Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

le droit au respect de l'oeuvre

English translation:

the right of integrity

Added to glossary by Etienne Thems
Jan 3, 2023 16:54
1 yr ago
32 viewers *
French term

le droit au respect de l'oeuvre

French to English Law/Patents Law: Patents, Trademarks, Copyright intellectual property
Case brought by a former member of a fairly well-known French rock group angry that some audio recordings of conversations with him were allegedly used without his consent. He also gave a chapter of an autobiographical book to the defendant, but then allegedly withdrew consent for its publication.
The chapter was then published without consent on Facebook, as an e-book on Amazon, etc.

"II.1.2.
La violation du droit moral
Le droit moral comporte notamment le droit au respect de l'oeuvre (II.1.2.1.) et le droit de divulgation (II.1.2.2.).
À titre liminaire, il sera rappelé que la Cour de cassation décide constamment que la contrefaçon est constituée par la seule atteinte au droit de divulgation[footnote 1] ou au droit au respect de l'œuvre [footnote 2].
footnote 1: Cour de cassation, crim., 13 déc. 1995 : Bull. crim. n° 379
footnote 2: Cour de cassation, crim., 22 mai 2002, n° 01-86.156, n° 99-86.208 - Cour de cassation, crim., 3 sept. 2002, n° 01-83.738
[... carries on...]
II.2.1.1.
La violation de l'intégrité de l'œuvre
En droit à l'échelle internationale, l'article 6 bis 1) de la Convention de Berne prévoit que
« Indépendamment des droits patrimoniaux d'auteur, et même après la cession desdits droits, l'auteur conserve le droit de revendiquer la paternité de l'œuvre et de s'opposer à toute déformation, mutilation ou autre modification de cette œuvre ou à toute autre atteinte à la même œuvre, préjudiciables à son honneur ou à sa réputation ».
À l'échelle nationale, l'article L. 121-1 alinéas 1, 2 et 3 du Code de la propriété intellectuelle énonce que :
« L'auteur jouit du droit au respect de son nom, de sa qualité et de son oeuvre.
Ce droit est attaché à sa personne.
Il est perpétuel, inaliénable et imprescriptible ».
Il ressort de ce qui précède une protection internationale et nationale du droit au respect de l'œuvre, ce qui passe à la fois par le respect de l'intégrité de l'œuvre mais aussi par le respect de son esprit."


****

I'm not clear whether In French law there is in fact a "right to require that a work is respected". This would seem rather ludicrous to me. What if you think it's rubbish, and say so?

The right in question seems in practice rather to cover a "right to require that its integrity is respected" (you can't do selective quotations with a nefarious aim in mind) and a "right to require that its spirit is respected" (you can't present it in a context which misrepresents it deliberately: this aspect is explored later in this document as follows:
"L'atteinte à l'esprit de l'œuvre
En droit; l'atteinte à l'esprit de l'œuvre est une atteinte contextuelle, c'est-à-dire qu'il y a une dénaturation de l'œuvre ou une affectation de la perception que l'auteur entend donner d'elle au public."
The footnote to this bit: "André Lucas, actualisé par Agnès Lucas-Schloetter, Fasc.
1213 : DROITS DES AUTEURS. - Droit moral, JurisClasseur Propriété littéraire et artistique, 1er novembre 2019, MAJ 1er septembre 2022")

****

And yet... (see above) « L'auteur jouit du droit au respect de son nom, de sa qualité et **de son oeuvre** (Code de la propriété intellectuelle, article L. 121-1 alinéas 1, 2 et 3): https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI0000...
Change log

Jan 13, 2023 23:55: Etienne Thems Created KOG entry

Discussion

Eliza Hall Jan 10, 2023:
@Mpoma and PhilGoddard The work doesn't have any rights, only the author does. As such "the work's intrinsic rights" or "the work's right to... integrity" are not correct translations.

The right of attribution is the author's right to be named as the author (or as a performer, e.g. in music recordings).

The right of integrity, or in literal translation from the FR the right to respect of the work, is the author's right to object to, and take legal steps to prevent, any prejudicial distortion, modification or destruction of the work. A painter can object to the shredding or painting-over of their painting, a writer can object to having their story condensed or heavily edited or rearranged, etc.

These rights are part of what's called "moral rights," which are expansively protected under European copyright laws but barely protected at all under US copyright law.
Debora Blake Jan 4, 2023:
The author... holds the rights to his work. For having had my own intellectual property infringed upon, I know from experience that only "I" can say where and how it gets used. The attribution is the part about giving credit to the rightful - no pun intended - creator of the work. The "work" itself doesn't have rights per se.
Mpoma (asker) Jan 3, 2023:
I wonder... ... if this might be expressed by saying something like "the work's intrinsic rights"? (if indeed it is possible for a work to have rights: maybe some fudging along the lines of "inviolable attributions" might work?)

The text mentioned the respect de l'intégrité de l'œuvre and le respect de son esprit. Debora speaks of the "right of attribution", which is convincing. The French expression seems to leave open what specific rights we're talking about here.

Proposed translations

+2
59 mins
Selected

the right of integrity

Voilà ma contribution
Peer comment(s):

neutral AllegroTrans : and your reasoning/references?
4 hrs
agree Adrian MM. : > if added: 'of the work' and the only answer that gets the preposition right: 'of' rather than 'to' https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/right-of-integrity
15 hrs
agree Eliza Hall : This is the correct translation, and the phrase for which OP seeks translation is only this, not "attribution AND integrity." These are so-called "moral rights": https://www.copyright.gov/policy/moralrights/
6 days
Something went wrong...
3 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Going with this largely on the strength of Eliza's reasoned endorsement."
-1
22 mins

the work's right to respect/integrity

I would keep the translation literal, especially since this is a piece of legislation, though "integrity" is indeed another possibility.

It's clearly not the same as "like" - you can think a work is bad, but you still have to respect it in law, for example by not publishing it without consent.


German and French courts identified the right of disclosure, right to correct or withdraw works previously disclosed to the public, right of attribution and the right to respect of the work, usually translated as the right of integrity.
http://www.theipmatters.com/post/moral-rights-under-copyrigh...

I would take issue with "usually translated as" - how do they know? Have they counted?
Note from asker:
Thanks, this helps clarify things. I think the type of "respect" you're talking about there is "respectful treatment", not "respect", which just seems too broad to me.
Peer comment(s):

neutral Adrian MM. : > respect and/or integrity is stting on the fence. In intellectual property practic/se in which I (you?) have worked, right of integrity - though missing from EU's IATE database - *is* bog-standard https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/right-of-integri
22 hrs
neutral AllegroTrans : I think it's the creator of the work who has rights, not the work
1 day 1 hr
disagree Daryo : the source text most literally states that this "right" belongs to the author: "L'auteur jouit du droit ..."
3 days 12 hrs
neutral Eliza Hall : As Daryo said, the right doesn't belong to the work. But the EN name for this right is indeed the right to (or right of) integrity. Not "respect," however.
6 days
Something went wrong...
+3
28 mins

Right to (attribution and) integrity

No one can take another's work and modify it without his or her permission and take credit for it. If and when a creator's work is used, proper credit must be given to that creator.
Peer comment(s):

agree Yvonne Gallagher : right to...integrity of the work//we use "creative" not "creator".
1 day 28 mins
Thanks, Yvonne. I was just trying to explain the concept "L'auteur jouit du droit".
agree Daryo : respect de son nom = "respect" the fact who is the author => right to be named as the author // integrity of the work
3 days 12 hrs
agree Eliza Hall : The third boldfaced bit in the OP's post includes the right of attribution (respect de son nom et de sa qualité, meaning sa qualité d'auteur: the right to be named as the author). But the phrase in the title of the post is only the right of integrity.
6 days
Something went wrong...
+1
29 mins

right to object to any mutilation, deformation or other modification of the work

It's a subset of moral rights protecting artistic works, which are a subset of the genral concept of copyright (aka author's right)

https://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/berne/summary_berne.html

https://www.deshoulieres-avocats.com/proteger-sa-propriete-i...
Peer comment(s):

agree Anastasia Kalantzi : https://www.law.cornell.edu/treaties/berne/6bis.html
1 hr
neutral Emmanuella : https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/right-of-integrity
1 hr
neutral Daryo : one "small detail" that makes a HUGE difference: "copyright" and "droits d’auteur" ARE NOT the same thing.
3 days 12 hrs
Not enormously but slightly different notions in scope, but author's rights and droit d'auteur roughly coincide https://www.wipo.int/copyright/en/ and https://www.wipo.int/copyright/fr/index.html
neutral Eliza Hall : That's what the right encompasses, but that's not what it's called. In English it's the right to integrity: https://www.copyright.gov/policy/moralrights/
6 days
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Reference comments

5 hrs
Reference:

Copyright statements in books

Slightly off-topic, but maybe a starting point. I have the following in the third flyleaf page of a book randomly plucked from my shelf:

"The right of Kate Adie to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988".
Peer comments on this reference comment:

agree Eliza Hall : Yeah, that sounds related. Here's an overview of moral rights (which include the right of attribution) in the UK: https://www.dacs.org.uk/knowledge-base/factsheets/moral-righ...
6 days
Something went wrong...
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