MORAL RIGHTS

Introduction
Copyright, under the Copyright Act, 1957 (“Act”), is a right granted to creators of
literary, dramatic, musical, computer and artistic works, and producers of
cinematography films and sound recordings. Copyright includes rights of
reproduction, communication to the public, adaptation and translation of the work.
Copyright ensures certain minimum safeguards of the authors’ rights over their
creations, thereby protecting and rewarding creativity. The protection that
copyright provides to the efforts of writers, artists, designers, dramatists,
musicians, architects and producers of sound recordings, cinematography films and
computer software, creates an atmosphere conducive to creativity.
Moral Rights of an Author under the Act
The author of a work has the right to claim authorship of the work and to restrain
or claim damages in respect of any distortion, mutilation, modification or other act
in relation to the work, if such distortion, mutilation, modification or other act is
prejudicial to his honour or reputation. Moral rights are available to the authors
even after the economic rights are assigned. (section 57)
Section 57 falls in Chapter XII of the Act concerning civil remedies. It is a
statutory recognition of the special care with which the intellectual property is
protected.
The proviso to section 57 states that the author will not have the right to restrain or
claim damages in respect of any adaptation of a computer programme by a lawful
possessor of a copy of a computer programme, to utilise the computer programme
for which it was supplied and to make backup copies as a temporary protection
against loss. By the proviso, this section also confers the special rights on the
authors of computer programmes. A computer programme is defined to mean a set
of instructions expressed in words, codes, scheme, or in any other form including a
machine, or recordable medium capable of causing a computer to perform a
particular task or achieve a particular result. (section 2(ffc).
Under section 57, the author has a right to restrain infringement or claim damages
for infringement of the copyright. This section provides an exception to the rule
that after an author has parted with his rights in favour of a publisher or other
person, the latter alone is entitled to sue in respect of infringement. These rights

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are independent of the author’s copyright and the remedies open to the author
under section 55 (relating to infringement of a copyright).
Section 57 clearly overrides the terms of the contract of assignment of the
copyright. The contract of assignment would be read subject to the provisions of
section 57 and the terms of contract cannot negate the special rights and remedies
guaranteed by section 57. The assignee of a copyright cannot claim any rights or
immunities based on the contract, which are inconsistent with the provisions of
section 57.
This section prohibits any distortion, mutilation or other modification of the
author’s work. The words “other modification” are ejusdem generis with the word
“distortion” and “mutilation”. The modification should not be so serious that the
modified form of the work looks quite different work from the original.
“Modification” in the sense of the perversion of the original, will amount to
distortion or mutilation.
In KPM Sobharam v/s M/s Rattan Prakashan Mandir, AIR 1983 Del. 461 (468,
469), the plaintiff, an author of certain books instituted the suit against the
defendants for injunction, restraining them from printing, publishing and selling
the specified books, rendition of accounts for the illegal gains made by the
defendants for all unauthorized publications, and, for damages under the
provisions of sections 55 and 57 of the Act. The plaintiff claimed that the
defendants mutilated and distorted the original works of the plaintiff by publishing
various books in modified form in gross violation of the plaintiff’s copyright. The
plaintiff alleged that the defendants had changed the original works’ title and made
a distortion and mutilation of the plaintiff’s work prejudicial to the plaintiff’s
reputation. The plaintiff claimed that he never gave any authority to the
defendants to print and publish the books in that manner. The court granted
injunction restraining the defendants from printing, publishing and selling the
goods written by the plaintiff till final disposal of the suit.
In Smt. Mannu Bhandari, Appellant v. Kala Vikas Pictures Pvt. Ltd. and another,
AIR 1987 Delhi 13, the court observed that “section 57 lifts the author’s status
beyond the material gains of copyright and gives it a special status. An author’s
right to restrain distortion etc. of his work is not limited to a case of literary
reproduction of his work. The restraint order in the nature of injunction under
section 57 can be passed even in cases where a film is produced based on the
author’s novel. The language of section 57 is of the widest amplitude and cannot
be restricted to ‘literary’ expression only. Visual and audio manifestations are

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directly covered. The court observed that by reading the contract with section 57, it
is obvious that modifications, which are permissible, are such modifications,
which do not convert the film into an entirely new version from the original novel.
The modifications should also not distort or mutilate the original novel. The fact
that Mannu Bhandari is the author of the story will be published in all the credits.
This is for giving due recognition to the author’s reputation.” The court therefore,
directed certain modifications and deletions to the film before screening it.
In Phoolan Devi v. Shekar Kapoor, (1995-PTC Del), the plaintiff claimed that the
basis of the film, being a novel dictated by the illiterate plaintiff herself had been
considerably mutilated by the film producer. The plaintiff sought a restraint order
against the defendant, from exhibiting publicly or privately, selling, entering into
film festivals, promoting, advertising, producing in any format or medium, wholly
or partially, the film “Bandit Queen” in India or else where. Granting an
injunction Vijendra, Jain J. held, that “the defendant had no right to exhibit the
film as produced violating the privacy of plaintiff’s body and person. The balance
of convenience is also in favour of restraining the defendants from exhibiting the
film any further as it would cause further injury to the plaintiff. No amount of
money can compensate the indignities, torture, and feeling of guilt and shame
which has been ascribed to the plaintiff in the film. Therefore, the defendants
were refrained from exhibiting the film in its censored version till the final
decision of the suit.”
Conclusion
Under section 57 of the Act, the author of a work has the right to claim the
authorship of the work. He also has a right to restrain the distortion or mutilation
of his work or to claim damages for the distortion even after assigning the
copyright. The contract of assignment will require being consistent with section
57.
The author of a computer programme is also protected under this section. The
moral rights will subsist with the programmer even after assigning the copyright in
a software programme. If the assignee distorts the software as a result of which
the programmer’s reputation is harmed, the programmer can sue for restraining
such distortion and for damages. The proviso to the section excludes from the
purview of the section, the adaptation of a computer programme by a lawful
possessor of a copy of a computer programme to utilise the computer programme
and making of backup copies as a temporary protection against loss.

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Therefore, even if the contract for assignment of software makes a provision for
assignment of all economic and moral rights, the assignor can at any time exercise
his special rights granted under section 57 of the Act.

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