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Moral Rights

This page covers information on paternity rights and integrity rights,

Last updated: 07 January 2021

The paternity right:

Authors of literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works (and the directors of films) have the right to be identified as the author (or director) of the work.

However, the right to be identified must be asserted in an assignment of copyright or in an instrument in writing, which must be signed by them before it is enforceable.

The integrity right:

The right to object to derogatory treatment of your work ‘treatment’ means an addition to, deletion from, or alteration or adaptation (and an arrangement or orchestration is an ‘adaptation’ see above) of the work.

A treatment is ‘derogatory’ if it amounts to a distortion or mutilation of the work, or is otherwise prejudicial to the honour or reputation of the author. An arrangement could be a derogatory treatment of a musical work.