It is all about authors` rights. Respect the authors’ position. Get to know their economical situation – also and particularly in the digital era. Become their partners.

It is all about authors’ rights:

Moral rights
- The author’s exclusive right to be identified as an author (right of paternity)
- The author’s exclusive right to object to modifications and other derogatory treatment of a work (right of integrity)

Economic rights
- The author's exclusive right to authorise or prohibit direct or indirect, temporary or permanent reproduction of his work,
- The author's exclusive right to authorise or prohibit any communication to the public of his work, including the making available to the public of works on demand
- The author's exclusive right to authorise or prohibit any form of distribution of his work to the public by sale or otherwise, in respect of the original of the work or of copies thereof

Respect the authors’ positions

- Ascertain the moral rights, so that authors cannot be pressured into waiving them.
- Safeguard the right of fair remuneration that is proportionate with the economic rights of use that have been licensed.

Get to know their economical situation – particularly in the digital era

- Functions such as linking and framing are very often relevant to the right of paternity and right of integrity for the authors, when their works are being used in a different context from the original one.
- Under the influence and power of the globalised multi-national corporations who control and own the media industries an individual author is largely powerless against such forces without supporting legislation.
- Some of the problems arise in particular with the imposition of buy-out contracts which deprive authors of their rights – often to avoid the statutory obligation of equitable remuneration or even fair compensation.
- The vast majority of writers are low-income earners, which, of course, the writers’ organisations are sadly well aware off; but the rest of the world seems only to notice the spectacular income of the not too many exceptions.
- Many writers also have a self-employed status, which makes them very vulnerable when it comes to negotiating with the publishing companies.