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Australian Lawyers and Consultants

Legal Force of "Moral Rights"

November 2003

The Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000 which came into effect on 21 December 2000 has had a significant impact in many areas of creative endeavour. The law protects some “moral rights” held by individual creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and makers of films. Creators include visual artists, architects, illustrators, photographers, writers of all kinds, screenwriters, set designers, film makers (include the writer of a script for a film or television program, the producer and the director) and map makers.

Moral Rights Concept

Moral rights, sometimes described as the “droit moral”, originated in Europe and reflect a view of the creator as deserving respect for creativity, with an inalienable right to:

• be recognised as the author of a work;
• no false attribution of authorship (i.e. for no-one else to be identified as the author of a work); and
• prevent others from modifying, distorting, or otherwise interfering with the integrity of that work.

Moral rights are non-economic rights, as they do not confer a financial return on copyright creators or owners. They may not be traded, sold or bequeathed in a will. Moral rights are not assignable or able to be bequeathed under a Will, but a legal personal representative of the creator’s estate can enforce moral rights after the death of the creator.

Scope of Rights under the Act include:

1. The right of attribution. This requires the creator to be attributed whenever:
   

   • a literary, dramatic or musical work is reproduced, published, performed, transmitted or adapted;
   • an artistic work is reproduced, published, exhibited or transmitted; or
   • a film is copied, exhibited or transmitted.

2. The right of integrity. This right is infringed if the work or film is subject to derogatory treatment, which is prejudicial to the author’s honour or reputation. Derogatory treatment can include:
   

   • material distortion, mutilation or alteration of a literary, dramatic or musical work;
   • material distortion, destruction, mutilation or alteration of an artistic work or building, or the exhibiting of the work in a derogatory manner or place;
   • material distortion, mutilation or alteration of a film; or
   • the doing of everything in relation to work or film that is prejudicial to the creator or film maker’s honour or reputation.

For further information, contact Joe Lederman at BALDWINS, Australian Lawyers & Consultants.

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