What constitutes moral rights?

How does the moral right of the author arise?

All creators of images, written works, music, and other copyrighted works acquire an inalienable moral right to their creative work automatically upon its creation, which derives from the Copyright Act (UrhG). itself results in. Moral rights give the author the right to decide how their work is published. In addition, moral rights are essentially applied in two other main cases: the violation of the author's right to be named and the right to prohibit the distortion of their work.

Violation of the right of attribution

The right of attribution grants the author the right to recognition of their authorship of their work. They can decide whether the work should be accompanied by an attribution and what attribution should be used. The author can also request that their work be attributed with a pseudonym. Even though the author cannot assign their right of attribution, they can waive attribution. 

In a few exceptional cases, industry practice may also make it unnecessary to name the author. The Right of attribution is often the starting point for disputes between the author and the user of their work, even when the use is legitimate. In principle, however, the following applies: the author must be named on their work, if between the author and the user of the work unless otherwise agreed.

Prohibition of alteration of the work

The author may also prohibit distortion or other impairment of their work based on their moral rights, insofar as it is likely to jeopardize their legitimate intellectual or personal interests in the work. In doing so, the granted use and the resulting interest of the user shall ultimately be weighed against the author's interests in not seeing their work presented to the public in a form that is unbearable to them. This would be the case, for example, if the work's statement were reversed by the alteration – even if the user is entitled to alter it. is entitled.

And what can we do for you at AVANTCORE?

Infringements of moral rights give rise to claims for injunctive relief, removal of infringement, and damages for the author. Enforcement AVANTCORE has several specialized lawyers and certified specialists with many years of experience in this particular area available to you for the defense against these claims.