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[Ian Mak]

Hi! I live in Canada and I've been a little confused regarding how much liberty we are given as end users of copyrighted works. I was wondering if anyone might have any insight into this?

One issue I have been trying to reconcile is how there is no parody defense in Canada...does that mean if my friends and I do a parody of a copyrighted work just for fun (among ourselves), we've infringed on the author's rights? Also, if we're jamming on our guitars and somesuch and come up with new lyrics for a copyrighted song, would that be an infringing derivative work?

I realize no one is going to track us down, but from what I understand, the Canadian concept of fair dealing is more stringent than US' fair use...any thoughts?

[M. Arthur Auslander]

Dear Mr. Mak,
The complexity of the law does not make it easy to solve problems. If it were all clear there would be no lawyers.
It would be easier to solve the problem with a back and forth. If you were to give me a call it would be easier than trying to figure a good answer from the entry.
There comes a point that any help even though you are in Canada might be worth a fee but if you call me to clarify, I may be of some help and won't consider charging you until you are throughly warned.

M. Arthur Auslander
Auslander & Thomas-Intellectual Property Law Since 1909
3008 Johnson Ave., New York, NY 10463
7185430266, aus@auslander.com
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