Your questions answered

As an author of a book what are my moral rights?

Moral rights give the authors of literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works and film directors the right:

To be identified as the author of the work or director of the film in certain circumstances, e.g. when copies are issued to the public.
To object to derogatory treatment of the work or film which amounts to a distortion or mutilation or is otherwise prejudicial to the honour or reputation of the author or director.

In contrast to the economic rights under copyright, moral rights are concerned with protecting the personality and reputation of authors.

The right to be identified cannot be exercised unless it has been asserted, that is, the author or director has indicated their wish to exercise the right by giving notice to this effect (which generally has to be in writing and signed) to those seeking to use or exploit the work or film.

Moreover, the author or director can waive both the right to be identified and the right to object to derogatory treatment.

There are a number of situations within which these rights do not apply including:

where the work is a computer program;
where ownership of a work originally vested in an author's employer;
where the material is being used in newspapers or magazines;
reference works such as encyclopaedias or dictionaries.

Authors of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and film directors are also granted the moral right not to have a work or film falsely attributed to them.

Performers also have Moral rights which include the right:

to be identified as the performer and
to object to derogatory treatment of performance.

Moral rights last for as long as copyright lasts in the work although the creator may waive, that is choose not to exercise, his or her moral rights. Unlike copyright they cannot be sold or assigned to another person.

Can the IPO help with my dispute with the co-inventor of my patent?

Our mediation service was launched to help companies and individuals involved in intellectual property (IP) disputes. This includes unregistered copyright and design rights, as well as registered rights such as patents, trademarks and registered designs.

The Intellectual Property Office supports the move towards using mediation and has a team of accredited mediators trained at the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR), who have extensive experience of dealing with IP disputes. There is no obligation to use our own mediators and a list of other mediation providers is available.

Why use this service?

If you choose our mediator, we will deal with the arrangements for the mediation. This includes the issuing of written notices and the handling of fees. The Office will issue a Mediation Agreement (49Kb), which the parties will have to sign to confirm that they agree:

To use mediation to try and resolve their dispute;
To use a mediator provided;
To the location and costs associated with the mediation.

Cost options

The costs of using one of our mediators, including accommodation for the mediation, general administration and their travelling expenses are detailed below:

Central London:

Full day: £1000
Half day: £750

Newport:

Full day: £750
Half day: £500

We have suitable accommodation available for the parties to mediate at either our London or Newport Offices. Under the accommodation only option these facilities are available when other mediators are selected to handle IP disputes.

The cost for accommodation at either location is £100 (plus VAT) per half day. If you employ a mediator who is independent from us, you must agree fees separately. When using our mediator there is no separate accommodation charge as this is included in the costs quoted above.

All costs are subject to VAT for UK customers and will be borne equally by the parties unless agreed otherwise.