Moral rights

Definition

Moral rights are the rights, even more intangible than copyright (see 1.1.5), that attach to the author's personality as expressed in his or her work. They are based on the idea that the products of the human mind and spirit are so closely tied to the personality of the author that protection is needed, since the corruption of the one inevitably damages the other. They are of great importance in some parts of Europe, notably France where the ‘droit d'auteur’ is in some respects perpetual so that a successful action could be brought against a recording of a jazz version of an opera by Rameau, who died in 1764.

Moral rights have been of less significance in the UK, where emphasis has traditionally been given to economic rights rather than the personality of the author (see 1.1.1). As a result, they were not for the most part recognised in the UK until the passing of the 1988 Act. Some of the elements of moral rights were covered by such things as the law of defamation and the common law (see 8.1.7, 8.1.10), but copyright law was largely silent on the subject except through the creation by the 1956 Act of a civil offence of false attribution of a copyright literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work. Action had to be taken in 1988 in order to bring the UK into line with the provisions of the Paris Act (1971) of the Berne Convention (see 1.2.6). The result is a group of rights strictly limited in application and scope, which apply to the author as an individual. They are the right of attribution (to be identified as the author), the right of integrity (to object to changes to the work), the right to object to false attribution, and (not really a moral right at all) the right of privacy of a person who commissions certain photographs or films.

For moral rights in performances see 8.1.11, 8.5.3.

1956 s43; STIL v Universal Music, 2007

Importance for archives

For the most part moral rights do not have a direct bearing on the work of archivists but they could affect anyone wishing to publish or exhibit a copyright work, and since archivists may at times wish to do both things, and will be called upon to advise others who wish to do them, they must be aware of them.