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In the context of intellectual property, as a business owner, you may wonder how moral rights differ from copyright. This article will discuss how moral rights differ from copyrights and consider what protections they may afford you.
Moral Rights
Moral rights protect the integrity of creative work and the authors’ interests in it. These rights are restricted to certain types of property that have a creative quality. Their legal function protects non-economic interests. For instance, authors and creators can waive their moral rights but they cannot sell them (as this is the function of copyright). Therefore, moral rights are only available for dramatic, musical, artistic, film, literary, academic and certain performance works. Moral rights remain with the work’s author and cannot be exercised by others.
There are four moral rights recognised in the UK:
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The right to attribution |
This right is to be properly identified as the creative work’s author, creator or performer. This is also known as the right to paternity. |
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The right to object to derogatory treatment of a work |
Often referred to as the integrity right, this allows the creator to protect the reputation of their work. Derogatory treatment can be things such as addition, deletion or adaptation that damage the original work or otherwise negatively impact its reputation. |
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The right to object to false attribution |
This right ensures that an author, for example, cannot be named as the author of a particular piece of work they did not create. It, therefore, protects your reputation. |
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The right to privacy of certain photographs and films |
This right enables those who have photographs or films to protect against them being used in public, for example, without their permission. |
Moral rights are separate from copyright but both are linked to one another. The right to object to false attribution lasts for 20 years after the creator’s death, whereas the other three moral rights last for the duration of the copyright.
Copyright
Copyright protects your economic interests in your work. It is an automatic right the law grants creators of certain works such as literary, dramatic, artistic or musical works. The only requirement is that the work must be original. The law automatically asserts copyright protection from the point you create the work.
Copyright prevents others from copying your work, adapting it, selling it or performing it in public. As it is an automatic right, you do not need to register your work with any agency or public body, such as the Intellectual Property Office (IPO). In this sense, copyright is similar to moral rights because it arises automatically.
The main difference between the two is that copyright can be sold or given away by the copyright owner. This is because copyright protects the financial interest in a work. Therefore, as a piece of property, you can sell or licence the copyright to others, which means it has a financial value. Even if you sell your copyright, you retain your moral rights over the work unless you waive them.
Many creatives use the © symbol about their work to assert their copyright.
Copyright Expiry
The extent to which copyright protects your work depends on the form of the work in question. For example:
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Work |
How Long Copyright Lasts |
|
Written, dramatic, musical and artistic work |
70 years after the author’s death |
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Musical |
70 years from when it was first published |
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Film |
70 years after the death of the director, screenplay author and composer |
|
Broadcasts |
50 years from the first broadcast |
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Layout of published editions of written, dramatic or musical works |
25 years from when it is first published |
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Key Takeaways
Moral rights and copyright exist as two separate types of rights that arise over both creative works such as literary, academic, dramatic, musical and film creations. Moral rights protect the integrity of an author’s work and you cannot sell these rights to others. On the other hand, copyright protects the financial interests in a piece of creative property. This prevents others from reproducing or publishing it without your consent. Because it protects the financial interests, you can sell or licence the copyright to others.
If you need help with copyright or moral rights, our experienced intellectual property lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Moral rights protect the integrity of a piece of creative work whereas copyright protects against copying or using without consent. Both moral rights and copyright exist as separate sets of rights.
You cannot sell your moral rights but you can choose to waive them. However, in practice, there is very little reason to do this and you should consult an intellectual property lawyer before you attempt to do so.
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