Content area
Abstract
Companies may be keen on using images of money on advertisements, websites, point of sale displays and other marketing materials. What companies may not know is that consent is required to use images of Canadian bank notes and coins to avoid contravening Canadian laws. The Bank of Canada (Bank) is the copyright owner of the images found on Canadian bank notes. In addition to a potential copyright claim, it is an offence under the Canadian Criminal Code to reproduce the likeness of a current bank note in circulation.
One can avoid being convicted under the Code if the likeness is: Printed; less than 3/4 or greater than 1 1/2 times the length or width of the bank note; and in black and white and/or only one-sided.
The Bank's Policy on the Reproduction of Bank Note Images (Policy) states that the Bank's written consent must be obtained before a bank note image is reproduced to avoid the risk of potential criminal and civil consequences. The application procedure to obtain Bank approval includes, among other things, submitting (i) a statement of the purpose for copying a bank note image, (ii) a description of the proposed placement and distribution of the material featuring the bank note image, and (iii) a PDF of the proposed reproduction.
In designing marketing materials, companies should determine whether it is worthwhile to have images of Canadian money included in such materials. If it is, written consent will need to be obtained. Applicants may need to budget in the payment of fees and royalties, especially in respect of using images of Canadian coins. Despite receiving approval, before any marketing materials can be published or otherwise distributed, the reproduced images must satisfy any terms of use imposed by the Bank and/or the Mint.