The right to Withdraw from Publication of Literary Works (Comparative Study of International Instruments and Some Legal Systems Adopting the Right

Abstract

In some civil law countries, creators of literary works have a special moral right titled withdrawal of publication. By virtue of this right, if the creator's opinions and believes change drastically after assignment of publishing right, he has the right to prevent further publication of his work and stopping the circulation of his/ her work in the market. Also, in some legal systems, this right can be exercised for economic reasons in case of non-exploitation of the work by the publisher.Since the underlying principle of this right rests on the theory of personality, advocates of the right of withdrawal consider it as a suitable tool to preserve the creator's personality. In contrast, utility-based legal systems refuse to accept it because of its huge costs on publishers. This right is not explicitly recognized in the Iranian legal system. However, given that the foundation of literary rights in our country is mainly based on the preservation of creator's personality, and the right to withdraw is essentially the extension of right to disclosure, this article defends the insertion of this right in Iranian Legal system.

Keywords

• right of withdrawal
• right to publish
• right of divulgation
• moral rights
• copyright