Legal Definitions - ENTREPRENEURIAL RIGHTS

Entrepreneurial rights, also known as neighboring rights, are a type of intellectual property right that belongs to performers or entrepreneurs such as publishers, broadcasters, or producers. These rights are different from moral rights, which belong to the creator of a work such as an author or artist.

In civil-law systems, neighboring rights and moral rights are protected by different laws, while in common-law systems, both are typically protected by the same copyright laws.

For example, a musician has entrepreneurial rights to their performance, while the songwriter has moral rights to the song they wrote. Similarly, a publisher has entrepreneurial rights to the books they publish, while the author has moral rights to the content they created.

Entrepreneurial rights are important because they allow performers and entrepreneurs to control the use of their work and receive compensation for it. Without these rights, others could use their work without permission or payment.