legal, united-states, copyright, international, canadaBecause Canada has a short copyright term than the United States, there are some works that are in the public domain in Canada, but not the United States.
Is it legal for a company incorporated in the United States to produce a derivative work or reproduction based on one of these works as long as they only make it available in Canada?
Good question though I think you are confusing a couple of things. The entity that owns the copyright can exist anywhere. I suspect the copyright term/duration starts when the song is first released to the public. The duration of the copyright however can vary, depending on where the copyrighted piece was first released. (btw I'm not a lawyer).
Copyright Term and the Public Domain
Most European countries, on the other hand, follow the principle that copyright protection is granted automatically upon creation of the work. This principle was first laid down in the Berne Convention (1886). The Berne Convention specifically forbids (in article 5) that a member country can require any formality for getting copyright protection.
In 1989, the Berne Convention became effective in the USA, and from that moment on also US authors automatically obtained copyright on their works. However, many US texts on copyright still echo the old registration principle, which can be very confusing at times.
To confuse matters even more, the requirement for registration has not been abolished completely. To start a lawsuit against infringers, it is still necessary to register the work. Further, registration offers the possibility to obtain statutory damages, rather than only the actual damages from the infringer.
The rule of the shorter term, also called the comparison of terms, is a provision in international copyright treaties. The provision allows that signatory countries can limit the duration of copyright they grant to foreign works under national treatment, to at most the copyright term granted in the work's origin country.
A country's copyright law only applies in that country.
Let's start with a simpler example. Suppose your company is Canadian, all owners and employees are Canadian, and you don't have any business in the U.S. In that case, it is clear that U.S. copyright law does not place any limitations on what you do with the copyrighted work in Canada.
Since your company is in the U.S., it is more complicated. The exclusive rights of a copyright holder include the right to create derivative works and export the copyrighted work. Creating the derivative work in the U.S. and exporting the copyrighted work from the U.S. to Canada are probably copyright infringement.
I suspect that if you create the derivative work in Canada and only make it available in Canada then you would be ok, but it would be best to consult with an attorney to discuss your situation in more detail.
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