Moral Rights Under Copyright Act, 1957
Introduction
Moral rights are not directly mentioned in the Copyright Act, 1957. But the moral rights are indirectly protected by the Copyright Act. In the Copyright Act, 1957, special rights have been granted to the author of the work; these special rights are known as ‘moral rights’ provided under section 57 of the Copyright Act.
Special Rights Under Section 57
For the protection of the personal and reputational interest of the author of the work, these special rights have been granted. such special rights granted under section 57 of the Copyright Act, 1957, are the following:-
- Right to Integrity
- Right to Paternity
Right To Integrity
The right to integrity is the most important right of the author; it protects the author against any kind of alterations or distortions made to their work. This right makes sure that no one alters, abuses or distorts the work in such a way that it tarnishes the dignity of the author. The right to integrity makes sure that the author’s originality and artistic creation are protected.
Right To Paternity
The right to paternity, also known as the right to attribution, is the moral right of the author under the copyright act that ensures that authorship remains undisputed for the work created by him/her.
Mannu Bhandari v. Kala Vikas Motion Pictures Ltd., 1987DELHI13
This is a highly significant case in the field of copyright law in India. This case marked the first time that the Indian higher judiciary had made a ruling on moral rights within the context of the Indian copyright law.
Facts Of The Case
In this case, the plaintiff, Mannu Bhandari, is a famous writer who writes Hindi novels. The defendants had made a movie called Samay Ki Dhara from the plaintiff’s novel, Aap Ka Bunty. However, although the movie was made with the plaintiff’s consent, she was not happy with how her novel was portrayed in the movie.
She feared that the depiction of her novel in the movie would damage her literary image and reputation.
Judgement Of The Court
The court held that Section 57 of the Copyright Act, 1957, provided protection to the moral rights of the author. It was made clear that the rights of the author are not merely confined to the economic benefit from their work; there is also protection of the author’s reputation and personality.
It was further held that the author has the right to prevent the distortion or modification of his work, which could affect his honour and reputation. Protection will be available despite the fact that a film may be made on the basis of the author’s literary work.
The Court further made it clear that the ambit of Section 57 is very broad and extends beyond merely literary works. This section also covers visual and audio representation of the copyrighted material.
In the present case, the Court was of the view that the moral rights provided under Section 57 of the Copyright Act, 1957, are independent of copyright assignments. This means that even post the transfer of copyright, an author can claim an injunction or compensation for distortion of his/her work in such a way that his/her reputation is tarnished.
The Court further noted that the terms of any agreement made while assigning copyrights cannot affect the provisions of Section 57. This implies that any change made in the adaptation must not distort the original work.
Upon considering all the facts in the case, the Court ordered certain changes and deletions to be made in the film prior to its release.
Importance Of Moral Rights
Thus, after the independent assignment of his work, the author is entitled to restrain it or may claim damages even if there has been some distortion in his work which is copyrighted and which may be damaging for his reputation.
This is one of the moral rights of an author; it also ensures the protection of the personality of the author, as per the personhood theory of intellectual property rights, which explains that while producing some work, a person adds some elements of his personality to the work.
So, if any modification or distortion occurs in the copyrighted work which might affect the integrity of the work, it may also damage the reputation of the author because he has invested some elements of his personality in his work.
The Copyright Act, 1957, thus provides protection of moral rights.
Key Features Of Moral Rights
| Aspect | Description |
|---|---|
| Legal Provision | Section 57 of the Copyright Act, 1957 |
| Main Objective | Protection of the author’s reputation and personality |
| Right to Integrity | Protects the work from distortion or mutilation |
| Right to Paternity | Ensures proper attribution to the author |
| Applicability | Applies even after copyright assignment |
| Protection Scope | Literary, visual, and audio representations |
Conclusion
There is a delicate balance that must be achieved when personality rights are sought through copyright legislation between the interests of the individual and the interests of the creator.
Though the copyright legislation seeks to protect creative expression, personality rights are necessary in order to ensure that the identity and reputation of an individual are not exploited commercially, even with consent.
Moral rights granted to the author of a work through the Copyright Act, 1957, are crucial for such protection of personality rights.
