In Canada, how big does a work need to be to qualify for copyright?
<p>I understand that a single letter, or even a word cannot be copyrighted, because they are too short to be a <strong>unique work</strong>. So how big does a work need to be to qualify?</p>

<p>It must be an “original work of authorship”. For a court to consider it such it must be complex enough that it is likely to be “original”. </p>

<p>Length is not the sole criteria, compositional effort is relevant - short poetry is more likely to be “original” than short prose, however, even short prose can qualify if the originality is there. For example: “For sale, Baby shoes, Never worn.” erroneously credited to <a href="http://www.openculture.com/2015/03/the-urban-legend-of-ernest-hemingways-six-word-story.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Hemingway</a> almost certainly qualifies.</p>

copyright canada