Legal Definitions - adaptation right

The adaptation right is a fundamental protection within copyright law that grants the creator or owner of an original work the exclusive authority to create new versions or transformations of that work. These new versions, often called "derivative works," are based on the original but present it in a different form, medium, or style. Essentially, this right ensures that only the copyright holder can decide if, and how, their original work can be adapted into something new.

• Example 1: From Play to Musical

  Imagine a successful stage play written by a playwright. A team of composers and lyricists believes this play would make an excellent musical, incorporating songs and new scenes while retaining the original plot, characters, and themes. Before they can begin developing or performing such a musical, they must obtain permission from the playwright (or their estate/publisher) to exercise the adaptation right. This right belongs exclusively to the playwright, allowing them to control whether their original dramatic work can be transformed into a musical format.

• Example 2: From Photograph Series to Graphic Novel

  Consider a photographer who captures a powerful and unique series of images documenting a specific historical event. An independent artist is deeply moved by these photographs and wishes to create a graphic novel that tells the story, using the photographs as direct visual references and inspiration for the artwork, character designs, and narrative structure. The photographer holds the adaptation right to their original photographs. This means the artist cannot create a graphic novel directly based on these images without first securing a license or permission from the photographer, ensuring the photographer controls how their visual work is reinterpreted or transformed into a new artistic medium.

• Example 3: From Board Game to Video Game

  A company invents and publishes a highly popular board game featuring unique rules, original characters, and a distinctive game world. A video game developer recognizes the game's potential and wants to create a digital version for various gaming platforms, translating the physical components and rules into an interactive digital experience. The board game company possesses the adaptation right for its original game. Therefore, the video game developer must negotiate and obtain a license from the board game company to create the digital adaptation. This right prevents others from taking the core elements of the board game and transforming them into a new format (a video game) without the original creator's consent.