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The nature of moral rights

The copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988) confers a number of personal rights on authors that are additional to their economic rights. These are known as moral rights. While copyright deals with economic interests, moral rights are about the reputation and integrity of the author that is publicly associated with the work. Reference is sometimes made to ‘copyright and associated rights’—moral rights are a subcategory of these ‘associated rights’. While distinct from copyright, they do not arise where copyright does not arise.

Article 6bis(1) of the Bern Convention provides:

'(1) 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.'

CDPA 1988 implements this right into UK law giving:

1. •

   authors of copyright literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works and the directors of copyright film works