Human resources professionals must review their contracts and ensure a moral rights clause, in contracts with employees and contractors, is included, writes Robert Lamb.
In 2006, a photo of Princess Mary of Denmark and the then premier of NSW in front of a portrait of renowned heart surgeon Dr Victor Chang, created by artist Vladas Meškėnas, was published in the Woman’s Day magazine. The caption published next to the photo incorrectly attributed the painting to another artist.
What followed was Australia’s first moral rights case: Meskenas V ACP Publishing Pty Ltd.
As Woman’s Day had failed to publicly apologise to the artist, Meškėnas took the publisher to court, claiming a breach of the right of attribution, and damages.
While the magazine publishers eventually accepted a mistake was made, the court found the damage had been done. Damages for $1,100 were imposed along with aggravated compensatory damages.
What the damages amount did not include is the further damage done to ACP Publishing and Women’s Day through the time lost to court proceedings, legal fees and critically, reputational damage.
Following this case, a number of other moral rights cases have been heard in Australia, and the learnings from these cases are of relevance for HR professionals and leaders.
So, what exactly is a moral right?
“Moral rights” is a piece of Commonwealth legislation that protects a person’s work under the Copyright Act. It ensures that works created by an author are attributed...
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