The term 'moral rights' is a translation of the French term droit moral, and refers not to 'morals' as advocated by the religious right, but rather to the ability of authors to control the eventual fate of their works. An author is said to have the "moral

The term 'moral rights' is a translation of the French term droit moral, and refers not to 'morals' as advocated by the religious right, but rather to the ability of authors to control the eventual fate of their works. An author is said to have the "moral right" to control her work. The concept of moral rights thus relies on the connection between an author and her creation. Moral rights protect the personal and reputational, rather than purely monetary, value of a work to its creator. . . .

¶ In the U.S., moral rights are primarily protected by VARA. Before VARA was passed, courts and commentators struggled to find moral rights in the "derivative work" provision of the Copyright Act, the laws of defamation, the rights of privacy and publicity, the doctrine of misappropriation, and especially the Lanham Act, which deals with trademarks and unfair competition.

Authors may seek moral rights protection from state moral rights laws and art preservation statutes in California and New York, whose provisions resemble those of VARA. Authors whose works are not covered by VARA and the state statutes may also seek moral rights-type protection from various other sources of law.