A Note on the Text

• Author: Lesley Ellen Harris
• Profession: Lawyer, author, and educator
• Pages: 11-12

xi

A Note on the Text

I wrote this book for the lay reader. It is in no way a treatise on Canadian

copyright law or a survey of case law, but a simpli ed description of a

complex area of the law. The examples I have chosen in the text are

merely examples. Each particular case must be examined on its own

facts. My intention is to provide you with information that you can

then apply to your own situations and facts at hand—not to o er legal

advice. If you face a legal issue, seek professional advice.

The book can be read from cover to cover or used, as required, for

reference purposes. You might wish to  rst read the entire book before

using it as a reference, since the nature of copyright is such that under-

standing one area of copyright law is often necessary to understanding

other areas of the law.

I have quoted cases or speci cally referred to them only to illustrate

a point that reference to a particular case makes clearer. The consoli-

dated Canadian Copyright Act is at http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/

acts/C-42. You should take caution when reading the Copyright Act

without being familiar with legal jargon and without access to the court

cases that interpret the Act.

You might nd certain sections of the book oversimpli ed— others

overly complex. I have tried to nd a balance between explaining

the law simply, yet providing enough detail for you to understand its

intricacies.

I have avoided technical terms or legal jargon as much as possible.

Words such as work, creation, copyright-protected works, copyright materials

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