Moral Rights And Copyrights

IPR Intellectual Property Rights, Copyright Law, Books On Moral Rights In IPR

Protecting Moral Rights Under Copyright Law: The Stride Forward by POKU ADUSEI

The Soul of Creativity: Forging a Moral Rights Law for the United States (Stanford Law Books) by Roberta Rosenthal Kwall

The right of attribution, the right to have a work published anonymously or pseudonymously, and the right to the integrity (retain the originality) of the work are some examples of moral rights. Anything else that may detract from the artist's relationship with the work even after it leaves the artist's possession or ownership may bring these moral rights into play.

Moral rights are distinct from any economic rights tied to copyright, thus even if an artist has assigned their rights to a work to a third party they still maintain the moral rights to the work. Some jurisdictions allow for the waiver of moral rights. In the United States, the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA) recognizes moral rights, but only applies to works of visual art.

Moral rights are rights of creators of copyrighted works generally recognized in civil law jurisdictions and first recognized in France and Germany, before they were included in the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works in 1928. Jurisdictions that include moral rights in their copyright statutes are called droit d'auteur states, which literally means "right of the author".

France recognizes four categories of “moral rights” that differ from U.S. law. The first is the “right of disclosure” – the right to decide whether or not to publish. Under French law, even a paraphrase of an unpublished writing could violate le droit moral. See Sheri Falco, “The Moral Rights of Droit Moral: France’s Example of Art as the Physical Manifestation of the Artist,” Archive, Vol. 2, No. 206 (n.d.), http://www.ibslaw.com/melon/archive/206_moral.html

United States became a signatory to the convention in 1988, but it still does not completely recognize moral rights as part of copyright law It recognizes moral rights as part of other bodies of law, such as defamation or unfair competition.

Article 6bis of the Berne Convention protects attribution and integrity, stating:
Independently of the author's economic rights, and even after the transfer of the said rights, the author shall have the right to claim authorship of the work and to object to any distortion, mutilation or other modification of, or other derogatory action in relation to, the said work, which would be prejudicial to his honor or reputation. -- Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, September 9, 1886, art. 6bis, S. Treaty Doc. No. 27, 99th Cong., 2d Sess. 41 (1986).

The actual author or co-author (usually a hired employee) may not want to be associated with a personally disliked work. However, if the work must be credited and published to recover its costs, the actual author may decide to hide behind a pseudonym as a way to practically "abandon" the moral rights.

In Dastar v. Twentieth Century Fox, the Supreme Court quashed an attempt to bootstrap moral rights onto works in the public domain through section 43(a) of the Lanham Act.

Coincidentally, Twentieth Century Fox had previously been the defendant in a similar suit almost sixty years earlier. Russian composers, whose work was in the public domain, sued Fox for using their work in the film The Iron Curtain, regarded as anti-Communist. The state court (Dastar was based on federal law, this was in state court) found against the composers on similar grounds.

Books On Moral Rights In IPR:

Protecting Moral Rights Under Copyright Law: The Stride Forward by POKU ADUSEI This book advocates a better approach to protecting moral rights under copyright law. It establishes that the concept of moral rights protection is comparatively held in low esteem, especially in the common law world. To make matters worse, the internet has brought with it unprecedented threats to this already obscure aspect of copyright law. Attempts to find answers to those threats have also created more problems than solutions. In suggesting the way out of the quagmires that confront moral rights protection; first, the book contends that the moral rights of authors should be protected as fundamental human rights of authors in order to ensure respect for creative endeavours. Secondly, the nature of the internet necessitates the adoption of international copyright principles to tackle problems confronting moral rights protection and enforcement. This can provide few answers to some of the numerous questions.

The Soul of Creativity: Forging a Moral Rights Law for the United States (Stanford Law Books) by Roberta Rosenthal Kwall Review "Far beyond a purely legal study, Roberta Rosenthal Kwall, in a truly interdisciplinary fashion, analyzes philosophical, psychological, cultural and, yes, theological reasons why authors, even in our postmodern world, merit protection of their moral or spiritual interests."—Adolf Dietz, International Review of Intellectual Property and Copyright Law "Roberta Kwall is one of our country's leading advocates for bringing Continental European moral rights—the legal protection of authors' expressive autonomy and personal connectedness with their creative work—into US copyright law, a regime steeped in a utilitarian understanding that too readily overlooks the noneconomic aspects of creation and expression. In this lucid and eloquently argued book, Kwall presents a clarion call for recognizing moral rights and a nuanced, concrete blueprint for how they might be adopted in the United States in a manner consonant with our copyright and free speech traditions." — Neil Netanel, UCLA School of Law "Roberta Kwall's new book on moral rights is a definitive treatment of the subject as well as a splendid addition to the literature on intellectual property. Kwall brings to her undertaking an impressive mastery of the complex tensions that can arise when a work of art lodges in the hearts and minds of the public. How much public recognition is an artist entitled to expect? And what is to be done when public appropriation and the passage of time result in threats to debase, degrade or even to destroy the original work or the reputation of its creator? Whether in the United States or abroad, answers to questions like these can often seem murky and uncertain. Kwall's responses, which are addressed primarily to changes she sees as necessary in American law, are nevertheless also carefully considered against a background of international conventions. She advances her proposals gently, respectfully, fairly, and powerfully. The result is a creative work in its own right, and one that (like its author) deserves the fullest recognition." —David Lange, Duke University School of Law "Professor Kwall's book is a breakthrough in the theory of intellectual property. In a clear yet sophisticated manner, she shapes a new theoretical foundation for an understanding of the subject—one grounded in the concept of "moral rights." She draws from precepts of moral and political philosophy to develop a model built on a normative commitment to the principles of individual worth, dignity and creativity. It provides a welcome alternative to more traditional economic models. Her theory makes valuable contributions to the most important and controversial doctrinal and practical debates in the area. Even scholars who adopt a different perspective will need to deal with Professor Kwall's work." —Martin Redish, Northwestern University Law School "Kwall presents new insights into the nature of the creative process in arguing for the expansion of the very limited moral right recognized by U.S. law. This important book highlights the difficulty in reconciling the property-based American copyright law with personality-based issues of authorship underlying the moral rights construct, and provides a foundation for creating a meaningful American version of moral rights."—Sheldon W. Halpern, Harold R. Tyler Jr. Chair in Law & Technology, Albany Law School Product Description In the United States, human creativity is historically understood to be motivated by economic concerns. However, this perspective fails to account for the reality that human creativity is also often the result of internal motivations having nothing to do with money. This book addresses what motivates human creativity and how the law governing authors' rights should be shaped in response to these motivations. On a practical level, it illustrates how integrating a fuller appreciation of the inspirational dimension of the creative process will allow us to think more expansively about legal protections for authors. Many types of creators currently lack the legal ability to compel attribution for their work, to prevent misattribution, and to safeguard their work from unwanted modifications. Drawing from a number of diverse sources, including literary, philosophical, and religious works, this book offers real solutions for crafting legal measures that facilitate an author's ability to safeguard his or her work without entirely sacrificing the intellectual property policies in practice in the United States today.

Toward an Ameircan moral rights in copyright : An article from: Washington and Lee Law Review [HTML] (Digital) by Ilhyung Lee
Moral rights protections under US law remain in a confused and uncertain state. The personal interests of the American author are not adequately protected in the thicket of limited statutes and multiple common law theories. Importing the French droit moral for stateside application is not inviting, as the French rule on the one side and the American copyright culture on the other are not suitable partners. What is needed is a moral rights plan based on an American purpose. Toward this end, consideration of an American moral rights doctrine premised on the dignity of the author is proposed. Though dignity appears elusive in definition, Congress and the state legislatures have, in an increasing number of settings, recognized that respect for individual and personal dignity is an end that the law may demand. The right of authorial dignity would demand respect for the creator of art and writings, her work, and the creative process. With regard to the author's central right of integrity, the dignity-based approach would provide for notice to the author of alteration or use of her work, opportunity for the author to protest such action, and the legal capacity to challenge it. Resolution would entail a balancing of the dignity interest of the author and competing interest of the user. In the end, what may emerge is a doctrine of moral rights molded by American values, one that demands respect for the author's personality interests and the balancing of competing interests.
This digital document is an article from Washington and Lee Law Review, most recently published by Washington & Lee University, School of Law on September 30, 2001. The length of the article is 11685 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Toward an Ameircan moral rights in copyright
Author: Ilhyung Lee
Publication: Washington and Lee Law Review (Feature)

Deriving a (moral) right for creators : An article from: Texas International Law Journal [HTML] (Digital) by Thierry Joffrain
Joffrain discusses international copyright laws. Creative individuals deserve a particular status in society and should be legally protected.
This digital document is an article from Texas International Law Journal, most recently published by University of Texas, Austin, School of Law Publications, Inc. on September 30, 2001. The length of the article is 12258 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Deriving a (moral) right for creators
Author: Thierry Joffrain
Publication: Texas International Law Journal (Feature)
1. INTRODUCTION
The goal of U.S. copyright law is to motivate creators2 to generate and share the expression of their "creative genius" with society.3 This encouragement to create and disseminate flows from an explicit constitutional grant of power that enables Congress to "Promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts" by protecting for "limited Times" the "exclusive Right" of "Authors" to their "Writings."4 To fulfill this purpose, copyright law today protects fixed5 "original works of authorship,"6 defining originality7 as "independent creation plus a modicum of creativity."8 The interest of society in "creative...

The Moral Rights of Authors and Performers : An International and Comparative Analysis (Hardcover) Oxford University Press, USA; 6th edition by Elizabeth Adeney
This book is a comprehensive guide to the development and utilization of authorial moral rights across the key jursidictions of the English-speaking world and in France and Germany. In recent years, the copyright statutes of the common law countries have been expanded by the introduction of provisions dealing with purely authorial rights - moral rights.

Toward an Ameircan moral rights in copyright Deriving a (moral) right for creators The Moral Rights of Authors and Performers Toward an Ameircan moral rights in copyright

Books, E-Books Great Discounts