No new books, songs or plays will be added to the public domain in Canada until 2043 after the government introduced a change to copyright laws just before the end of 2022.
Until Dec. 30, copyright protection applied to literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works for the life of their author plus another 50 years.
But from that date, an artistic work will not enter the public domain for the life of the author plus another 70 years.
The change brings Canada into compliance with a commitment it made under the new North American free trade agreement to match its copyright protections with those in place in the United States since 1998. That agreement gave Canada until December 31, 2022 to comply and missed the deadline by one day.
In a statement from the office of Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, the government said the change also brings Canada in line with many other countries, including those in Europe, the United Kingdom and Australia.
"Canada will continue to do its part to protect the interests of artists, creators and rights holders, while continuing to balance the needs of the industry," the statement said.