{"id":15131,"date":"2023-03-08T12:16:24","date_gmt":"2023-03-08T11:16:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/legaltree.nl\/?p=15131"},"modified":"2024-02-19T18:12:53","modified_gmt":"2024-02-19T17:12:53","slug":"copyright-the-moral-rights-of-roald-dahl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legaltree.nl\/en\/copyright-the-moral-rights-of-roald-dahl\/","title":{"rendered":"Copyright: the moral rights of Roald Dahl"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

To what extent is modifying Roald Dahl’s books allowed<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: \u00a9 ANP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Roald Dahl died almost 35 years ago. But his books are as popular as ever, both with children and their (reading) parents. More than 300 million copies have been sold worldwide. Early this year (2023), discussion erupted following the announcement by the British publisher of the Roald Dahl books, Puffin, and the Roald Dahl Story Collection that the Roald Dahl books were being adapted \u2018to the times\u2019. <\/a>Several hundred changes were made. For example, the word ‘fat’ has been replaced by ‘enormous’, and to the explanation in the book The Witches<\/em> that witches wear wigs but are actually bald, it has been added that there are a \u2018There are plenty of reasons why women might wear wigs and there is certainly nothing wrong with that.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No, there is certainly nothing wrong with that, but is that why this kind of text should be adapted? And is that allowed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The announced changes have created a storm of criticism. And the question is whether these kinds of changes, which surely go a long way beyond a single adjustment \u2018to time\u2019, are permissible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Copyright: exploitation rights and moral rights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Creators of (short for) creative works are automatically entitled to copyright. Copyright consists of two different types of rights:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Exploitation rights<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Moral rights<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Exploitation rights \u2013 normally referred to as \u2018copyright\u2019 \u2013 include the right the author\/right holder has to publish and reproduce his\/her work. These rights can be transferred by the author to another party and sometimes, by virtue of a legal rule, they already belong to another party, for example to the employer rather than the employee who created a work. The right holder can prohibit anyone else from performing these acts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Moral rights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Unlike exploitation rights, moral rights cannot be transferred. This is because these rights are based on the personal link between the author and his work. The moral rights therefore remain attached to the author, even if the exploitation rights are transferred to another person. However, the author can waive some moral rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    There are several categories of moral rights that can be invoked by the author. The Dutch Copyright Act (Article 25) includes, in brief, the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n