Author’s Special Rights

 In addition to the economic rights that allow an owner to earn money from their work, the law recognizes "Author’s Special Rights" (also known as Moral Rights).

In India, these are protected under Section 57 of the Copyright Act, 1957. These rights are unique because they stay with the original author even if they have sold or assigned their copyright to someone else (like a publisher or film producer).

The Two Pillars of Special Rights

The law divides these special rights into two primary categories:

1. Right of Paternity (Attribution)

This is the right of the author to claim authorship of the work.

• It ensures the author’s name is associated with the work whenever it is published or performed.

• It also prevents others from falsely attributing a work to them that they did not create.

2. Right of Integrity

This allows the author to restrain or claim damages if their work is subjected to any distortion, mutilation, or modification.

• The Condition: For this right to be triggered, the change must be "prejudicial to the author's honor or reputation."

• Example: If a painting is cropped in a way that changes its meaning or a book is edited to include offensive ideas, the author can sue.

Characteristics of Special Rights

• Inalienability: These rights are so deeply connected to the author's personality that they cannot be fully signed away. Even if you sell the copyright, you still have the right to be named as the author.

• Duration: Following the 2012 Amendment, these rights are perpetual. They do not expire when the copyright expires; they can be exercised by the author's legal heirs indefinitely.

• Independent of Ownership: In the landmark case Amarnath Sehgal v. Union of India, the court ruled that the government (which owned a bronze mural) violated the artist's special rights by dismantling and damaging it, even though the government was the legal owner of the physical object.