This document discusses whether moral rights, such as the right of attribution and integrity for authors and artists, should be considered human rights. It outlines some of the common features of human rights, such as universality and inalienability. It then examines arguments for and against considering moral rights as human rights based on international treaties and implementations in different countries. While moral rights are recognized in some forms in various laws and agreements, there is variability and exceptions that call into question whether they truly have universal and inalienable status that is characteristic of human rights. The document concludes that moral rights could still be developing as a potential third-generation human right.

1. Are Moral Rights Human Rights?
Eleonora Rosati
Joint BLACA/IPKat Seminar
Bird&Bird LLP
12 February 2014

2. Contents
• What are human rights?
• Why moral rights may be human rights …
• … And why they may be not

3. What are
human
rights?
A popular topic (to say the least)

4. A bit like pornography (“You know it when you see it”)?

5. But is this pornographic?
Source: The Old Pornographer

6. Are there common features of human rights?

8. Cumulative features of human rights
• Universality and Inalienability: Inherent to human beings.
• Indivisibility: All human rights have equal status, and cannot be
positioned in a hierarchical order.
• Interdependence and Interrelatedness: Each human right contributes
to the realisation of a person’s human dignity and the fulfilment of
one right often depends, wholly or in part, upon the fulfilment of
others.

9. Why moral rights may be human rights

10. Not difficult to see why
within rights-based
views
of copyright
• Creative works as extensions of
author’s personality;
• Moral claim to receive authorship
credit and determine timing,
manner and form of exploitation.

11. And in fact it was French delegation to
“lobby” for inclusion of Article 27(2) UDHR
(1948)
• (Perpetual) moral rights
• In the end attached to right to cultural
participation
“Everyone has the right to the protection of the
moral and material interests resulting from any
scientific, literary or artistic production of which he
is the author.”

12. Article 15(1)
International Covenant
on Economic Cultural
and Social Rights (1966)
“The States Parties to the present
Covenant recognize the right of
everyone … (c) To benefit from the
protection of the moral and
material interests resulting from
any scientific, literary or artistic
production of which he is the
author.”
Actually binding obligation?

13. Probably the only binding
obligations …

14. Article 6bis Berne (Paris Act 1971)
(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.
(2) The rights granted to the author in accordance with the preceding paragraph
shall, after his death, be maintained, at least until the expiry of the economic rights,
and shall be exercisable by the persons or institutions authorized by the legislation of
the country where protection is claimed. However, those countries whose legislation,
at the moment of their ratification of or accession to this Act, does not provide for
the protection after the death of the author of all the rights set out in the preceding
paragraph may provide that some of these rights may, after his death, cease to be
maintained.
(3) The means of redress for safeguarding the rights granted by this Article shall be
governed by the legislation of the country where protection is claimed.

15. Article 5 WIPO Performances and
Phonograms Treaty
(1) Independently of a performer’s economic rights, and even after the transfer of
those rights, the performer shall, as regards his live aural performances or
performances fixed in phonograms, have the right to claim to be identified as the
performer of his performances, except where omission is dictated by the manner of
the use of the performance, and to object to any distortion, mutilation or other
modification of his performances that would be prejudicial to his reputation.
(2) The rights granted to a performer in accordance with paragraph (1) shall, after his
death, be maintained, at least until the expiry of the economic rights, and shall be
exercisable by the persons or institutions authorized by the legislation of the
Contracting Party where protection is claimed. However, those Contracting Parties
whose legislation, at the moment of their ratification of or accession to this Treaty,
does not provide for protection after the death of the performer of all rights set out
in the preceding paragraph may provide that some of these rights will, after his
death, cease to be maintained.
(3) The means of redress for safeguarding the rights granted under this Article shall
be governed by the legislation of the Contracting Party where protection is claimed.

16. Moral rights under Berne
• Attribution
• De minimis integrity (“clearly an unsatisfactory one” according to
Dworkin)
• (Divulgation through Articles 10 and 10bis?)
• Last as long as economic rights
• Silent as regards possibility of assigning or waiving them

17. Why moral rights may not be human rights after all:
universal and inalienable?

18. Universality?

19. Look at Berne rights … and notable
“exceptions”
• Article 9(1) TRIPS relieves member states from complying with Article 6bis
• The case of the right of divulgation
• The Orphan Works Directive (and ERR Act)
• The case of the US
• Resisted literal incorporation into national law of Article 6bis rights
• Mix of federal and state laws (derivative rights, unfair competition, defamation, privacy) in
practice approximate rights of attribution and integrity
• VARA (§106A): attribution and integrity for “works of visual arts”. But:
- “works of visual arts” = works of fine art that exist only in a single copy or are published in signed and
numbered editions of <200 copies;
- Significant exceptions + fair use
- Generally last for life of the author

20. Look at Berne rights … in the UK
• Just since 1988
• Although prior to that UK law happened to protect (Cornish-Phillips)
• Is a human right (and a forbidden formality?) something you have to assert to enjoy
(and sue)?
• Right of attribution under UK law (Section 78 CDPA)
• Integrity under UK law in “apparently narrower terms” (Cornish et al)
• No reference to “any other derogatory action”
- A “treatment”: only additions, deletions, alterations, adaptations
- No translations or other arrangements
• No protection against non-transformative uses of one’s work
• Is a human right something that some authors are not entitled to enjoy?

21. Are employees less human than others?

22. Attribution and integrity under UK law
• Section 79(3) CDPA: The right of attribution does not apply to anything
done by or with the authority of the copyright owner where copyright in
the work originally vested in the author’s or director’s employer.
• Section 82(2) CDPA: The right to object to derogatory treatment of a work
does not apply to anything done in relation to such a work by or with the
authority of the copyright owner unless the author or director—
(a)is identified at the time of the relevant act, or
(b)has previously been identified in or on published copies of the work;
and where in such a case the right does apply, it is not infringed if there is
a sufficient disclaimer.

23. Inalienability?

24. Look for it in vain in Berne
• Nothing in 6bis explicitly prohibits waiver or assignment
• Ginsburg and Ricketson argue that assignment would be inconsistent
with nature of moral rights, yet Berne does not prevent it
• Adeney argues that assignment inter vivos would contradict the
fundamental doctrines on which moral rights are based
• Jaszi argues that neither inalienability nor perpetual duration critical
to moral rights existence

25. In conclusion

26. If moral rights are human rights
pornography …
Source: The Old Pornographer

27. And anyway:
• A third-generation human right
can be considered in its infancy if
it is (at least) 66 years old?
• Is copyright a human right? We
may know the answer, but still …
• Does it make a difference in
practice whether moral rights (or
even copyright) are a human
right?

28. Thanks for
your attention!
eleonorarosati@gmail.com
@eleonora_rosati