"Data and factual information (e.g., rainfall or temperature measurements, mortality rates, population numbers, currency values, chemical structures, historical facts and dates, the number of Twitter followers someone has) are not protected by copyright. Additionally, simple and typical visualizations such as line graphs and tables, or (a) bar chart…are often not creative enough to be eligible for copyright protection. These types of material may be able to be copied and used without permission" (SFU Library. How does copyright apply to data?).
More than likely all the accompanying documentation that you have created, such as code books, interview transcripts, field notes, research publications, audio/video files, and/or images etc. are protected by copyright the moment you produce them in a fixed format.
Note, your specific manifestation/expression/compilation of the facts may be copyrightable if it is of sufficient originality and uniqueness e.g., simply entering your data into an excel file, word table, or basic database won’t likely be of sufficient originality to trigger copyright protection for the file/table/database:
"Copyright does not protect data; rather, it protects the expression of that data, for example, as an original compilation.... CCH Canadian Ltd. v. Law Society of Upper Canada 2004 SCC 13, the leading Canadian case on originality....provides that a work (such as a compilation) is original only if it results from the exercise of skill and judgment. “Skill” means the use of the author’s knowledge or aptitude in developing the work; “judgment” means the use of the author’s capacity to discern among possible options in producing the work. This requires the exercise of non-trivial, intellectual effort" (Wilson Lue. (2018). Decision clarifies the limits of copyright protection for data.)
Thus, as the bar for “originality” is quite high, it may be safest to assume that the manifestation/expression/compilation of your research data (as well as the underlying data themselves) will not be subject to copyright protection.
If your research data are copyrightable – do you own the copyright or do you share ownership with some or all of your research collaborators? The definition of "joint authorship" in the Canadian Copyright Act states that:
(a) work of joint authorship means a work produced by the collaboration of two or more authors in which the contribution of one author is not distinct from the contribution of the other author or authors....(Canada. Copyright Act R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42: Definitions)
Do all copyright co-owners have to be in agreement as to how their intellectual property (IP) may be used? Or do individual owners have the right to make decisions with respect to their "share" of the IP?
"the Act does not explicitly define the exact nature of co-creator's copyrights in relation to the other authors, nor does it provide explicit guidelines with respect to consent from co-authors as a requirement for exploiting the work.... What we can glean from Canadian jurisprudence and the Act is that a co-owner of copyright in a jointly authored work may assign their interest to another party, who is not a co-author of the work. However, they cannot independently publish, reproduce, transfer, license, or otherwise use that work without the consent of all other co-owners" (Bereskin & Parr LLP. Canada: Prenups of the copyright world?)
This means that you cannot legally deposit your data in a repository or share your data with other researchers unless all copyright co-owners agree to these uses.
What about work produced in the course of employment?
In Canada, in the absence of a previously negotiated agreement, such as a collective agreement or contract, the employer owns the copyright to such work. Therefore, depending on the collective agreement for your employment group or what you have negotiated in your employment contract the College may own the copyright to the work you produce in the course of your employment. To know for sure you will need to read your relevant collective agreement. The Collective Agreements & Terms and Conditions of Employment are available for you to read in DC Connect for the following employment groups:
Faculty
Administration
BCGEU Support Staff (includes student employees)
Training Group
In Canada, only copyright owners can make decisions about how their intellectual property can be used or shared - and as noted above these decisions must be unanimously agreed in the case of multiple copyright owners. For this reason, it’s a good idea to enter into a data use agreement with any co-copyright owners for your research projects before any work gets underway.
Note, if the College owns the copyright to your research outputs then a College official will have to sign the data use agreement for you.
Bereskin & Parr LLP & Etkin, P. Canada: Prenups of the copyright world? Issues to consider in joint authorship & copyright co-ownership agreements. Mondaq.com.
Boskovic, F., & Turco, A. Don't stink up the joint ownership: Co-Owning intellectual property in Canada.
Copyrightlaws.com: Who owns copyright in Canada?
Heer Law. Employee’s Rights to Intellectual Property
HRInsider. Who owns what? Employer and employee ownership of intellectual property in Canada.
