The Moral Rights of Authors and Artists

Abstract Moral rights protect the rights of authors and artists to be acknowledged as the creators of their works, and to protect their creations from harm. As part of the bundle of rights conferred on authors by copyright laws around the world, moral rights have acquired a new importance in our technological era. While affirming the basic human dignity of authors and artists everywhere, moral rights also respond to a growing public need for the accuracy and integrity of information. Nevertheless, the discourse surrounding copyright law in the digital environment has largely neglected moral rights—a neglect fueled by resistance to moral rights in the United States. Moral rights offer new perspectives on the passionate and acrimonious debates surrounding copyright law—for harmonizing public and private interests, commercial and cultural priorities, copyright and Copyleft, through a time-tested idea. This book provides a comprehensive look at moral rights through the ages, from their antecedents in Asian and European cultures to their modern origins in European and British copyright laws, and it explores their surprising relevance to artificial intelligence. It also shows how, despite legislative limitations, the ideas underlying moral rights are well recognized in the United States. Powerful measures for the protection of culture under U.S. copyright law and beyond reflect a wider social interest in fairness to artists and support for the public interest. Above all, this book offers an unparalleled comparative view of copyright law, drawn from the author’s rich international experience and her practical insights as an author and artist herself.