Moral rights for artists: The development of a federal policy

This thesis argues that the United States must assume a leadership role in promoting moral rights for artists to protect and preserve the nation's artistic resources. This can be accomplished by enacting a uniquely American federal moral rights statute which balances the divergent interests between the artist, the property owner and the public through the development of an equitable, precise and comprehensive moral rights framework. This thesis describes the moral rights doctrine, discusses its evolution in Europe, and reviews the moral rights principles of the Berne Convention and France's droit moral. It also examines American copyright law's influence on moral rights in the U.S. It further analyzes the historical, socio-economic and political reasons for the United States' reluctance to enact national moral rights legislation. It evaluates America's existing state moral rights statutes as well as pending national legislation and concludes with a proposal for a federal moral rights policy.