Law / United States / Puerto Rico
Ley de Derechos Morales de Autor de Puerto Rico, news and criticism exception
Ley Núm. 55 de 9 de marzo de 2012
A citation is an address, not a summary. The first part names the law; what follows narrows it to the exact section, article or paragraph.
In force since 9 March 2012.
A snippet reproduction rule binding public and private bodies.
As of 5 September 2026.
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
Ley 55-2012 recognizes an author's moral rights of attribution (paternity) and integrity in a literary or artistic work, non-transferable and, for the integrity right, waivable only by signed writing.
Article 10 exempts a legitimate use made for purposes of criticism, parody, commentary, news, education, or investigation from a moral-rights claim, to be judged under the totality of the circumstances including the purpose of the use, the nature of the work, and the size and substance of the portion used relative to the work as a whole.
Article 11 arms the author or successor with injunctive relief, actual damages, and, for a registered work whose violation targets a commercial or economic benefit, elective statutory damages of $750 to $20,000 per violation per registered work, at the court's discretion, plus costs and fees if the author prevails. The statute repealed the 1988 moral-rights act it replaced and took effect on approval.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureNo
Private right of actionYes
Penalty structure
Elective statutory damages available only for a registered work whose violation is aimed at generating a commercial or economic benefit, in lieu of actual damages, at the court's discretion; a civil remedy, not a fine.
- Rule
- Per violation only
- As of
- 5 September 2026
- Minimum
- 750
- Currency
- USD
- Per violation unit
- Violation
- Per violation amount
- 20,000
What it reaches
Obligation class
Attribution