cadnA Deposit 

The Copyright Act grants authors a set of exclusive rights over their works. These rights apply to any work covered by the Act—among others, literary, dramatic, musical, or artistic—that is original. The work must also be fixed in some material form (including digital form).

Protection exists from the moment a work is created and extends to all countries that have signed international copyright conventions.

In case of copyright infringement (violation), however, you must prove that you are the rights holder—that is, the author of the work.

A deposit on cadnA allows you to prove the link between the content of the work, the deposit date and the person making the deposit. The cadnA deposit provides factual and credible evidence that a given person deposited a specific work on a specific date.

Canada is part of the large family of countries that have signed the Berne Convention, an international copyright treaty. This convention establishes the principle of “national treatment,” which states, among other things, that copyright protected in one signatory country is also protected in the others.

Thus, in Canada and in other signatory countries, a work is protected by copyright as soon as it is fixed (written), if the author is a citizen or resident of one of those countries. 

Therefore, the cadnA deposit strengthens proof of ownership in Canada as well as in the 175 other signatory countries.

The advantages of a cadnA deposit are numerous:

• Access to a deposit service at any time, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day;
• A neutral and secure method for protecting the priority date of your work;
• The ability to declare co‑authors and link them to the deposited work;
• The option to make a short 2‑year deposit at an accessible rate;
• A renewal alert by email 30 days before expiration, helping ensure you don’t miss your renewal;
• The ability to add a deposit certificate to your work to inform recipients that the content is protected.

Yes, anyone wishing to protect their work may deposit on cadnA. The proof of deposit may be submitted before any court. However, since the applicable copyright law is the one of the country where the work is used, some countries may require specific types of deposits (other than cadnA) for their procedures.

No. SARTEC does not verify the content of the deposited work, as it is strictly confidential—this is the principle of the deposit. Depositing your work on cadnA does not guarantee compliance with law. The deposit provides proof of the content of the work and of its deposit date. It is your responsibility to ensure that your work complies with the law.

You may deposit only one file per deposit. Make sure to upload the correct file and the correct version of your work; the file cannot be replaced once the deposit is validated.

The file size is limited to 100 MB.

We recommend depositing a standardized file format that is most likely to remain readable in the future. The following formats are accepted: .pdf, .doc, .docx, .jpg, .mp3, .aac, .wav, .mp4, .mov, and .avi. SARTEC is not responsible for providing the software needed for later file access. ZIP files are not accepted.

If you need to combine multiple audio or video files, you may use the online editor Clideo.

Do not add a password to lock your file; it will be secured by cadnA during the deposit process.

You do not need to re-deposit your file if you have made only minor changes to your work. If the content has changed enough for your work to be considered entirely different from the original, then you may consider depositing it as a new work.

Once your work is deposited on cadnA, you will receive a confirmation email containing your deposit number and your deposit certificate. You may include them in your file or attach them when sharing your work with third parties.

Yes: when depositing your file, you may add as many co‑authors as needed. Like you, these individuals will receive the deposit certificate, but it is your responsibility to provide them with the security key. The proof of deposit will apply to all individuals declared in the cadnA deposit.

When you deposit your file, it is automatically encrypted. Two security keys are required to open and consult it: the first is held by SARTEC through the cadnA application, while the second is sent to you by email when your deposit is confirmed. The file cannot be opened without both keys.

When you need to provide dated proof of your deposit, contact SARTEC to schedule an appointment. Human intervention is required to activate the decryption process. The two security keys will allow recovery of the certified cadnA file, which can then be presented as evidence.

Warning: once you receive your key, keep it safe, secret, and secure. This key is unique, and SARTEC does not retain this information.

When you need to provide dated proof of your deposit, contact SARTEC to schedule an appointment. Human intervention is required to activate the decryption process.

Two security keys are required: the first is held by SARTEC through the cadnA application, and the second is sent to you by email when your deposit is confirmed. The certified cadnA file cannot be opened without both keys.

In the event of the depositor’s death, the heirs may retrieve the deposit under the same conditions, provided they prove the death.

Deposited files are encrypted and stored on a private server located in Québec. The cadnA tool is developed by a Québec-based company on behalf of SARTEC.

Since the files are encrypted from the moment they are deposited and hosted on a private server, text‑mining robots used for AI do not have access to them.

Renewing your deposit allows you to preserve proof of the creation date and priority of your work.

Thirty days before your deposit’s expiration date, a renewal notice will be sent to you by email. You will be able to renew your deposit directly online. Do not delay your renewal, as your file will be automatically deleted once the expiration date has passed.

If you do not wish to renew your deposit, no action is required on your part; your file will be destroyed once the expiration date has passed.

No: deposits are now accepted exclusively through the secure online cadnA platform.

Works previously deposited at SARTEC’s offices are kept securely onsite until the end of their deposit period. You may renew them under the original terms by calling +1 514-526-9196.

Since June 1, 2025, we no longer accept new physical deposits at our offices, but we continue administering existing deposits.