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Integrity rights

Integrity rights

The author of a copyright literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, and the director of a copyright film, has the right not to have their work subjected to derogatory treatment.

'Treatment' of a work means any addition to, deletion from or alteration to or adaptation of the work, other than a translation of a literary or dramatic work, or an arrangement or transcription of a musical work involving no more than a change of key or register.

The treatment of a work is derogatory if it amounts to distortion or mutilation of the work or is otherwise prejudicial to the honour or reputation of the author or director.

Literary, dramatic or musical work

In the case of these works, the right is infringed by a person who:

  • publishes commercially, performs in public or communicates to the public a derogatory treatment of the work; or
  • issues to the public copies of a film or sound recording of, or including, a derogatory treatment of the work.

Artistic work

In the case of an artistic work, the right is infringed by a person who:

  • publishes commercially or exhibits in public a derogatory treatment of the work, or communicates to the public a visual image of a derogatory treatment of the work;
  • shows in public a film including a visual image of a derogatory treatment of the work or issues to the public copies of such a film, or;
  • (in the case of a work of architecture in the form of a model for a building, a sculpture, or a work of artistic craftsmanship) issues to the public copies of a graphic work representing, or of a photograph of, a derogatory treatment of the work.

Film

In the case of a film, the right is infringed by a person who:

  • shows in public or communicates to the public a derogatory treatment of the film; or
  • issues to the public copies of a derogatory treatment of the film.

Infringing articles

An 'infringing article' means a work or a copy of a work which:

  • has been subjected to derogatory treatment; and
  • has been, or is likely to be, the subject of any of the acts that would infringe the integrity right.

The integrity right is infringed by a person who:

  • possesses an infringing article in the course of a business;
  • sells or lets for hire, or offers or exposes for sale or hire, an infringing article;
  • in the course of a business exhibits in public or distributes an infringing article; or
  • distributes other than in the course of a business so as to affect prejudicially the honour or reputation of the author or director, an article which is, and which they know or have reason to believe is, an infringing article.

Exclusions

The right does not apply to a computer program or to any computer-generated work.

The right does not apply in relation to any work made for the purpose of reporting current events.

The right does not apply in relation to the publication in:

  • a newspaper, magazine or similar periodical; or
  • an encyclopaedia, dictionary, yearbook or other collective work of reference, of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work made for the purposes of such publication or made available with the consent of the author for the purposes of such publication.

The right is not infringed by anything done for the purpose of:

  • avoiding the commission of an offence;
  • complying with a duty imposed by or under any law; or
  • in the case of the BBC, avoiding the inclusion in a programme broadcast by them of anything which offends against good taste or decency or which is likely to encourage or incite to crime or to lead to disorder or to be offensive to public feeling,

provided, where the author or director is identified at the time of the relevant act or has previously been identified in or on published copies of the work, that there is a sufficient disclaimer.

The right is modified in relation to:

  • works in which copyright originally vested in the author's director's employer because it was produced in course of employment; and
  • works in which Crown copyright or Parliamentary copyright exists.

In these cases, the right 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:

  • is identified at the time of the relevant act; or
  • 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.

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