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6 Copyright L. Symp. 89 (1953)
Moral Right and the Common Law: A Proposal

handle is hein.journals/cpyrgt6 and id is 103 raw text is: Moral Right and the Common Law: A Proposal By ARTHUR L. STEVENSON, Jr. LAW SCHOOL OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY WHEN AN AUTHOR writes a book, or an artist creates a painting or a work of sculpture, he does something quite different from a man who builds a table or manufactures some article for everyday use. The process of artistic creation is a form of per- sonality expression; the creator's reaction to his medium and his treatment of his subject are unique. The unique element lies in the fact that the artist has impressed his personality on the thing he creates, and in a very real sense this element of his work belongs to him, however he may dispose of the physical embodiment of his idea. Once the work is complete, it bespeaks the personality of the creator in a way that the most exquisitely complex machine can never do for the man who made the ma- chine. The artisan who fashions a piece of furniture, for ex- ample, may well be incensed if it is used carelessly; but that piece of furniture is probably like many others he has made and will make in the future. Not so the artist. His creation is unique. He may paint the same scene a second time or many times, but each time the result is different. There are nuances of light and shade, the color values are different, his treatment of shape, mass, and texture reflects his mood at the moment of creation. Out of the fact that artistic creation is thus an expression of the artist's personality has grown the moral right doctrine. The

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