E/C.12/GC/17 page 4 8. Although the wording of article 15, paragraph 1 (c), generally refers to the individual creator (“everyone”, “he”, “author”), the right to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from one’s scientific, literary or artistic productions can, under certain circumstances, also be enjoyed by groups of individuals or by communities.10 “Any scientific, literary or artistic production” 9. The Committee considers that “any scientific, literary or artistic production”, within the meaning of article 15, paragraph 1 (c), refers to creations of the human mind, that is to “scientific productions”, such as scientific publications and innovations, including knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities, and “literary and artistic productions”, such as, inter alia, poems, novels, paintings, sculptures, musical compositions, theatrical and cinematographic works, performances and oral traditions. “Benefit from the protection” 10. The Committee considers that article 15, paragraph 1 (c), recognizes the right of authors to benefit from some kind of protection of the moral and material interests resulting from their scientific, literary or artistic productions, without specifying the modalities of such protection. In order not to render this provision devoid of any meaning, the protection afforded needs to be effective in securing for authors the moral and material interests resulting from their productions. However, the protection under article 15, paragraph 1 (c), need not necessarily reflect the level and means of protection found in present copyright, patent and other intellectual property regimes, as long as the protection available is suited to secure for authors the moral and material interests resulting from their productions, as defined in paragraphs 12 to 16 below. 11. The Committee observes that, by recognizing the right of everyone to “benefit from the protection” of the moral and material interests resulting from one’s scientific, literary or artistic productions, article 15, paragraph 1 (c), by no means prevents States parties from adopting higher protection standards in international treaties on the protection of the moral and material interests of authors or in their domestic laws,11 provided that these standards do not unjustifiably limit the enjoyment by others of their rights under the Covenant.12 “Moral interests” 12. The protection of the “moral interests” of authors was one of the main concerns of the drafters of article 27, paragraph 2, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Authors of all artistic, literary, scientific works and inventors shall retain, in addition to just remuneration of their labour, a moral right on their work and/or discovery which shall not disappear, even after such a work shall have become the common property of mankind.”13 Their intention was to proclaim the intrinsically personal character of every creation of the human mind and the ensuing durable link between creators and their creations. 13. In line with the drafting history of article 27, paragraph 2, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 15, paragraph 1 (c), of the Covenant, the Committee considers that “moral interests” in article 15, paragraph 1 (c), include the right of authors to be recognized as