Originalförfattarna

Originalförfattarna (the original authors) are the creators of the original work and hold the initial copyright. In most legal systems, the author is the person who expresses the ideas in a fixed form. If several people contribute to a single work, they are co-authors, and each has equal rights unless agreed otherwise. Works created by an employer or commissioned for hire may be owned by the employer or commissioning party, depending on contracts and national law.

Originalförfattarna hold both economic rights (reproduction, distribution, adaptation) and, in many jurisdictions, moral rights (attribution, protection of the work’s integrity). Moral rights often cannot be fully transferred and last for the life of the author, sometimes with posthumous duration. Economic rights can be licensed or sold and typically last for a limited period after the author’s death.

The concept distinguishes the original authors from translators, editors, or adapters, who may create derivative works and hold separate rights for their contributions. In collaborative or corporate contexts, questions arise about who qualifies as an author and how credit is attributed.

In recent years, automation and AI-generated content have raised questions about authorship, with most jurisdictions requiring a human author for copyright protection. Anonymous or pseudonymous works complicate attribution until the author is identified.