Last reviewed by Robert Prime, 5 November 2026. Every section number below was read that day on legislation.gov.uk. General information, not legal advice. If a publisher or client is asking you to waive rights in a valuable work, ask a solicitor to read the contract.
Quick Answer: Moral rights are your rights to be credited as the author, to object to damaging changes to your work, and not to have someone else’s work passed off as yours. You keep them even if you sell your copyright, because they cannot be sold. You can waive them, but only in signed writing. The credit right must be asserted before it counts, which is what that sentence on a copyright page is for.
The four rights, side by side
| Right | What it stops | Assert first? | Lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
| To be named (s.77) | Publication without your name | Yes | As long as copyright |
| Against derogatory treatment (s.80) | Changes that distort your work or harm your reputation | No | As long as copyright |
| Against false attribution (s.84) | Work presented as yours when it is not | No | 20 years after death |
| To privacy of commissioned photos (s.85) | Private photos you commissioned being made public | No | As long as copyright |
The durations come from section 86. Selling your copyright does not take these rights with it: “The rights conferred by Chapter IV (moral rights) are not assignable” (s.94).
What that copyright page sentence really does
You have seen this on thousands of books:
The right of [Author Name] to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.It exists because of an odd rule. The right to be named “is not infringed unless it has been asserted” (s.77(1)). It is the only moral right with this condition.
The Act gives two routes for a book (s.78(2)):
- In the document that assigns your copyright, by including a statement that you assert the right. This binds the buyer “and anyone claiming through him, whether or not he has notice of the assertion”.
- By “instrument in writing signed by the author”. This binds “anyone to whose notice the assertion is brought”.
Notice what is missing: the Act does not say that printing a sentence in the book counts. A line on the copyright page is not signed by you in any obvious sense. We could not find a UK case that settles whether it is enough. Our reading is that the printed line is well worth having, because it costs nothing and puts every reader and publisher on notice, but on its own it may not meet the wording of section 78.
So where the credit matters, do both. Print the line, and sign something too.
ASSERTION OF THE RIGHT TO BE IDENTIFIED
I, [full name], writing as [pen name, if any], assert generally my right under section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of the work titled "[Title]".
Signed: ____________________
Date: ______________________Keep it with your publishing files. Send a copy to anyone licensing the book, so that it has been brought to their notice. If you are assigning the copyright, put the assertion inside the assignment. The free copyright page generator adds the printed line for you.
What counts as derogatory treatment
“Treatment” is “any addition to, deletion from or alteration to or adaptation of the work”, and it is derogatory “if it amounts to distortion or mutilation of the work or is otherwise prejudicial to the honour or reputation of the author” (s.80(2)). Three things follow:
- Dislike is not enough. A clumsy copy-edit you hate needs to reach that test. It helps to agree an approval step in the contract, instead of relying on the right.
- Translation is not a “treatment”. The Act carves it out for literary work. If a poor translation worries you, deal with it in the licence.
- Short extracts count. This right and false attribution apply to “the whole or any part of a work”, while the right to be named applies to “the whole or any substantial part” (s.89).
A court can stop publication, and it has a softer option too: an injunction allowing publication only with a disclaimer that separates you from the changes (s.103(2)).
False attribution: books under your name that you did not write
Someone infringes this right if they issue copies to the public “in or on which there is a false attribution” (s.84(2)). An attribution can be “express or implied”. It also covers work “falsely represented as being an adaptation” of yours.
If a book appears on Amazon with your name on it and you did not write it, this right gives you a claim that does not depend on anyone having copied your text. Report it to Amazon first using the steps in my book has been copied on Amazon.
When the rights do not apply
The right to be named has exceptions in section 79. The three most likely to affect an author:
| Situation | Effect |
|---|---|
| You wrote it as an employee, and your employer owns the copyright | The right does not apply to what the owner does or authorises |
| It was written for, or given with your consent to, a newspaper, magazine or similar periodical, encyclopaedia, dictionary or yearbook | No right to be named in that publication |
| It is a “computer-generated work” | No right to be named. See can you copyright an AI-written book? |
Waiving: who should sign what
A waiver must be an “instrument in writing signed by the person giving up the right”. It can cover one work or many, future works too, and can be conditional or revocable (s.87). Made in favour of the copyright owner, it is presumed to extend to their licensees and successors unless the document says otherwise. Separately, anything done with the right-holder’s consent does not infringe.
| You are… | Moral rights question | Usual answer |
|---|---|---|
| Hiring a ghostwriter | The ghost can assert the right to be named unless they waive it | Get a signed waiver as well as the assignment. See our ghostwriter contract guide |
| Hiring a cover designer or illustrator | They have their own moral rights in the artwork | You will want to crop and reuse the art, so ask for a waiver or a written consent to those changes. See the cover designer contract guide |
| Co-writing | Each of you has rights in a joint work | Agree credit and approval in the co-author agreement |
| Being asked to waive by a publisher | You lose your protection if the work is changed | Ask why, and try to limit it to named changes |
| Self-publishing your own book | Nobody is asking | Assert, and do not waive anything |
Here is a waiver limited to the job in hand, which is usually fairer than a blanket one:
I, [name], waive in favour of [client name], and their licensees and successors, my rights under sections 77 and 80 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 in the work described as [title or artwork], for the following uses only: [cropping, recolouring and adding text for the book's covers and marketing]. This waiver does not apply to any other use.
Signed: ____________________
Date: ______________________The UK Author Legal Pack has full ghostwriter and cover designer agreements, with the copyright assignment and the waiver kept as separate clauses. They have to be separate because moral rights cannot be assigned.
After you die
The rights to be named and to object to derogatory treatment pass to whoever you name in your will for that purpose. If you name nobody, they follow the copyright. Failing that, your personal representatives can use them (s.95). A waiver you signed still binds them. Your author estate plan is the place to deal with this.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to assert my moral rights?
Only the right to be identified needs asserting. The others apply without it.
Does the copyright page line count as asserting?
It gives notice, but section 78 talks about an assignment or a signed document. We recommend printing the line and keeping a signed assertion as well.
Can I sell or transfer my moral rights?
No. Section 94 says they are not assignable. You can only waive them or consent to something.
How long do moral rights last in the UK?
The rights to be named and to object to derogatory treatment last as long as the copyright. The right against false attribution lasts until 20 years after death.
What can I do if someone breaches them?
A breach is “actionable as a breach of statutory duty” owed to you (s.103). In practice, start with a written request, and take legal advice if it is ignored.
Does a pen name affect moral rights?
Our template above covers it by naming both. Section 77 is about being identified as the author, and you should say which name you want used.
