What rights does a client buy from a freelancer?

In reality the word "buy" is a misnomer. A client purchasing work from a freelance writer is actually licensing specific rights to use the work in clearly defined ways. There are many types of rights that can be licensed, as follows:

First rights: the right to use a work for the first time.

Second rights: the right to use a work for the second time.

Publication rights: the right to use a work in a specific published form. "Serial" rights refer to use in a "serial publication," such as a magazine or newspaper.

Territorial rights: based on geographical area and often combined with first rights. For example, "first Canadian rights" means the buyer has the right to publish the work for the first time in Canada.

Electronic rights: refers to licensing a work for commercial use in electronic form, e.g., on an electronic database, computer disk, CD-ROM.

Language rights: covers translation of a work into specific languages.

Reprographic rights: refers to making duplicate copies of a work, such as photocopies.

Unlike the licensing rights defined above, moral rights are normally retained by the creator no matter who controls the copyright to the work. Moral rights refer to the creator's right to claim authorship—or remain anonymous—and prevent distortion and modification of the work. Moral rights also protect a work's integrity, preventing the work from being used in a way or associated with a product that would jeopardize the author's reputation. Moral rights last for the same period of time as copyright—the creator's lifetime, plus 50 years.

If you are a freelancer, you need to be well informed about copyright law, and how it affects you.

If you are a purchaser of freelance material, you need to be aware of how copyright law in Canada works.