Copyright term for books: Canada
In Canada, according to the Justice Laws Website: life of the author, the rest of that calendar year, then 70 years. As of 2026-09-25.
Canada's Copyright Act protects a work for the author's life, the rest of the calendar year in which the author dies, and 70 years after the end of that year.
The section read cites an amendment made in 2022. Counting from the end of the calendar year means a work becomes free on January 1, not on the anniversary of the author's death.
Works whose authors died before the change may follow the earlier rule; the Act's transitional provisions decide.
1In the official wording
the term for which copyright subsists is the life of the author, the remainder of the calendar year in which the author dies, and a period of 70 years following the end of that calendar year.
Justice Laws Website, Copyright Act section 6
a period of 70 years following the end of that calendar year
Justice Laws Website, Copyright Act section 6
- Section 6Life of the author, the rest of that calendar year, then 70 years
- Section 6The 70 years run from the end of the calendar year of death
2Turning the book into episodes
Once the rights in “Canada” are settled, SceneMixer describes the adaptation itself like this:
SceneMixer separates the script language from the production language: the output (episode outlines, storyboards, on-screen text) follows your interface language, and target-region localization adapts character names, casting, and scenery for Western, East Asian, Southeast Asian, or Latin American audiences.
SceneMixer, Turn a Novel into a Video Series with AI — “Can I turn a Chinese web novel into an English-language drama?” (read 2026-10-13)
About 300,000 characters of English — roughly 50,000 words — in one project. Past that, split by act or volume and run them as separate projects; the cast can be carried across.
SceneMixer, AI Script Breakdown — “How long can the script be?” (read 2026-10-13)
3Next to the other jurisdictions
| Jurisdiction | Term | Expiry |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Life of the author plus 70 years for works created from 1978 | Every work published in the United States before January 1, 1931 is in the public domain |
| United Kingdom | 70 years after the author's death for written works | Once copyright has expired, anyone can use or copy the work |
| European Union | Life of the author and 70 years after death, across the member states | Not stated on the page read |
| Canada | Life of the author, the rest of that calendar year, then 70 years | The 70 years run from the end of the calendar year of death |
| Japan | The author's lifetime and 70 years after death | Not stated on the page read |
| Australia | 70 years after the death of the author for works | Expired material falls into the public domain and may be used without permission |
Inclusion rule. Jurisdictions whose official pages were read. Order. The order they are listed in on this site.
Every one of the six reads 70 years after the author's death for an ordinary book, but the details differ: where the count starts, how older works are handled, and which works count from publication instead of death.
4Other jurisdictions
Then check the text you use: public-domain libraries; and the tool you upload it to: AI tool terms.