Website T&C's regarding "user submissions"

IsThisOneFree

Hi All

I've just read through the T&C's of a website which I was considering using to avail of their service. I don't want to name the site for fear or having my account disabled, but I'll quiet happily provide a link to the T&C's if that's allowed.

Anyway, the section on "User Submissions" reas as follows:

Generally, any communication which you post to the Site is considered to be non-confidential. By posting communications to the Site, you automatically grant to the Company a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, modify, publish, edit, translate, distribute, perform and display the communication alone or as part of other works in any form, media, or technology whether now known or hereafter developed, and to sub-licence such rights through multiple tiers of sub-licences.

The website is not a "forum" type website - any information I provide is to avail of that company's service. The terms above would seem to imply that:

1. Any details I provide (of which my name, address, phone, e-mail and car registration are required) may be reproduced for public consumption at their will and without any further consent from myself =>"...license to use, reproduce..."

2. These details can also be passed (or sold) onto 3rd parties, again, without any further consent from myself =>"... distribute ... to sub-licence such rights..."

3. The company can keep the data (if they wish) for an unspecified period of time, even if I ask them to remove all of my information from their records => "...grant to the Company a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable..."

I didn't sign up for the site, as it turns out the product doesn't help me as much as I expected. But I'm curious how legal the above would be considered and if my asumptions above are correct ?

blueythebear

IsThisOneFree wrote: »

Hi All

I've just read through the T&C's of a website which I was considering using to avail of their service. I don't want to name the site for fear or having my account disabled, but I'll quiet happily provide a link to the T&C's if that's allowed.

Anyway, the section on "User Submissions" reas as follows:The website is not a "forum" type website - any information I provide is to avail of that company's service. The terms above would seem to imply that:

1. Any details I provide (of which my name, address, phone, e-mail and car registration are required) may be reproduced for public consumption at their will and without any further consent from myself =>"...license to use, reproduce..."

2. These details can also be passed (or sold) onto 3rd parties, again, without any further consent from myself =>"... distribute ... to sub-licence such rights..."

3. The company can keep the data (if they wish) for an unspecified period of time, even if I ask them to remove all of my information from their records => "...grant to the Company a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable..."

I didn't sign up for the site, as it turns out the product doesn't help me as much as I expected. But I'm curious how legal the above would be considered and if my asumptions above are correct ?

If this was a forum website like this one, I would expect those kinds of terms and they would apply to any posts (i.e. communciations) you make which'd be fair enough...

The definition of "communications" in the Ts & Cs is vital to this question. WIthout knowing more about the nature of the website, I would not think that "communications" includes any personal data required to sign up tother site (i.e. name, email address, etc) and indeed, if those were the terms then I wouldn't be signing up. I would have thought that Communications in this context refers to anything you submit to the website as a contribution.

Just goes to show that South Park has taught me something, to always read the terms and conditions on an internet site!