Notice to Government of Canada Employees

Use of Television or Radio Programs from Commercial Broadcasters

The Government of Canada and the Canadian Broadcasters Rights Agency (CBRA) approved on December 11, 2009 the terms of a new licence authorizing certain federal institutions to record and make excerpts of television and radio news and public affairs programs from commercial broadcasters. Federal institutions covered by the licence include:

Those listed in schedules I, I.1, and II of the Financial Administration Act;
The Senate;
The House of Commons; and
The Library of Parliament.

Without the licence, the recording and excerpting from programs owned by commercial broadcasters would constitute copyright infringement and be inconsistent with the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada, which requires that all institutions "comply with the Copyright Act and ensure that the ownership rights associated with works subject to copyright are fully respected in all media applications."

Terms of Use

The CBRA licence requires that federal public servants ("Government Users") agree to the following terms of use ("Government User Terms") with respect to excerpts and transcripts from CBRA television and radio programs (“CBRA Items”):

The Government User shall use a CBRA Item only for the purposes of the Government User’s non-commercial, internal use and analysis pertaining solely to government matters.
The Government User shall not broadcast, televise, exhibit, transmit, distribute, perform, telecommunicate, e-mail or otherwise communicate or make available any part of a CBRA Item by any means now known or in the future developed including, without limitation, all forms of television, online or internet distribution (provided that the Government User may circulate a CBRA Item, by e-mail or closed circuit television, to other Government Users who have agreed to the Government User Terms, provided such circulation is strictly internal).
The Government User shall not copy or reproduce any part of a CBRA Item or show or provide a CBRA Item or a copy of a CBRA Item to any person other than other Government Users who have agreed to these Government User Terms.
The Government User shall not use any part of a CBRA Item in connection with legal or regulatory proceedings that are publicly accessible, proceedings before an administrative tribunal, meetings of political parties, political campaigns or for marketing, advertising, publicity, endorsements or promotional purposes, or for any purpose that is contrary to law.
The Government User shall not make any public, commercial or other use of any part of a CBRA Item except as permitted by the CBRA licence.
As between the Government User and the CBRA broadcaster, all rights, including copyright, in the excerpts and the transcripts are the sole property of the CBRA broadcaster;

Quality of Video Clips

Please note that federal institutions are generally restricted to circulating or posting digital excerpts from television programs in “Limited Electronic Format”, which is defined in the CBRA licence as meaning a format that “utilizes ‘smartframe’ or equivalent technology with a resolution no greater than 352 pixels by 288 pixels / 25% of the source image area and with a frame rate no greater than 15 frames per second.”

The Government of Canada is, however, permitted to have up to 6 federal institutions that can circulate or post to their local intranet “broadcast-quality” excerpts in digital format; 3 of those 6 must be engaged in law enforcement, national security or emergency operations. Institutions using or wishing to use broadcast quality excerpts in digital format should advise Michelle Shipman, Director, Communications Policy and Federal Identity, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, 613-952-3963.

Further Information

The full terms of the CBRA licence are available at www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/sipubs/comm/cl-dacl/index-eng.asp. If you have any questions, please contact:

Robert Bousquet
Communications Policy and Federal Identity
Treasury Board of Canada, Secretariat
613-957-2536
Robert.Bousquet@tbs-sct.gc.ca