论出版社遗失作者手稿的法律后果

Discussion on the Legal Consequence of Losing the Author’s Manuscript by the Press

出版社遗失作者手稿应承担何种法律责任是司法实践中不可避免的问题,时至今日,许多法官和学者对这一问题仍然存在疑惑。从著作权法的角度来看,作为物质载体的手稿与手稿上载有的信息是两种不同的财产权客体,出版社遗失手稿同时侵犯了作者的财产所有权和著作权。著作权是知识产权权利之一,由著作人身权与财产财产权两部分组成。出版社遗失手稿既侵犯了著作财产权也侵犯了著作人身权,不仅要赔偿作者的经济损失还要对作者的著作人身权精神损害做出赔偿。

It is inevitable in judicial practice that what is the legal responsibility the publishers should take when they lose the manuscripts. There are doubts among judges and academics on the issue. According to the copyright law, the object of property right is different between the manuscripts and the information which is contained in the manuscript. Copyright is one of intellectual property rights. It is composed of the property right of copyright and the personal right of copyright. Losing the manuscript not only infringes the author’s property right of copyright but also infringes the author’s personal right of copyright. Therefore, the publisher should compensate for the author’s economic losses and the moral damages.