{"id":21154,"date":"2026-07-30T16:45:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T16:45:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/letslaw.es\/?p=21154"},"modified":"2026-07-30T16:45:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T16:45:02","slug":"moral-rights-the-risk-of-modifying-a-creators-work-without-their-permission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/letslaw.es\/en\/moral-rights-the-risk-of-modifying-a-creators-work-without-their-permission\/","title":{"rendered":"Moral rights: the risk of modifying a creator’s work without their permission"},"content":{"rendered":"

In commercial transactions, the acquisition of an asset usually grants the buyer an almost absolute power over the asset: the freedom to use it, adapt it or modify it according to its changing needs. However, when the object of the transaction is a work protected by intellectual property<\/a>, whether a software development, an architectural design or an advertising campaign, the rules of the game change radically.<\/p>\n

Many executives and marketing departments wrongly assume that, after paying a creator’s fees and signing an agreement for the assignment of exploitation rights, the work becomes a blank canvas. It is at this precise moment that one of the greatest sources of litigation risk in corporate law is triggered: the infringement of the author’s moral rights.<\/p>\n

What are authors’ moral rights and why are they unwaivable?<\/h2>\n

To understand the scope of this risk, it is necessary to refer to the architecture of the Intellectual Property Law (LPI). Our legal system conceives intellectual property as a complex right composed of two clearly differentiated aspects: exploitation rights (economic rights) and moral rights. While the former regulate the economic aspect and are fully transferable, the latter protect the personal, spiritual and indissoluble bond that links the author to their creation.<\/p>\n

Article 14 of the LPI defines moral rights and establishes their unwaivable and inalienable nature. This means that they accompany the author throughout their lifetime regardless of what has been agreed in a contract.<\/p>\n

Even if a company includes a clause in which the creator declares that they “waive their moral rights”, such provision is null and void by operation of law. The author always retains the power to demand that their authorship be recognised and to react against any alteration of their work.<\/p>\n

The right to the integrity of the work: when a modification becomes an infringement<\/h2>\n

Within the catalogue of moral powers that the LPI grants to the creator, the right to the integrity of the work is the one that generates the greatest friction in the business sphere. The law expressly empowers the author to demand respect for the integrity of their creation and to prevent any deformation, modification or alteration thereof.<\/p>\n

The conflict arises when the company needs to adapt the asset to the needs of the market. Let us think of a web developer who delivers code and the client, months later, hires another programmer to modify the interface design; or of a company that alters the editing of a corporate video to adapt it to a new social media format without consulting the original filmmaker.<\/p>\n

Spanish case law has determined that infringement of the right to integrity occurs when any alteration distorts the original meaning of the creation, causing harm to the author’s legitimate interests or damage to their reputation. If the modification denatures the creator’s contribution, they are legally entitled to intervene and stop the use of the work.<\/p>\n

Consequences of altering a work without permission<\/h2>\n

The consequences of ignoring the right to integrity are not merely nominal; they have a direct impact on the company’s profit and loss account. If an author finds that their work has been altered without their consent, they may bring legal proceedings requesting the cessation of the infringing activity and compensation for damages.<\/p>\n

The cessation action means that the judge may order the immediate withdrawal from the market of the modified asset. This may entail the suspension of an advertising campaign in the middle of its launch, the disconnection of a software platform that is critical to the business or the obligation to physically destroy catalogues or products already printed.<\/p>\n

For its part, compensation for damages not only covers material damage, but also moral damage. The quantification of moral damage by the courts is discretionary and assesses factors such as the seriousness of the alteration and the dissemination that the modified work has had. Litigation of this nature may paralyse a company’s operations and generate serious legal uncertainty.<\/p>\n

How to license correctly<\/h2>\n

Given that moral rights are unwaivable, the solution for companies lies in learning how to correctly structure licences and agreements for the assignment of exploitation rights<\/a>. The key to effective protection lies in contractually anticipating the needs for transformation.<\/p>\n

Although the author cannot sell their moral right to integrity, they may, in the exercise of their freedom of contract, expressly authorise the modification of their work for specific purposes. The commercial contract or licence must avoid generalities and specify in detail what type of transformations are envisaged: format adaptations, technological updates, translations or the addition of new modules.<\/p>\n

Likewise, it is advisable to include clauses regulating the paternity of the derivative work. In other words, to agree that, if the company makes substantial modifications for the evolution of the asset, the author has the right for their name not to appear linked to the modified version, safeguarding their reputation and allowing the company to operate freely.<\/p>\n

The complexity of the current regulations requires an expert review of the contracting policy with creative and technological suppliers. Mitigating the risk of moral rights does not consist of limiting the evolution of your business, but of setting out in the contracts the exact limits of the transformation before the first line of code or the first design is delivered.<\/p>\n

Contact Us<\/h2>\n
\n

<\/p>

    <\/ul><\/div>\n
    \n
    \n<\/fieldset>\n
    <\/span><\/div>\n
    <\/span><\/div>\n
    <\/span><\/div>\n
    <\/span><\/div>\n