How Do Moral Rights of Authors Differ from Economic Rights Under Indian Copyright Law?

INTRODUCTION

The Indian copyright framework is primarily governed by the Copyright Act, 1957, which grants copyright owners two different types of rights—moral rights and economic rights.

Put simply, economic rights are those that let copyright owners monetize their work, and moral rights are those that let them protect their image and connection to what they have created. Both rights work together to grant creators complete protection, but they work in different manners and serve different purposes.

WHAT ARE ECONOMIC RIGHTS?

Put briefly, economic rights are those that deal with the business aspect of being a creator. They form the commercial backbone of copyright protection.

Section 14 of the Copyright Act explicitly lays down how copyright owners can commercially exploit their work, such as the right to reproduce their work, distribute copies, sell it, perform it publicly, share it with others, and make adaptations/translations.

However, economic rights do not last forever. Generally, these rights last for the copyright owner’s entire lifetime plus another 60 years post death, as per Section 22 of the Act. The Act also establishes a 60-year limit from the beginning of the year next to when the work was published for certain kinds of work. After that, their work becomes free for everyone to use.

Economic rights are also transferable, allowing copyright owners to sell them or license them to third parties of their choice. Let us assume a scenario where you write a novel. The Copyright Act allows you to sell the printing rights to a publisher but keep the adaptation rights to yourself or transfer it to someone else, if that’s what you want. This is how most creators are able to monetize their work effectively: by selectively assigning different rights to different persons, based on the creator’s own strategies, objectives, and best options.

The essential point of economic rights is to let a copyright owner monetize his creativity during his lifetime, and to an extent, his beneficiaries can also enjoy these rights. But here’s the catch: once you sell or assign these rights (wholly or partly) to someone else, you usually lose control over them.

Unless the owner specifically retains some rights with them (usually specified in clear terms in a written agreement), the new owner(s) can do whatever they want with the rights that have been transferred to them.

This is where the distinction between economic rights and moral rights comes into the picture.

HOW ARE MORAL RIGHTS DIFFERENT FROM ECONOMIC RIGHTS?

Although both economic rights and moral rights work together to favor creators, moral rights function completely differently from economic rights. Unlike economic rights, moral rights do not serve to monetize creative works; they serve to protect the creator himself—his reputation, his name, and his identity associated with his work. The concept originates from France, called “droit moral,” and it is based on the simple premise that one’s creative work is part of who they are as a person.

In Amar Nath Sehgal v. Union of India [2005 SCC OnLine Del 209], the Delhi High Court observed that moral rights are to protect “the soul of the author’s works.” The purpose of a grant of moral rights is to protect the personal connection between a creator and his creation(s).

There are two moral rights granted via Section 57 of the Copyright Act:

1. Right of Attribution: simply put, it is the right to be recognized as the creator of your work, ensuring that a creator’s name stays attached to their creative works.

2. Right of Integrity: simply put, it is the right granted to a creator to restrain and claim damages against any distortion, misinterpretation, or mutilation of their creative works if it hurts their honor, image, or artistic vision.

Best part? Moral rights do not have any time limitations. The Copyright (Amendment) Act of 2012 ensured that moral rights can be asserted perpetually. This was a major amendment, as it restored the legislative intent of Section 57, ensuring that a creator’s personal connection to his work does not end when he dies.

And here’s the key difference between economic rights and moral rights: you can never give up your moral rights. Even if a creator sells all their economic rights to another person, they will still own their moral rights, which are inalienable no matter what.

IV. KEY DIFFERENCES SUMMARISED

1. Economic rights are about monetization of creative works; moral rights are about personal connection to the work.

2. Economic rights treat creative works like properties (can be sold, transferred, etc.). Moral rights treat creative works as part of a creator’s soul and identity that can never be separated.

3. Economic rights eventually expire so that society can benefit from creative works entering the public domain. But moral rights last forever because your reputation and identity as a creator always matter.

CONCLUSION

This dual setup actually works well because it lets authors make money and preserve their artistic integrity without having to compromise on either.

Economic rights let creators make a living from their creativity—they can license, sell, and profit from their work in whichever manner they want to. Moral rights ensure that no matter what business deals a creator makes, he is always recognized as the creator and can protect his work from being changed in ways that harm his artistic vision, honor, or reputation.

Commercial pressures cannot force you to give up your basic rights as a creator. As India’s creative industries continue to grow rapidly, this balance between commercial opportunity and personal protection becomes even more important to understand for creators and anyone else working with copyrighted materials.

Because at the heart of every creation lies not just a product to be monetized, but a legacy to be honored.