17 U.S.C. § 106A : US Code - Section 106A: Rights of certain authors to attribution and integrity

Search 17 U.S.C. § 106A : US Code - Section 106A: Rights of certain authors to attribution and integrity

(a) Rights of Attribution and Integrity. - Subject to section 107
and independent of the exclusive rights provided in section 106,
the author of a work of visual art -
(1) shall have the right -
(A) to claim authorship of that work, and
(B) to prevent the use of his or her name as the author of
any work of visual art which he or she did not create;
(2) shall have the right to prevent the use of his or her name
as the author of the work of visual art in the event of a
distortion, mutilation, or other modification of the work which
would be prejudicial to his or her honor or reputation; and
(3) subject to the limitations set forth in section 113(d),
shall have the right -
(A) to prevent any intentional distortion, mutilation, or
other modification of that work which would be prejudicial to
his or her honor or reputation, and any intentional distortion,
mutilation, or modification of that work is a violation of that
right, and
(B) to prevent any destruction of a work of recognized
stature, and any intentional or grossly negligent destruction
of that work is a violation of that right.
(b) Scope and Exercise of Rights. - Only the author of a work of
visual art has the rights conferred by subsection (a) in that work,
whether or not the author is the copyright owner. The authors of a
joint work of visual art are coowners of the rights conferred by
subsection (a) in that work.
(c) Exceptions. - (1) The modification of a work of visual art
which is a result of the passage of time or the inherent nature of
the materials is not a distortion, mutilation, or other
modification described in subsection (a)(3)(A).
(2) The modification of a work of visual art which is the result
of conservation, or of the public presentation, including lighting
and placement, of the work is not a destruction, distortion,
mutilation, or other modification described in subsection (a)(3)
unless the modification is caused by gross negligence.
(3) The rights described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection
(a) shall not apply to any reproduction, depiction, portrayal, or
other use of a work in, upon, or in any connection with any item
described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of the definition of "work of
visual art" in section 101, and any such reproduction, depiction,
portrayal, or other use of a work is not a destruction, distortion,
mutilation, or other modification described in paragraph (3) of
subsection (a).
(d) Duration of Rights. - (1) With respect to works of visual art
created on or after the effective date set forth in section 610(a)
of the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990, the rights conferred by
subsection (a) shall endure for a term consisting of the life of
the author.
(2) With respect to works of visual art created before the
effective date set forth in section 610(a) of the Visual Artists
Rights Act of 1990, but title to which has not, as of such
effective date, been transferred from the author, the rights
conferred by subsection (a) shall be coextensive with, and shall
expire at the same time as, the rights conferred by section 106.
(3) In the case of a joint work prepared by two or more authors,
the rights conferred by subsection (a) shall endure for a term
consisting of the life of the last surviving author.
(4) All terms of the rights conferred by subsection (a) run to
the end of the calendar year in which they would otherwise expire.
(e) Transfer and Waiver. - (1) The rights conferred by subsection
(a) may not be transferred, but those rights may be waived if the
author expressly agrees to such waiver in a written instrument
signed by the author. Such instrument shall specifically identify
the work, and uses of that work, to which the waiver applies, and
the waiver shall apply only to the work and uses so identified. In
the case of a joint work prepared by two or more authors, a waiver
of rights under this paragraph made by one such author waives such
rights for all such authors.
(2) Ownership of the rights conferred by subsection (a) with
respect to a work of visual art is distinct from ownership of any
copy of that work, or of a copyright or any exclusive right under a
copyright in that work. Transfer of ownership of any copy of a work
of visual art, or of a copyright or any exclusive right under a
copyright, shall not constitute a waiver of the rights conferred by
subsection (a). Except as may otherwise be agreed by the author in
a written instrument signed by the author, a waiver of the rights
conferred by subsection (a) with respect to a work of visual art
shall not constitute a transfer of ownership of any copy of that
work, or of ownership of a copyright or of any exclusive right
under a copyright in that work.