7

I have here a copy of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, republished in 2010 by Harper Press, an imprint of HarperCollins's. On the copyright page is this text, with no further explanation:

Robert Louis Stevenson asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

(See Wikipedia on moral rights for an explanation of the right allegedly asserted, and of the alleged assertion.)

I find it hard to believe that Stevenson asserted any such thing.

The Berne Convention, which standardized such rights, wasn't agreed to until 1928, long after Stevenson's passing.

Wikipedia does indicate that France and Germany had such rights earlier, though it doesn't indicate how much earlier. Stevenson lived in the United Kingdom, but I suppose it's possible that he asserted his moral right for effect on the Continent. Or perhaps he happened to write "I insist on being called the author of that book" to his publishers before anyone was discussing moral rights at all.

Can HarperCollins's claim be substantiated or disproven?

DJClayworth
  • 57,419
  • 26
  • 209
  • 195
msh210
  • 482
  • 3
  • 17
  • You can see the first edition here http://www.archive.org/stream/strangecaseofdrj00stevrich#page/n0/mode/2up .... it merely says "All Rights Reserved". Perhaps Stevenson made the "moral right" assertion in a later edition. – GEdgar May 22 '18 at 11:40
  • 5
    I think you are arguing about terminology. Stevenson undoubtedly claimed to be the author of the book. In modern day terms that would be called 'asserting your moral right", even if different terminology would be used then. So it's reasonable to say that in modern day terms he "asserted his moral right" to be called the author. – DJClayworth May 22 '18 at 13:29
  • @DJClayworth asserting ones moral right to identified as author seems to be more than merely identifying oneself as author. – msh210 May 22 '18 at 14:50
  • 2
    The moral rights the Wiki article talks about are *derived* from the claim to be the author. In other words the Berne convention says that they author is entitled to these rights. An author doesn't have to say "I claim my rights under the Berne convention", they just have to say "I am the author" and (if true) the Berne convention gives them these rights. – DJClayworth May 22 '18 at 14:56
  • Your last comment seems correct, @DJClayworth: saying "I am the author" gives you rights. Nonetheless, saying "I am the author" isn't _asserting_ any rights. Saying "I have rights" or "I insist on being called the author" is asserting rights. No? – msh210 May 22 '18 at 15:19
  • 4
    That's just linguistic hoop-jumping. If someone says "I am the author" they are implicitly claiming the rights of an author. – DJClayworth May 22 '18 at 15:35

0 Answers0