The concept of a piece of art that is architectural in nature or an artistically designed building being copyrightable might seem fairly self-explanatory, but what about the design plans for that architectural creation? Do the drawings created by an architect designing how a building will look ever attract its own separate copyright protection? Can those designs be used by someone else trying to create a similar looking building? Continue reading for a look at the ways in which architectural designs and plans are protected under the Canadian Copyright Act and Canadian caselaw.

Copyright in graffiti is an interesting and relatively unexplored area of law in Canada. It is still unclear what kinds of protections a graffiti artists’ work can be afforded, but by looking at the relevant sections of the Copyright Act and examples of caselaw on related topics, it is possible to make predictions about how some of the main issues surrounding the subject might be dealt with by Canadian law. Continue reading for an exploration into the issues relating to reproduction and moral rights that graffiti might pose for Canadian courts and what they might consider if such issues were to appear before them.