Moral rights have everything to do with who you are as an artist and creator, and nothing to do with the financial potential of your work. Let's take a closer look.
Moral rights have everything to do with who you are as an artist and creator, and nothing to do with the financial potential of your work (those rights are your Economic Rights). Moral rights also apply in the context of performance, not just work that's fixed in form, like a book.
Outlined in the Copyright Act (1994) are four moral rights: the right of attribution, the right of integrity, false attribution, and privacy. Let's take a closer look at each of these four moral rights:
- Right of attribution
Attribution is about the right to be correctly identified - “anon” doesn’t always cut it! You need to assert the Right of Attribution by making sure your name (or what you want to be known as) is in writing and clear for anyone who views or uses your work. It doesn’t have to be on the work itself for example, if you are an artist, a nameplate beside your sculpture serves well, but it should be easily found. - Right of integrity
Integrity is also known as the right to object to derogatory treatment. It’s not about getting a bad review, it’s about your work being manipulated in such a way as to harm your artistic reputation. - False attribution
False attribution means nobody should put your name on work that isn’t yours (like forgery). - Privacy
Privacy allows you to ask someone to take down or remove any likeness of you that you haven’t agreed to. For example, if someone took pictures at a private event, and then those pictures ended up on their website, and you are identifiable, you can ask for that picture to be removed, even though they own the copyright.
Are you interested in finding out how copyright applies to you?
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Written by Karen Workman, Kaiwhakahaere Whakapa | Creative Rights Educator