What are my moral rights?

If you are a creator, artist or performer, you may have heard of moral rights, which are personal rights conferred on copyright owners and performers.

Moral rights automatically exist in the context of copyright, and are separate from economic rights.

Such moral rights include:

• The right to be identified as an author;
• The right to object to derogatory treatment of a work;
• The right to prevent the false attribution of a work; and
• The right to privacy of certain works.

As an author or performer, it is important to understand what moral rights you have and how best to protect and enforce those rights. We explore each of these rights, and how to enforce them, in detail below.

Right to be identified as an author

The first moral right to consider is the right to be identified as an author, which applies to authors of literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works, directors of film works, and performers of performance-based works. Authors/directors/performers are able to enforce these rights when the work in question has been published, performed or broadcast.

This right may be important in contexts where another party is using your work, and you would like to be credited. This right must be asserted by the author/director/performer in advance of the act complained about (i.e. the use of your work without accreditation), and it must be asserted in the form of a statement.

Right to object to derogatory treatment

The second moral right to consider is the right to object to derogatory treatment of your work.

Derogatory treatment refers to any addition or alteration, deletion or adaptation of your work that distorts, mutilates or is otherwise prejudicial to the honour or reputation of the author/director/performer.

This right may be relevant where someone has distorted or mutilated the message that you are trying to convey in your work.

Right to prevent the false attribution of a work

Thirdly, you have the right not to have a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work falsely attributed to you as author, or a film work falsely attributed to you as director.

This means that if there is a statement, express or implied, as to who is the author or director, you can object to it if it refers to you and you are not the author/director.

Right to privacy of certain works

Finally, if you commission a photograph or film, you have the right not to have copies of the work issued to the public, or the work exhibited or shown in public or communicated to the public.

This right commonly applies in the context of celebrities who can object to the commercial exploitation of their private photographs, for example in the context of weddings or private functions.

Commercial context

In commercial contexts, moral rights may be waived in writing by the person giving up the right. This is usually applicable in contexts where the copyright work itself is assigned (i.e. transferred), because moral rights cannot be assigned – this is because they are personal rights and not economic rights. It is common for assignees to request a moral rights waiver in such a scenario.

If you need IP advice, get in touch with our legal team at info@briffa.com or through our website form. Our IP experts are here to help.