LETTERS: With more movement restrictions relaxed, I decided to go for a drive around Kuala Lumpur recently and noticed that murals have been painted on many buildings.
It is indeed refreshing to see these wonderful paintings. Allow me to share that murals are copyrightable works, whereby these artworks enjoy copyright protection under the Malaysian Copyright Act 1987 (CA).
However, not all artists end up being the copyright owners of their works. The copyright of works of artists that are commissioned or purchased by a third party belongs to that third party.
Therefore, if the artist who paints the mural is the copyright owner, then it is only prudent that there is an agreement between the building owner and the artist.
This includes the mural being allowed to be on the wall for a period of time and should cover terms like when the building owner remove or demolish the mural.
Copyright issues may arise in the event the copyright owner of the mural is not the artist.
In accordance with the CA, where copyright subsists in a work, no person may, without the consent of the author, distort or modify the work.
In the copyright world, this right of artists is commonly known as "the moral rights of the author", whereby, although copyright may belong to the person commissioning the artwork or purchasing the artwork, the moral rights of the work shall remain with the author.
Therefore, in the event the artist is not the copyright owner of the mural and the copyright owner decides to remove the mural at any time (perhaps replace it with a new mural from a different artist), then the copyright owner must obtain the consent of the author viz the artist, prior to doing so.
This was what the court decided in the "Lunar Peaks" case when it awarded the author (the artist) damages of RM750,000 because the copyright owner of the Lunar Peaks sculpture had not obtained the author's permission prior to modifying it.
I wonder what the relationship is between the artist, the building owner and the copyright owner (if any) in respect of murals in Malaysia and if all parties are aware of the copyright issues concerning murals.
This (letter) is to highlight to all those involved in murals in Malaysia, particularly the rights of copyright owners and the moral rights of authors.
Building owners must ensure that copyright issues are taken care of at the very inception prior to allowing murals to be painted on their buildings.
Copyright owners (who are not the artists themselves) must take into account issues, including knowing the whereabouts of the author at all times because when it comes to removing the mural, the author's permission must be obtained.
If the copyright owner is not able to locate the author of the mural or his/her heir when seeking permission to modify the mural or removal thereof, this may be a problem later on as without the artist's permission, the artwork cannot be removed.
Most importantly, it should be noted that in Malaysia, there is no provision under the CA for a waiver of moral rights. Therefore, moral rights cannot be transferred to the copyright owner via an agreement.
While there should be recognition of our artists' talent, building owners, copyright owners and authors must appreciate the issues concerning mural copyright.
NNISA
Ampang, Selangor
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times