alt Hacker NewsThis is strongly jurisdiction-dependent.
US patent and copyright derive from A1S8C8 of the US constitution, "to promote science and useful arts".
Much EU law derives from a French tradition based on droight d'auteur, or moral rights.
International copyright code (Berne Convention) rips and mashes from both traditions.
A law claiming that something is a "moral right" doesn't make it so, though.
Just as e.g. sodomy laws claiming that something is immoral doesn't make it so.