U.S. COPYRIGHT ACT, AS AMENDED
..CHAPTER 1. SUBJECT MATTER AND SCOPE OF COPYRIGHT
§ 106A. Rights of certain authors to attribution and integrity
- (a) Rights of attribution and integrity
- Subject to section 107 [17 USCS § 107] and
independent of the exclusive rights provided in section 106 [17
USCS § 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 hono
r or reputation; and
- (3) subject to the limitations set forth in section
113(d) [17 USCS § 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 w
ork 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 othe
r 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 [17 USCS §
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 conferr
ed 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 [17 USCS §
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.
- [Section 610 of Pub. L. No.101-650
provided that:
- (a) the amendments to this title take effect 6 months after the date of
the enactment of this Act (Dec.1,1990)
- (b)Also, the rights created by section 106A apply to:
(1) works created before the effective date but which title has not been
transferred, and
(2) works created on or after the effective date, but not to any modification
of any work
which occurred before such effective date.]
- (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 waive
r 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.