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The concept of “moral rights” refers to certain rights of authors, granted under copyright law and recognized most prevalently in civil law countries.  As defined by the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works , an international agreement governing copyright law, moral rights are the rights “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.”  After the U.S. became a signatory to the Berne Convention in 1989, the U.S. Congress passed the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA), codified at 17 U.S.C. § 106A , granting moral rights in relation to works of visual art, as defined at 17 U.S.C. § 101 .  Several states have passed moral rights laws, such as the California Art Preservation Act, codified at California Civil Code §987 .  Where there are conflicts between such laws and VARA, the state laws may be preempted .

In continental Europe, moral rights are “ inalienable and cannot be transferred or waived .” However, in the U.S., the moral rights applicable to works of visual art “ may not be transferred, but those rights may be waived if the author expressly agrees to such waiver in a written instrument signed by the author .”

[Last updated in July of 2020 by the Wex Definitions Team ]

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What are moral rights in copyright law?

We have previously covered the basics of copyright law among other articles in this copyright series. But did you know that another set of rights exists in copyright works is the concept of moral rights?

Moral rights vs copyright

Copyright is an economic right, allowing or preventing access or exploitation of the relevant work for profit. On the other hand, moral rights are non-economic rights that protect individual authors' and creators' personal interests. Particularly, these rights protect their reputations. They apply only to copyright works rather than any form of design right for example.

Moral rights specifically apply to literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works and films. This includes books, professional reports and articles, an architect's drawings, photographs, illustrations, adverts etc.

It is important that businesses consider moral rights when using or acquiring copyright protected works. This is because the person entitled to exercise moral rights will often be different to the copyright owner. Additionally, moral rights cannot be assigned.

An assignment of copyright does not necessarily give a business 'free rein' to use the copyright material. Businesses must act with care to address and reduce the risk of infringement of authors' moral rights. We explore the different types of moral rights and options for addressing them in commercial transactions in more detail below.

What do moral rights protect?

Authors' moral rights

There are four types of authors' moral rights in the UK:

1. The right of paternity (i.e. the right to be identified as author or director)

An author/director's right to be identified as such applies to the whole or any substantial part of a copyright literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work and lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years.

The right of paternity generally arises where the relevant work has been exploited in some form:

• Literary and dramatic works – where the work (or an adaptation of it) is commercially published, publicly performed, publicly communicated, included in films and/or sound recordings which are made public;
• Musical works – where the work (or an adaptation of it) is commercially published or copies of sound recordings are issued to the public (including as part of film soundtracks), however there is no right to be identified as the author where the musical work is publicly performed or communicated;
• Artistic works – where the work is commercially published, publicly exhibited or visually communicated to the public; and
• Films – where the firm is shown or communicated publicly, or copies are issued to the public.

The right will not, however, be infringed unless the author/director has first asserted it either:

• on an assignment of copyright in the work, by including a statement that the author/director asserts their right to be identified (they need not be the copyright owner or a party to the assignment); or
• by a personally signed document in writing (although this will only bind those who have notice of the assertion).

Certain additional methods apply in respect of public exhibition of artistic works.

Among other exceptions, the right to be identified as author or director does not apply to computer programs, designs of typefaces or any computer-generated works.

2. The right of integrity (i.e. the right to object to derogatory treatment)

The author's right to integrity, which also lasts for the author's life plus 70 years, applies to the whole or any part of their original work. 'Derogatory treatment' essentially means an addition to, deletion from, alteration to, or adaptation of their work which would be considered 'derogatory' if it amounts to distortion or mutilation and/or impacts the reputation or honour of the author.

This doesn't mean e.g. the translation of a book or the simple transposition of a piece of music to a different key, but an alteration e.g. affecting the quality of a work, omitting important passages so as to remove important context, or creating an unfavourable association with the author may be considered derogatory treatment.

Infringement arises when, in relation to a literary, dramatic or musical work which has been subjected to 'derogatory treatment', it is published commercially or publicly performed, issued or communicated; and in relation to an artistic work, it is published commercially or publicly exhibited or communicated. Anyone possessing or dealing with the work or a copy of it in the course of business also infringes the author's right of integrity where they know or have reason to believe it is an infringing article.

Various exceptions exist, including that the right of integrity does not apply to computer programs.

3. The right not to suffer false attribution

The right not to have a work falsely attributed to someone as author/director applies to the whole or any part of a work, e.g. a quote from a person's book, report or article, to which additional words are added which were not originally used by the person, would be a false attribution.

This right also applies where an artistic work has been altered after the author has transferred possession, and a person commercially deals with it and presents it as the original author's unaltered work. Where a literary, dramatic or musical work is falsely said to be an adaptation of another's work, that would also be a false attribution.

Anyone who publicly issues, exhibits or performs the work or associated material containing the false attribution would be infringing the right. Indirect infringement is also possible where someone, in the course of business, owns or commercially deals with a copy of the work and where they know or have reason to believe the attribution is false.

Unlike the other moral rights, this right lasts only until 20 years after the death of the author of the work.

4. The right to privacy (in relation to particular films and photographs)

The right to privacy applies to the whole or any substantial part of a photograph or film commissioned by a person for private and domestic purposes. This means that person has the right not to have copies of the work publicly distributed, shown or communicated (which would be infringed by anyone doing or authorising those acts). The right lasts for the author's life plus 70 years.

Performers' moral rights

Since 1 February 2006, two further types of moral rights have been conferred on performers (in relation to performances taking place on or after that date):

• The right to be identified as a performer (in relation to the whole or a substantial part of a qualifying performance); and
• The right to object to derogatory treatment (in relation to the whole or any part a qualifying performance).

We mention these for completeness, however they are of less relevance to commercial transactions.

Employee-created works

We do not detail all exceptions to the application of the above moral rights (though some are noted above), however particularly important ones apply to employee-created works. Where an employee has created a copyright work in the course of their employment, so that their employer is the first owner of the copyright in the work (unless there is a contrary agreement), the employee's entitlement to moral rights is more limited.

Notably, they will not benefit from the right to be identified as author (or director) in relation to any act done by, or authorised by, the copyright owner.

They also will not have the right to object to derogatory treatment in respect of anything done by or authorised by the copyright owner (unless the employee is, at the time of the act, or has previously been in published copies of the work, identified as the author/director). In relation to the latter, even where the right does apply, a disclaimer can prevent infringement.

Remedies for infringement

A breach of moral rights can be pursued as a breach of statutory duty and does not require proof of damage. It may be possible to obtain general and special damages for lost opportunity (in the event of a breach of the right of paternity causing loss of publicity), damage to reputation and goodwill as well as loss of sales (in the event of derogatory treatment and/or false attribution). It may also be possible to obtain an injunction so as to prevent future breaches.

Reducing risk in commercial transcations

Moral rights should be addressed in any commercial transactions involving copyright works. They are personal rather than property rights and can be (and often are) waived by the author/creator/performer in question, however such rights are not capable of being transferred by assignment.

Any waiver, where appropriate, can relate to a specific work or to works generally, to existing or future works, can be conditional or unconditional, and may be expressed to be revocable. It must be in writing and signed by the person giving up their moral right(s) (and where there are multiple authors, it should be noted that a waiver by one joint author would not affect the rights of the other(s)).

Infringement of a moral right can also be avoided by obtaining consent to do the relevant act (whether in writing or not, and whether express or implied), although commissioning the work does not infer consent to do any acts within the scope of moral rights.

The person entitled to exercise their moral rights will often not be the same as the owner of the relevant copyright work, so care must be taken to seek a waiver or consent from the correct person or all the joint authors (where appropriate), and/or to ensure that what's done with the work (whether by the original copyright owner, assignee or any licensee) does not infringe the above moral rights.

The position on moral rights differs across jurisdictions. For example, in France, certain different moral rights exist (a right of disclosure and a right of withdrawal, in addition to the right of paternity and right of integrity), are perpetual and cannot be waived. Therefore, if international rights are the subject of a commercial transaction, local advice should always be sought on the position on the particular moral rights subsisting in those international rights.

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Moral Rights in the United States

If you follow our blog, you may have noticed moral rights come up in a few of our previous posts (“ A Primer on Fearless Girl ”, “ Theories of copyright ”, and “ Copyright in Campaigns ”).  You may have also noticed moral rights in recent communications from the U.S. Copyright Office .  Moral rights are not often raised in the United States, and with good reason.  Moral rights, as distinguished from economic rights, are given only partial protection under U.S. copyright law.  Here, we give an introduction to moral rights and help to distinguish them from economic rights.

What’s the Difference between Economic Rights and Moral Rights?

In the U.S., one of the main purposes of copyright law is to protect a copyright owner’s economic rights.  This is one of the inspirations behind the limited monopoly afforded to rights holders under copyright law.  These economic rights, such as the ability to make and distribute copies, don’t protect against injuries to an artist’s reputation or honor.  They are intended to allow copyright owners to profit from copyrighted works.  This system of incentives is meant to encourage creativity, and to help individuals support themselves as they pursue their creativity, whether that be in painting, architecture, or literature.

Moral rights are intended to protect a creator’s “ honor or reputation ”.  In addition, moral rights cannot be transferred to another individual or to a corporate entity.  They remain with the creator of a work, even if the rest of that creator’s copyright is transferred.

Example: A photographer is very active in a religious faith that prohibits both the use of tobacco and the consumption of alcohol.  The photographer sells one image and its related copyright to an advertising agency.  The advertising company then uses the image in a campaign for a cigarette company; their ads also feature alcohol. In a country where copyright protects only economic rights, the photographer has no say in what happens to the photograph after it is sold.  There would be no recourse against the advertising company because the photographer’s honor and reputation have no protection under copyright law.  In the alternative, in a country where copyright also protects moral rights, the photographer may be able to protect their work from “distortion [or] mutilation”, like having alcohol or drugs incorporated with their work, if the changes offend the honor or reputation of the photographer.

How are Moral Rights Handled in the United States?

Does the U.S. grant moral rights in addition to economic rights?  Not to sound too much like a lawyer, but the answer is — it depends.  When the United States agreed to join the Berne Convention in 1988, we agreed to include in our copyright laws certain minimum protections for creators.  One of these minimum protections was moral rights.  However, the protections of the Berne Convention far exceed the protections offered in the United States.  The Berne Convention covers a wide variety of types of works, such as “books, pamphlets, and other writings; lectures, addresses, sermons and other works of the same nature…”, in addition to visual artworks, like paintings or sculptures.  Creators of works in countries that strictly adhere to Berne may object to any “distortion, mutilation, or other modification of, or other derogatory action in relation to” their work.

In the United States, on the other hand, only works of visual art are given moral rights protections under copyright law.  This was done through the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA), 17 U.S. Code § 106A .  VARA does not protect literary works (such as books and pamphlets), as they would not be considered works of visual art.  Furthermore, there are specific limitations on what can constitute distortion or mutilation.  For example, changes in how a work is displayed will not constitute a distortion or mutilation for the purpose of U.S. copyright law.  VARA grants to the creator of a “work of visual art” the right to claim authorship of their works, deny authorship of works that they did not create, and prevent the continued use of their name on any of their works that have been distorted, mutilated, etc.  In addition, a creator:

(2) shall have the right to prevent the use of his or her name as the author of the work of visual art in the event of a distortion, mutilation, or other modification of the work which would be prejudicial to his or her honor or reputation; and

(3) subject to the limitations set forth in section 113(d), shall have the right—

(A) to prevent any intentional distortion, mutilation, or other modification of that work which would be prejudicial to his or her honor or reputation, and any intentional distortion, mutilation, or modification of that work is a violation of that right, and

(B) to prevent any destruction of a work of recognized stature, and any intentional or grossly negligent destruction of that work is a violation of that right.

Should the United States Extend its Moral Rights Protections?

This is an open question in U.S. Copyright.  In January of 2017, the U.S. Copyright Office undertook “a public study on moral rights for authors, specifically the rights of attribution and integrity.”  Some believed this was the first step to extending moral rights protection.  Although no extensions were made, the question of additional moral rights protection is one that the United States may need to address, if for no other reason than to examine our compliance with the Berne Convention.

What do you think of the United States’ handling of moral rights?  Do we need additional protections?  Is it fine as it is?  Or should there be even fewer protections?  We would love to hear your thoughts on this issue, and look forward to discussing it with you in the comments!

_____________________________________________________________________________________

By Marley C. Nelson, Rights Management Specialist, Copyright Resources Center, The Ohio State University Libraries

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Copyright Information | Details and Exceptions

What are moral rights in copyright law?

John coldham.

UK Head of Brands and Designs Co-Head of the Retail Sector (UK)

Olivia Nimmo

We have previously covered the basics of copyright law among other articles in this copyright series. But did you know that another set of rights exists in copyright works is the concept of moral rights?

Moral rights vs copyright

Copyright is an economic right, allowing or preventing access or exploitation of the relevant work for profit. On the other hand, moral rights are non-economic rights that protect individual authors' and creators' personal interests. Particularly, these rights protect their reputations. They apply only to copyright works rather than any form of design right for example.

Moral rights specifically apply to literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works and films. This includes books, professional reports and articles, an architect's drawings, photographs, illustrations, adverts etc.

It is important that businesses consider moral rights when using or acquiring copyright protected works. This is because the person entitled to exercise moral rights will often be different to the copyright owner. Additionally, moral rights cannot be assigned.

An assignment of copyright does not necessarily give a business 'free rein' to use the copyright material. Businesses must act with care to address and reduce the risk of infringement of authors' moral rights. We explore the different types of moral rights and options for addressing them in commercial transactions in more detail below.

What do moral rights protect?

Authors' moral rights.

There are four types of authors' moral rights in the UK:

1. The right of paternity (i.e. the right to be identified as author or director)

An author/director's right to be identified as such applies to the whole or any substantial part of a copyright literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work and lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years.

The right of paternity generally arises where the relevant work has been exploited in some form:

• Literary and dramatic works – where the work (or an adaptation of it) is commercially published, publicly performed, publicly communicated, included in films and/or sound recordings which are made public;
• Musical works – where the work (or an adaptation of it) is commercially published or copies of sound recordings are issued to the public (including as part of film soundtracks), however there is no right to be identified as the author where the musical work is publicly performed or communicated;
• Artistic works – where the work is commercially published, publicly exhibited or visually communicated to the public; and
• Films – where the firm is shown or communicated publicly, or copies are issued to the public.

The right will not, however, be infringed unless the author/director has first asserted it either:

• on an assignment of copyright in the work, by including a statement that the author/director asserts their right to be identified (they need not be the copyright owner or a party to the assignment); or
• by a personally signed document in writing (although this will only bind those who have notice of the assertion).

Certain additional methods apply in respect of public exhibition of artistic works.

Among other exceptions, the right to be identified as author or director does not apply to computer programs, designs of typefaces or any computer-generated works.

2. The right of integrity (i.e. the right to object to derogatory treatment)

The author's right to integrity, which also lasts for the author's life plus 70 years, applies to the whole or any part of their original work. 'Derogatory treatment' essentially means an addition to, deletion from, alteration to, or adaptation of their work which would be considered 'derogatory' if it amounts to distortion or mutilation and/or impacts the reputation or honour of the author.

This doesn't mean e.g. the translation of a book or the simple transposition of a piece of music to a different key, but an alteration e.g. affecting the quality of a work, omitting important passages so as to remove important context, or creating an unfavourable association with the author may be considered derogatory treatment.

Infringement arises when, in relation to a literary, dramatic or musical work which has been subjected to 'derogatory treatment', it is published commercially or publicly performed, issued or communicated; and in relation to an artistic work, it is published commercially or publicly exhibited or communicated. Anyone possessing or dealing with the work or a copy of it in the course of business also infringes the author's right of integrity where they know or have reason to believe it is an infringing article.

Various exceptions exist, including that the right of integrity does not apply to computer programs.

3. The right not to suffer false attribution

The right not to have a work falsely attributed to someone as author/director applies to the whole or any part of a work, e.g. a quote from a person's book, report or article, to which additional words are added which were not originally used by the person, would be a false attribution.

This right also applies where an artistic work has been altered after the author has transferred possession, and a person commercially deals with it and presents it as the original author's unaltered work. Where a literary, dramatic or musical work is falsely said to be an adaptation of another's work, that would also be a false attribution.

Anyone who publicly issues, exhibits or performs the work or associated material containing the false attribution would be infringing the right. Indirect infringement is also possible where someone, in the course of business, owns or commercially deals with a copy of the work and where they know or have reason to believe the attribution is false.

Unlike the other moral rights, this right lasts only until 20 years after the death of the author of the work.

4. The right to privacy (in relation to particular films and photographs)

The right to privacy applies to the whole or any substantial part of a photograph or film commissioned by a person for private and domestic purposes. This means that person has the right not to have copies of the work publicly distributed, shown or communicated (which would be infringed by anyone doing or authorising those acts). The right lasts for the author's life plus 70 years.

Performers' moral rights

Since 1 February 2006, two further types of moral rights have been conferred on performers (in relation to performances taking place on or after that date):

• The right to be identified as a performer (in relation to the whole or a substantial part of a qualifying performance); and
• The right to object to derogatory treatment (in relation to the whole or any part a qualifying performance).

We mention these for completeness, however they are of less relevance to commercial transactions.

Employee-created works

We do not detail all exceptions to the application of the above moral rights (though some are noted above), however particularly important ones apply to employee-created works. Where an employee has created a copyright work in the course of their employment, so that their employer is the first owner of the copyright in the work (unless there is a contrary agreement), the employee's entitlement to moral rights is more limited.

Notably, they will not benefit from the right to be identified as author (or director) in relation to any act done by, or authorised by, the copyright owner.

They also will not have the right to object to derogatory treatment in respect of anything done by or authorised by the copyright owner (unless the employee is, at the time of the act, or has previously been in published copies of the work, identified as the author/director). In relation to the latter, even where the right does apply, a disclaimer can prevent infringement.

Remedies for infringement

A breach of moral rights can be pursued as a breach of statutory duty and does not require proof of damage. It may be possible to obtain general and special damages for lost opportunity (in the event of a breach of the right of paternity causing loss of publicity), damage to reputation and goodwill as well as loss of sales (in the event of derogatory treatment and/or false attribution). It may also be possible to obtain an injunction so as to prevent future breaches.

Reducing risk in commercial transcations

Moral rights should be addressed in any commercial transactions involving copyright works. They are personal rather than property rights and can be (and often are) waived by the author/creator/performer in question, however such rights are not capable of being transferred by assignment.

Any waiver, where appropriate, can relate to a specific work or to works generally, to existing or future works, can be conditional or unconditional, and may be expressed to be revocable. It must be in writing and signed by the person giving up their moral right(s) (and where there are multiple authors, it should be noted that a waiver by one joint author would not affect the rights of the other(s)).

Infringement of a moral right can also be avoided by obtaining consent to do the relevant act (whether in writing or not, and whether express or implied), although commissioning the work does not infer consent to do any acts within the scope of moral rights.

The person entitled to exercise their moral rights will often not be the same as the owner of the relevant copyright work, so care must be taken to seek a waiver or consent from the correct person or all the joint authors (where appropriate), and/or to ensure that what's done with the work (whether by the original copyright owner, assignee or any licensee) does not infringe the above moral rights.

The position on moral rights differs across jurisdictions. For example, in France, certain different moral rights exist (a right of disclosure and a right of withdrawal, in addition to the right of paternity and right of integrity), are perpetual and cannot be waived. Therefore, if international rights are the subject of a commercial transaction, local advice should always be sought on the position on the particular moral rights subsisting in those international rights.

If you need advice on the issues discussed, please get in touch with a member of our Intellectual Property team.

NOT LEGAL ADVICE. Information made available on this website in any form is for information purposes only. It is not, and should not be taken as, legal advice. You should not rely on, or take or fail to take any action based upon this information. Never disregard professional legal advice or delay in seeking legal advice because of something you have read on this website. Gowling WLG professionals will be pleased to discuss resolutions to specific legal concerns you may have.

Related services

• Policy Reports
• Examining Moral Rights in the United States

Authors, Attribution, and Integrity: Examining Moral Rights in the United States

Comment Submission

The U.S. Copyright Office has completed its comprehensive study of attribution and integrity rights in the United States. The report presents an extensive review of the U.S. moral rights regime, exploring the current state of attribution and integrity interests—particularly with respect to legal and technological changes since the United States joined the Berne Convention thirty years ago. This report also presents recommendations for enhancing existing moral rights protections should Congress decide that potential changes are desirable.

The term “moral rights” comes from the French phrase droit moral and generally refers to certain noneconomic rights that are considered personal to an author. Chief among these rights are the right of an author to be credited as the author of their work (the right of attribution) and the right to prevent prejudicial distortions of the work (the right of integrity). While these rights have a long history in international copyright law, the United States did not consider formal adoption of moral rights until it prepared to join the Berne Convention, which it ultimately did in 1989.

More recently, moral rights were part of the congressional copyright review held in 2013–2015. During a July 2014 hearing of the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet of the House Judiciary Committee, the ranking member of that subcommittee and the chairman of the full committee both indicated their interest in knowing more about how current laws were working at the time with respect to moral rights issues. The Register of Copyrights recommended further study of moral rights under U.S. law in her testimony April 2015, and at that hearing, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee requested this study. As part of the preparation for this study, the Office co-hosted a day-long symposium on moral rights in April 2016 to hear views about current issues in this area. The Office issued a notice of inquiry for public comments on January 23, 2017, and interested parties filed sixty-two comments by the March 30, 2017 deadline.

In reviewing the U.S. framework regarding moral rights protection, the Copyright Office identified three important principles: respecting foundational principles of U.S. law (including the First Amendment, fair use, and limited terms), appreciating the importance creators place on their attribution and integrity interests, and recognizing and respecting the diversity among industry sectors and different types of works.

The Copyright Office concludes that the U.S. moral rights framework (which includes a variety of federal and state laws) continues to provide important protections, despite there being some room for improvement. Should Congress wish to strengthen this framework, this Report provides possible avenues to do so. Possible legislative changes for consideration include amendments to the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA) and the Lanham Act to better protect attribution and integrity interests, along with suggestions to expand authors’ recourse for removal or alteration of copyright management information in section 1202 of Title 17. Congress may also wish to consider adoption of a federal right of publicity law as a means to reduce uncertainties and ambiguities created by the diversity of state right of publicity laws. The Office further suggests some areas where preferred interpretations of judicial decisions could boost the landscape of protection for authors.

Full Report

• April 23, 2019 – Authors, Attribution, and Integrity: Examining Moral Rights in the United States

Notice of Inquiry

• Mar 2, 2017 – Extension of Comment Period
• Jan 23, 2017 – Notice of Inquiry

Public Comments

Comments Part 1 (mix of initial and reply comments)

Comments Part 2 (mix of initial and reply comments)

Public Symposium

• Official Transcript
• Video Recordings:
• Session 1 , Session 2 , Session 3 , Session 4 , Session 5 , Session 6 , Session 7

Moral rights | Practical Law

Moral rights

Practical law anz glossary w-013-2349  (approx. 4 pages).

• Right of attribution of authorship . To be identified or credited as the author, creator or performer in a manner that is acceptable and reasonable in the circumstances.
• Right against false attribution of authorship or "performership" (defined in section 189 , CA 1968 ). This right recognises a creator or performer's right to be correctly attributed as author or performer of the work and to take action if another person is wrongly attributed. It can also apply in reverse where a work has been altered in a way that the creator no longer wants to be attributed as author of it or only if the alterations made are acknowledged.
• Right to integrity of authorship . The right to integrity of the work or performance, that is the right to object to alteration or other "derogatory treatment" having a negative impact on the individual creator or performer's reputation. The CA defines derogatory treatment concerning literary, dramatic or musical works ( section 195AJ , CA 1968 ), artistic works ( section 195AK , CA 1968 ), cinematograph films ( section 195AL , CA 1968 ) and a performance ( section 195ALB , CA 1968 ).
• Copyright: moral rights .
• Intellectual property issues relating to employees and consultants: moral rights .
• Moral rights consent (with optional waiver) .
• Assignment of copyright (Assignee friendly): clause 4 .
• Assignment of copyright (Assignor friendly): clause 4.
• Assignment of intellectual property rights (assignor friendly): clause 7 .
• Assignment of intellectual property rights (assignee friendly): clause 8 .
• Licence of copyright (short form): clause 9 .

• Practical Law

Moral Rights

Practical law glossary item 9-506-4493  (approx. 3 pages).

• Attribution, meaning the right to be credited as the author of a work.
• Integrity, meaning the right to control some modifications to and destruction of a work.

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Assignment of Copyrights & Legal Implications

Copyright gives authors a bundle of personal property or economic rights in an original work of authorship. These rights include the rights to reproduce, create derivative works, distribute work to the public, publicly perform a work, publicly display visual works, and digitally transmit sound records. They belong exclusively to a copyright holder.

Usually, the copyright holder is the person who created the work. However, any of these economic rights, or any part of these economic rights, can be transferred. Under the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA), an artist’s moral rights in a work of fine art can be waived but not assigned.

An original owner who assigns their copyright to someone else will not retain any right to control how the work is used.

The transfer of economic rights may be on an exclusive basis, which requires a written agreement, or a non-exclusive basis, which does not require a written agreement. Most commonly, this transfer is accomplished by assignment or license. Unlike a license in which the copyright owner maintains their ownership, an assignment is similar to a sale. The original copyright owner sells the rights to a third party and cannot control how the rights are used, just as they would not be able to control how personal property that they sold was used once it was transferred.

Generally, a license is preferable if a copyright holder expects to continue exercising interests and control over the work. For example, if you assign your copyright in a song to a music producer, the decision about whether to allow a film studio to use your song in a film will belong to the producer, not to you. If you license your copyright in a song in a limited capacity to a music producer, however, you will continue to be able to license your copyright in the song to a film producer.

Assignments can be used for many different purposes, such as security for debt, as an asset passed to heirs, or as part of the distribution of assets after a bankruptcy proceeding. Once you assign your rights to somebody else, however, you are permanently giving away your right to control the work. That means if you try to exercise any of the rights you have assigned, you are committing copyright infringement even though you created the work. If you assign your copyright to somebody else and regret the loss, you may be able to buy your copyright back from that person, but whether or not to sell it back to you is up to the assignee.

How Is Copyright Assigned?

Under Section 204 , a transfer of ownership is only valid if the instrument, note, or memorandum of transfer is in writing, signed by the copyright owner or their duly authorized agent. Generally, a certificate of acknowledgment is not required for the transfer to be valid, but it can be used as prima facie evidence that a transfer was executed if it is issued by someone authorized to administer oaths in the United States or, if the transfer is executed abroad, if the certificate is issued by a United States diplomatic or consular official, or a person authorized to administer oaths who also provides a certificate.

Formally recording an assignment with the Copyright Office is not required but can be advantageous.

You do not have to record an assignment in order to assign the interest. However, there are advantages to recording the assignment, such as creating a public record of the transfer details, giving constructive notice to members of the public, establishing priority of rights when there are conflicting transfers of ownership, validating the transfer of the copyright against a third party, or in some cases perfecting a security interest.

Last reviewed October 2023

Intellectual Property Law Center Contents   

• Intellectual Property Law Center
• Copyright Infringement & Related Lawsuits
• Copyright Ownership Under the Law
• Assignment of Copyrights & Legal Implications
• Copyright Licensing Under the Law
• Copyright Registration Under the Law
• Safe Harbors for Online Service Providers Under Copyright Law
• Criminal Copyright Infringement Laws
• Enforcement of Copyrights Through Lawsuits & Criminal Charges
• Fair Use Defense to Copyright Infringement Lawsuits
• Software Development Agreements & Related Legal Concerns
• End-User License Agreements Imposing Legal Restrictions on Software
• Lists, Directories, and Databases Under Copyright Law
• Photos of Buildings and Architecture Under Copyright Law
• Photos of Copyrighted or Trademarked Works & the Fair Use Defense to Infringement Lawsuits
• Works in the Public Domain After Copyrights Legally Expire
• Copyrights and Credits for Songwriters Under the Law
• Music Samples and Copyright Infringement Lawsuits
• Playing Music in Stores or Restaurants — How to Avoid Copyright Infringement Lawsuits
• Consignment Sales by Artists to Stores & Legal Protections
• Destruction of Copyrighted Works & Limited Legal Protections
• Copyright Legal Forms
• Trademark Law
• Trade Secret Law
• Choosing Among Patent, Copyright, and Trademark for Legal Protection
• Intellectual Property Law FAQs
• Find an Intellectual Property Lawyer

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Moral rights in work for hire.

• Mark H. Evans Partner Full Profile

When it comes to copyrights, most folks probably think of the economic rights. These are the rights to control the copying and publishing of a work. The moral rights associated with a work are often forgotten, and this can cause unexpected problems.

The source of copyrights and moral rights is the Copyright Act . (the “Act”). Under the Act, copyrights and moral rights apply to “every original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work”, and “literary” work has been broadly interpreted to include everything from novels, blogs, and essays to computer source code and compiled software programs. In today’s digital world where everyone is a “content creator” and where, as Mark Andreessen famously said, “ software is eating the world ”, works to which copyright applies are being created everywhere, by everyone, and affect every organization. Copyrighted works are not just fundamental to the bottom line of many organizations, they are often the public face those organizations.

Copyright is presumed to belong to the author, though an exception is made for work made in the course of employment (though what is and is not made in the course of employment is sometimes an open question). Copyright can be assigned to another person in writing, so it’s good practice to include an assignment of copyright in any employment or independent contractor contract where copyrighted works may be created.

Moral rights are somewhat trickier than copyrights, and include the rights to attribution, integrity, and association of an author to the work. Moral rights are personal rights that belong to the author personally and can’t be assigned. Moral rights “treat the artist’s œuvre as an extension of his or her personality, possessing a dignity which is deserving of protection” ( Théberge v. Galerie d'Art du Petit Champlain inc. ). Moral rights are long lasting rights, with the same term as copyrights under the Act. This is currently the life of the author plus 50 years, though after ratification of CUSMA this will be likely be extended to the life of the author plus 70 years.

The attribution and association rights give the author the right to be associated with his or her work, and to have the work properly attributed. For example, if a former employee wrote a blog to promote a company’s services that was published on the company’s website under that author’s name, the company might find itself being sued for breach of the author’s moral rights if it were to delete the author’s name and replace it with the name of an employee who wasn’t the author but is still with the company.

While attribution and association may be easier rights to delineate, the “integrity” of the work can be more fluid. One of the more famous examples had to do with the sculpture called “Flight Stop” at Eaton Centre in Toronto in the 1980s. This sculpture is composed of some sixty Canada geese hanging from the ceiling of the atrium in the mall. In Snow v Eaton Centre Ltd. , Michael Snow, the sculptor, sought and obtained an injunction to prevent Eaton Centre decorating the geese for Christmas on the grounds that the decorations offended the integrity of and distorted his work. In 2017, similar arguments erupted in a debate regarding the “Fearless Girl” statue placed in front of the Charging Bull statue in New York City. Here the debate was over whether or not the placement of Fearless Girl changed the integrity and meaning of the Charging Bull. While that dispute stayed in the court of public opinion (the US and Canada differ on the law of moral rights), it highlighted moral rights issues with regard to public art for municipalities.

Waiting for a court to determine what may or may not alter the integrity of a work can be costly and result in unacceptable delays, even if the company eventually proves successful at trial. A software company may miss getting to market early if a programmer insists that his or her source code can’t be modified because it would harm the integrity of his or her work. Likewise, a video game company can’t risk missing a ship date because a concept artist feels that certain models don’t reflect the integrity of his or her character design. Such delays are life and death where being first to market is the priority.

While moral rights are personal and can’t be assigned, they can be waived. This is an important solution to navigating moral rights in works generated by employees and contractors. And because any assignment of copyright is not an automatic waiver of moral rights, the waiver must be express. Certainty in the ownership of copyrights and the freedom to use the copyrighted works created by one’s employees and contractors is paramount in building value and protecting the bottom line, and a clear record of ownership and waiver is the best way to demonstrate value for any future business transaction.

Contact a Lerners business lawyer to find out how we may assist in navigating any intellectual property or employment matter.

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THE BEST Elektrostal Art Museums

Art museums in elektrostal.

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1. Electrostal History and Art Museum

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Coordinates of elektrostal in decimal degrees, coordinates of elektrostal in degrees and decimal minutes, utm coordinates of elektrostal, geographic coordinate systems.

WGS 84 coordinate reference system is the latest revision of the World Geodetic System, which is used in mapping and navigation, including GPS satellite navigation system (the Global Positioning System).

Geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude) define a position on the Earth’s surface. Coordinates are angular units. The canonical form of latitude and longitude representation uses degrees (°), minutes (′), and seconds (″). GPS systems widely use coordinates in degrees and decimal minutes, or in decimal degrees.

Latitude varies from −90° to 90°. The latitude of the Equator is 0°; the latitude of the South Pole is −90°; the latitude of the North Pole is 90°. Positive latitude values correspond to the geographic locations north of the Equator (abbrev. N). Negative latitude values correspond to the geographic locations south of the Equator (abbrev. S).

Longitude is counted from the prime meridian ( IERS Reference Meridian for WGS 84) and varies from −180° to 180°. Positive longitude values correspond to the geographic locations east of the prime meridian (abbrev. E). Negative longitude values correspond to the geographic locations west of the prime meridian (abbrev. W).

UTM or Universal Transverse Mercator coordinate system divides the Earth’s surface into 60 longitudinal zones. The coordinates of a location within each zone are defined as a planar coordinate pair related to the intersection of the equator and the zone’s central meridian, and measured in meters.

Elevation above sea level is a measure of a geographic location’s height. We are using the global digital elevation model GTOPO30 .

Elektrostal , Moscow Oblast, Russia