Songwriters are entitled to just one royalty—not two—when their music is streamed or downloaded through an online service, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled.
The top court’s decision Friday clarifies the meaning of a Canadian copyright law provision dealing with communication of a work to the public online.
Canada ushered in the provision after signing on to an international treaty that obliged member countries to protect on-demand transmissions and give authors the right to control when and how their work is made available for downloading or streaming.
The Copyright Board of Canada ruled the legislative provision meant that making a song or other artistic work available was a separately protected activity for which there must be compensation….