VIC Can a Forum Require Me to Waive All of My Moral Rights?

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Maven

Member
10 August 2018
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Is it legal for a forum to require me to waive all of my moral rights in regards to my works?

I belong to a forum online whose administrators have recently changed the Legal Policy. I must now waive all of my moral rights in regards to any works such as artwork, photographs, architectural designs, etc. I've uploaded to their site.

According to the Copyright Law of Australia, one cannot completely waive their moral rights to their works.

There is no way to contact the administrators of the website/forum without first accepting their Legal Policy. o_O

The administrators of the website/forum live in Victoria. I live in the US. I've tried to address this issue in a similar law answers forum in the US, however I think this question better fits this forum in Australia.

Thank you for your help in understanding my situation.
 

Tim W

Lawyer
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28 April 2014
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When you say "require", do you mean as a condition of continued membership?

If you know where the administrators are, then how is it impossible to contact them?
 

Maven

Member
10 August 2018
3
0
1
Hi Tim,
I know where they are located because they state so in the Legal Policy. I know the person's name as well. I've tried to contact them through the internet through other means yet every link now goes to the forum's URL. Prior to an upgrade to the forum website there were links to separate websites where one could contact them.

Yes, required as a condition of ongoing membership. They recently upgraded their website/forum with new rules, regulations, policies, and each member has to agree to these upgrades or they cannot even contact the administrators nor get onto the forum website beyond viewing it as a guest. Guests cannot contact the site administrators. They have zero privileges. If I log into my user name/password, the Legal Policy agreement shows up and won't allow me to do anything else. I can see the "Contact Us" link yet it fails to function.
 

Tim W

Lawyer
LawConnect (LawTap) Verified
28 April 2014
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Let's be clear. The question of waiving moral rights is spurious.
Chances are, all they've done is copy and paste some bit of wingnut text
from a US or European website that has gotten all revved up about the GDPR.
Probably without even knowing why.

The question is - what do YOU want here?
To remain?
Or to leave and never return, with all your content taken down?
 
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Maven

Member
10 August 2018
3
0
1
Hi Tim,
I'm leaning toward having my uploaded work removed from their site. I've considered not returning as a member after I say good-bye to members I've made friends with. There are various reasons behind this decision to leave which I won't discuss here because they have no bearing on the question I've posed.