The Soul of Creativity: Forging a Moral Rights Law for the United States

by Roberta Rosenthal Kwall

In the United States, human creativity is historically understood to be motivated by economic concerns. However, this perspective fails to account for the reality that human creativity is also often the result of internal motivations having nothing to do with money. This book addresses what motivates human creativity and how the law governing authors' rights should be shaped in response to these motivations. On a practical level, it illustrates how integrating a fuller appreciation of the inspirational dimension of the creative process will allow us to think more expansively about legal protections for authors. Many types of creators currently lack the legal ability to compel attribution for their work, to prevent misattribution, and to safeguard their work from unwanted modifications. Drawing from a number of diverse sources, including literary, philosophical, and religious works, this book offers real solutions for crafting legal measures that facilitate an author's ability to safeguard his or her work without entirely sacrificing the intellectual property policies in practice in the United States today.

270 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009