The force of moral rights
The strength of moral rights in Dutch copyright law has in January 2017 been illustrated in two legal disputes concerning the renovation of architectural buildings.
Under Dutch copyright law the rights of the author do not consist only of exploitation rights but also moral rights. In the area of IP the concept of moral rights is the odd one out: moral rights cannot be transferred. Even if the author transfers the exploitation rights connected to the copyright, they remain the owner of the moral rights.
The assignee obtains the rights to make the work available to the public and to reproduce it, but does not have the right to amend the work. The author can waive his or her right to part of the moral rights, and these rights then become void. The right to oppose the amendment of the work is excluded and cannot be waived.
The author and their reputation are connected to the work. Moral rights provide the author with the opportunity to act against damage or any other impairment of the work which could be detrimental to the reputation or name of the author.
Case studies
In March this year the natural history museum in Leiden discovered the force of the moral rights of the architect. The museum wished to expand its current building and had already started the renovation of it. During the renovation the architect protested on the basis of his moral rights. Part of the building would no longer be used as an exhibition space but instead as an office and depot, with all the consequent changes to the architecture of the inside of the building.
The court sided with the architect, ordering the construction work to stop. The museum and the architect have settled the matter and the building is now under construction.
A similar case concerned the former headquarters of KPMG. The owner of the building wished to break down the facade of the office building and build a new one more in line with the new residential purpose. The architect protested against the planned changes to the building. The court found that it did not concern a change or impairment but total destruction.
