17 U.S.C. § 106A — Rights of certain authors to attribution and integrity

submitted 36 years ago by Pub. L. 101-650 to r/title-17-COPYRIGHTS · 837 words · no verdicts yet

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This law gives visual artists rights of attribution and integrity in their work. Artists can claim authorship, stop false credit, and block harmful changes to their art. These rights belong to the artist, last for set periods, and can be waived in writing.

(a) Rights of Attribution and Integrity. If you create a work of visual art, you get special rights on top of normal copyright. You can claim that you made the work. You can stop people from using your name on a work you didn't create. You can stop your name being used on your own work if someone changed it in a way that would hurt your honor or reputation. Subject to the limits in section 113(d), you can stop anyone from intentionally distorting, mutilating, or otherwise changing your work in a way that would hurt your honor or reputation — any intentional change like that breaks this right. You can also stop the destruction of a work that has "recognized stature." Destroying such a work on purpose, or through gross carelessness, breaks this right too. (b) Scope and Exercise of Rights. Only the artist who created the work has these rights — even if someone else owns the copyright. If two or more people created the work together, they share these rights equally. (c) Exceptions. Changes caused just by time passing or by the natural wear of the materials don't count as a violation. Changes caused by conservation work, or by how the work is displayed — like lighting or placement — don't count as destruction or distortion either, unless the person doing it was grossly careless. And these rights don't apply at all to certain uses connected with the kinds of items listed in the two parts of the "work of visual art" definition in section 101 — using a work that way is never treated as a violation. (d) Duration of Rights. For works made on or after the Visual Artists Rights Act's effective date, these rights last for the artist's lifetime. For works made before that date, where the artist still held the title on that date, these rights last as long as the regular copyright term under section 106. For a work made by two or more authors together, the rights last until the last surviving author dies. Every one of these rights actually ends on December 31 of the year it would otherwise expire. (e) Transfer and Waiver. You cannot sell or give away these rights to someone else. But you can waive them if you sign a written document that says exactly which work and which uses the waiver covers. If a joint work has several authors, one author's waiver gives up the rights for all of them. Owning these rights is separate from owning a copy of the work, or owning the copyright. Selling a copy of the work, or selling the copyright, does not waive these rights by itself. And waiving these rights does not transfer ownership of a copy or of the copyright, unless the artist's signed written agreement says otherwise.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

(a)Rights of Attribution and Integrity.—

Subject to section 107 and independent of the exclusive rights provided in section 106, the author of a work of visual art—

(1)

shall have the right—

(A)

to claim authorship of that work, and

(B)

to prevent the use of his or her name as the author of any work of visual art which he or she did not create;

(2)

shall have the right to prevent the use of his or her name as the author of the work of visual art in the event of a distortion, mutilation, or other modification of the work which would be prejudicial to his or her honor or reputation; and

(3)

subject to the limitations set forth in section 113(d), shall have the right—

(A)

to prevent any intentional distortion, mutilation, or other modification of that work which would be prejudicial to his or her honor or reputation, and any intentional distortion, mutilation, or modification of that work is a violation of that right, and

(B)

to prevent any destruction of a work of recognized stature, and any intentional or grossly negligent destruction of that work is a violation of that right.

(b)Scope and Exercise of Rights.—

Only the author of a work of visual art has the rights conferred by subsection (a) in that work, whether or not the author is the copyright owner. The authors of a joint work of visual art are coowners of the rights conferred by subsection (a) in that work.

(c)Exceptions.—

(1)

The modification of a work of visual art which is a result of the passage of time or the inherent nature of the materials is not a distortion, mutilation, or other modification described in subsection (a)(3)(A).

(2)

The modification of a work of visual art which is the result of conservation, or of the public presentation, including lighting and placement, of the work is not a destruction, distortion, mutilation, or other modification described in subsection (a)(3) unless the modification is caused by gross negligence.

(3)

The rights described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) shall not apply to any reproduction, depiction, portrayal, or other use of a work in, upon, or in any connection with any item described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of the definition of “work of visual art” in section 101, and any such reproduction, depiction, portrayal, or other use of a work is not a destruction, distortion, mutilation, or other modification described in paragraph (3) of subsection (a).

(d)Duration of Rights.—

(1)

With respect to works of visual art created on or after the effective date set forth in section 610(a) of the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990, the rights conferred by subsection (a) shall endure for a term consisting of the life of the author.

(2)

With respect to works of visual art created before the effective date set forth in section 610(a) of the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990, but title to which has not, as of such effective date, been transferred from the author, the rights conferred by subsection (a) shall be coextensive with, and shall expire at the same time as, the rights conferred by section 106.

(3)

In the case of a joint work prepared by two or more authors, the rights conferred by subsection (a) shall endure for a term consisting of the life of the last surviving author.

(4)

All terms of the rights conferred by subsection (a) run to the end of the calendar year in which they would otherwise expire.

(e)Transfer and Waiver.—

(1)

The rights conferred by subsection (a) may not be transferred, but those rights may be waived if the author expressly agrees to such waiver in a written instrument signed by the author. Such instrument shall specifically identify the work, and uses of that work, to which the waiver applies, and the waiver shall apply only to the work and uses so identified. In the case of a joint work prepared by two or more authors, a waiver of rights under this paragraph made by one such author waives such rights for all such authors.

(2)

Ownership of the rights conferred by subsection (a) with respect to a work of visual art is distinct from ownership of any copy of that work, or of a copyright or any exclusive right under a copyright in that work. Transfer of ownership of any copy of a work of visual art, or of a copyright or any exclusive right under a copyright, shall not constitute a waiver of the rights conferred by subsection (a). Except as may otherwise be agreed by the author in a written instrument signed by the author, a waiver of the rights conferred by subsection (a) with respect to a work of visual art shall not constitute a transfer of ownership of any copy of that work, or of ownership of a copyright or of any exclusive right under a copyright in that work.

Source credit: (Added Pub. L. 101–650, title VI, § 603(a), Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5128.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1990Enacted · Pub. L. 101-650 · 104 Stat. 5128

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 101-650 on 1990-12-01.

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