Law & Government (3 answers total)

Best answer: Here is a pdf of the application for copyright clearance. Here is the contact info for the Crown Copyright & Licensing office, where you'll send that (and the right people to call).

Here is some info on the subject.

Anyone may, without charge or request for permission, reproduce enactments and consolidations of enactments of the Government of Canada, and decisions and reasons for decisions of federally-constituted courts and administrative tribunals, provided due diligence is exercised in ensuring the accuracy of the materials reproduced and the reproduction is not represented as an official version.
I get the impression that this would not cover debates in parliament, but I'm not sure.

For the debates, either it's covered under crown copyright, or it's copyrighted by Hansard.
posted by Lemurrhea at 11:58 AM on March 25, 2009

Have you seen the Crown Copyright & Licensing page for Government of Canada Publications? It has the application form that you can use to obtain copyright clearance for any Government of Canada publication.
posted by ssg at 12:17 PM on March 25, 2009

The Debates of the Parliment of Canada are published in the Hansard

I couldn't find copyright information with a quick search, but I would suggest you ask them

* Telephone: [phone]
* Fax: [phone]
* E-mail: [e-mail]

Alternately, call the Office of the Speaker of the House. Make sure to call the Ottawa office, not the Speaker's constitutency office in Kingston.
posted by tiamat at 2:41 PM on March 25, 2009