Ray Saintonge wrote:
The only reason that "moral rights" is an issue is its inclusion in the statutes of various countries. It mostly stems from an inflated Napoleonic view of the Rights of Man that was meant to replace the divine rights of kings. Common law countries have been loath to embark in this direction. Moral rights are mentioned in the US law, but only as a toothless tiger.
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I would actually be interested to get the background for this interpretation of how moral rights came to happen as a legal idea. If there are such references.
Particularly as the legal reasons in at least Finnish legal manuals for laymen who have to deal with moral rights seem to focus on the utility moral rights have in terms of protecting the artisans reputation as being good at his craft.
I have great difficulty understanding how the "right to examine" could be traced to some grandiose "Rights of Man" basis, since the argument presented for this particular moral right is clearly grounded on protecting the artisan/artists ability to examine their earlier work, to remind them self and refresh their memory on methods they had employed on those works, and thus enable them to not lose skills and methods they had mastered in earlier days.
Yours,
Jussi-Ville Heiskanen