texts: Is it illegal to refuse to fix a hacked website?

texts:
Suppose there's a website or a server that has been hacked. There is no personal data stored anywhere, so there hasn't been a real data breach, because basically there's no valuable data to steal at all. A typical example could be a simple website that only contains public info about a company, or maybe a personal blog where all the posts are public anyway.
Now suppose the owner of that website or server refuses to fix it, because they don't have the ability, the time, or most often the money to fix it. The question is: is it legal to leave your website or server compromised, for an indefinite time? Technically it should be a problem, because even if there hasn't been a data breach and the owner isn't suffering any losses, their server or application might be used to commit other crimes (launch other attacks, host illegal stuff without the owner's consent, etc.). However I'm not sure if it's illegal to just keep a server compromised, unless the owner has been notified that their server is the source of some other attack (then I believe they should at least put if offline).
Jurisdictions I'm interested in: Europe and United States.


texts: Remedy for employee regarding Provident Fund

texts:
What are the possible charges an employee can take against an employer regarding Provident Fund - An employee works in a company for a short duration i.e., less than a year. Employee who was able to get the first month's salary slip and noticed a Provident Fund deduction but the employer failed to share Provident Fund details to the employee during and after the period employment. Now, the employee is able to figure out that the employer never created a Provident Fund account for the employee.

Does this amount to breach of trust under IPC and lead to prosecution?
Can the employer create an employee Provident Fund account and pay the Provident Fund amount along with a penalty after a PF department inspection?
On the other hand, if the employer is allowed to make the payment along with a penalty to the PF department, then can the employer be prosecuted for criminal breach of trust as well?


texts: Car has warning sticker it will be towed tomorrow for expired tags, but my plates don't expire for 2 years?

texts:
Came out to the parking lot to have a green sticker on my car saying it will be towed tomorrow for expired plates.

My plates (on front and back) expire in 2020 and have the sticker on the plates.

I went to the apartment complex leasing office and they said it was their towing company, and apologized for the error.

However, is it legal in MO to tow off someone's car for expired plates?
If they tow my car with non-expired plates do I have any recourse?

Edit: They never towed but I found another sticker this morning saying they will tow tomorrow for expired tags. This is the second sticker, 12 days after the first sticker. The front office came out and looked at the plates and the sticker this time and said they "do not know why it was stickered" and apologized again.


texts: United States citizen crosses Canadian border and murders someone. Who prosecutes the killer?

texts:
Would like this question answered, as I have the scenario in the book I am currently writing. Would like to ensure I am providing my readers probable outcome for the killer.
A United States citizen crosses the Canadian border and murders someone. Returns to the United States and law enforcement in Western Canada discovers who they are. Who arrests and prosecutes the killer?


texts: What prevents tourists visiting the U.S. from buying firearms?

texts:
Imagine an ordinary foreigner, arrived with a simple tourist visa into the US.

In the U.S., there is no personal identification document. Most of the U.S. people doesn't have a passport.

What prevents a simple tourist to go into a weapon shop and buy a rifle?


texts: Can private institutions fire employees without concern for the First Amendment?

texts:
The First Amendment doesn’t apply to private institutions. Private
  employers can fire employees for their speech without having to worry
  about the First Amendment.

What the NFL’s new rules for anthem protests really mean for the First Amendment, according to experts

Is this true? The word "employers" suggests that he's using the word institution to include businesses.

So can a person working for a grocery store or drugstore be fired for saying "I didn't support the invasion of Libya" or wearing a shirt that says "War sucks"?


texts: Can musicians effectively sue politicans that use their songs without permission?

texts:
Just about every presidential election cycle I can recall has multiple stories of candidates using songs at their rallies which they have failed to secure permission for. Afterwards, there will a cease and desist letter issued by the band and presumably the campaign stops using that music.
However, at this point, I don't feel like anyone involved in running a presidential campaign can claim ignorance on this matter. To that end, I feel like campaign managers simply operate on the premise that the time it would take to sue us is longer than this campaign entity will exist.
Given that most cease and desist letters are issued with an accompanying statement regarding not agreeing with the candidate's political beliefs, it would understandable if the musician sought financial penalty against the offending party.
Do these musicians have practical recourse against presidential campaigns under the law? I think this is essentially theft of intellectual property and violation of copyright, but if the defendant won't exist as an entity after the election cycle can they be sued in any meaningful way?


texts:
I would like to know whether the opportunity cost of one's time being wasted can in any circumstances be considered a legal damage.

For instance, perhaps if you pay someone to provide a service, and they deliberately wait to provide that service, over an extended period of time.

I thank you for any answers in advance!


texts: Would it be legal for a bar to serve alcohol to a patron whose age was verified by another bar in the same state/city?

texts:
Say there was a record available to all the bars in the state that shows a certified alcohol vendor verified a customer's age with government issued ID. Could that one record of age verification be proof of age for future alcohol purchases?

Does state alcohol law dictate vendors must only use government issued IDs and no other proxy ID?


texts: Is it piracy to obtain software you purchased in an alternate way?

texts:
Lets say you purchased software in the 90s or early 2000s, but lost the license key and or the disc. Another possibility is the company is no longer supporting and or does not provide older versions of its software.

What you do have:

the receipt with your name on it.
the box from over 15 years ago.
a statement from your bank proving it was purchased with a credit card with your name on it with the same date as the receipt.

The computer with this software crashes and the license key is lost in a unrecoverable hard drive.

In layman's terms, is it illegal to pirate the software by some means and crack it to get the product that was paid for to work?

To be clear in this scenario, the item in question is a box with a CD containing the software and inside the same box a key is included to activate said software. This box is purchased from a retail store.

The pirated software will only be used by the original owner as a replacement and not distributed or sold.

Is it illegal to create an unauthorized copy of the software.
Is it illegal to circumvent the software license key checks?
Is the receipt enough to prove you own the key and if not why?
Is there law to protect the consumer from having to purchase the software twice in this situation?


texts: Selective Service Registration Requirements and Transgender Persons

texts:
Federal laws require that males aged 18 to 25 register for Selective Service.  Does this requirement also apply to persons who:

were originally born female
now consider themselves transgender males


texts: Why intellectual property and not just trade secrets?

texts: Why are intellectual property rights necessary when nothing prevents a company from having trade secrets?


texts: I am a landlord, and a previous tenant of mine has left the property.  They have left piles of black bags in the rear garden and in the property.  Some of the bags contain letters that have been opened.  Can I read these letters?


texts: Does the 1st Amendment restrict executive actions?

texts:
This question is inspired by this Washington Post piece ("Donald Trump is working his way through the 1st Amendment").

Here's the amendment text, emphasis added:

  Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The author's first note says "The 1st Amendment curtails Congress, not the president."  It goes on to quote Trump talking about shutting down mosques, blocking Muslims from entering the US, abridging the freedom of the press, etc. and there are a lot of things a President can do without Congress.

Could Executive Action be used to prohibit the free exercise of religion, etc., within the broad authorizations of executive authority that the President has (from Congress or otherwise)?

Related: Could Executive Order 9066 be repeated with other groups today?


texts: If Trump can be impeached after leaving office, why couldn't Nixon?

texts:
I know that this was essentially already asked here, but the responses to that question only seem to say "You can't be impeached after leaving office," and we now know that that is apparently not true.
So if Trump's impeachment continues after leaving office, why couldn't Nixon's? I understand that Nixon was pardoned, but my understanding is that the pardon shuts down criminal prosecutions (but not impeachment).
I am not expressing any political opinion about the current impeachment - I'm just asking why it can continue if Nixon's couldn't.


texts: Is it legal to hijack online scammers accounts?

texts:
If someone were to start phishing scammers, hijacking their accounts and handing them over to the FBI, is there any protection for said vigilante?
I think there is some precedence for the necessity law but for the life of me I can't find any information online. You always hear about people taking the fight back to criminals but one thing commonly left out in these articles is the legality.
So my direct question: Is there any certificate, law, license that one can get that protects their ability to hunt scammers, phish their accounts and hand over the information to the feds?
Update
Since this got migrated to law I will clarify some of the terms above.
When I say phish someones account I mean tricking the scammer into handing over their credentials. Usually this is done with a fake login page that is tied to the hacker's [good guy in this case] database. When the scammer types in their credentials they are handing over their username and password willingly. I don't doubt this is legal.
What I am asking is, if said hacker then uses these credentials to log into the scammers accounts, and changes all the passwords effectively locking the scammer out [hijacking]. Would the hacker be in violation of the computer fraud and abuse act, and therefore liable when they handed the accounts over to the FBI?


texts:
Okay, so, basically, I want to make a blog about ripping on people. And it's not like just ripping because ripping but I really want to point out flaws in works/people/attitudes/technology/decisions and whatever.

I don't really care about people commenting "oh, you're moron, you're so and so, go kill yourself"

What I do care about is this:

If I say company X is full of morons who have no idea what they are doing is there any legal ground for them to come after me? Like I said, I could not care less about people insulting me, I only care about legal troubles/lawsuits and hairy stuff like that.

Is there any reason for me to worry about that?


texts: In the US, what kind of lawyer represents the government in court?

texts: Just want to know whether the government has a special lawyer or something like that.


texts: Has US law ever imposed liability for purely unethical behavior, unconnected to professional Codes of Ethics?

texts:
I'm familiar with the so-called ethics/law divide, where some acts may be lawful but unethical and other acts ethical but unlawful. This question is not about this.

I'm also familiar with professional Codes of Ethics that gain "legal" force by virtue of contract law and/or incorporation into professional regulatory statutes, but generally only apply to certified or licensed professionals (e.g. non-physicians do not incur liability by behaving in ways that are inconsistent with contemporary medical ethics but are otherwise lawful). This question is not about this either.

Has US law ever imposed a general duty on the general public to behave ethically? Restated, has a court ever imposed liability on a private citizen (holding no professional licensure or certification, holding no public office, etc.) for behavior that did not violate any specific provision of criminal or civil law, but rather transgressed either normative community ethics or the court's view as to what such ethics ought to be?

I used to think that it would be absurd for there to be "purely ethical" liability, but I found this article by an attorney in Arizona, who seems to be primarily talking about professional ethics (not general citizen ethics), but states that a court could theoretically punish on the basis of transgressing an ethical rule that has broad community acceptance but that had not been formally accepted by or imposed on the defendant by specific legal process.

If asking about the United States in general is too broad, we can limit it to the state of New York.


texts: Suppose a judge applies ideas of Christiany to judge what's right or wrong about what a person did. Or a judge in a buddhist country applying ideas of what's good custom/tradition for Buddhism. Some trials sustain than people behaving in certain way is against "good customes" or against "moral behavior". Many of these ideas of "good customes" or "moral behavior" comes from religions/belief systems. Has ever been a case anywhere, where an accused person of infringing "good customes" or "moral behaviors" succesfully appealed the case by stating his freedom of religion or freedom of belief rights were being violated? (since he was being judged by ideas of another religion/belief system?).  Does a judge applying ideas of a religion to judge, violate the right of freedom of religion?


texts: What is the legality of using patented hardware with open-source software?

texts:
I'm working with hardware from a company that is very serious about intellectual property protection. There are over 2,000 patents filed on the technology this hardware enables.

The hardware is intended to be used with software made by the same company. It is also highly protected by patents/copyright etc.

I am currently working with an open-source software that can be compiled in such a way as to work with this very closed-source hardware.

What legal rights might this company have to restrict me from developing my project? Note: I am not profiting from it, but would be interested in hearing how/if that might affect the legality.

My gut feeling is that, for example, my laptop might be made with closed-source hardware and run patented software, but I could still use it like a frisbee if I choose without risking infringement. Isn't this the same situation?

Thanks for any thoughts!


texts: Are there legal grounds for seeking pre-emptory dismissal of retaliatory law suits?

texts:
In some cases, a defendant in a civil law suit will retaliate against the plaintiff by filing a counter law suit, often of a dubious or spurious nature. For example, recently a photographer sued one of the major networks and the network reacted by suing the photographer.

When a defendant counter-sues in a clearly retaliatory way, are there legal grounds to ask the court to dismiss the suit because it is retaliatory or is that not a thing?


texts:
Do I need a GDPR "coockie" banner if I implement not a unique identifier but only a naive counter?

My web app check a key presence in local storage. Key is the same for all. If it's not found - call /increment api (with no message or data at all) and create one. If it already exists - do nothing. Just like "warrant canary". I like to call it reverse personification.


texts: Can Class Action Waivers actually be enforced?

texts:
I'm in Texas, about to sign a new lease. They've sent it to me to e-sign, and there's no option to submit the lease without signing/initialing something.
I'm not expecting to be part of a class action or anything. I just don't like the idea of waiving my right to it.

Text reads:

Class Action Waiver. You agree that you will not participate in any class action claims against us or our representatives. You must file any claim against us individually, and you expressly waive your ability to bring, represent, join or otherwise maintain a class action collective action or similar proceeding against us in any forum.

You understand that, without this waiver, you could be a party in a class action lawsuit. By signing this lease, you accept this waiver and choose to have any claims decided individually. The provisions of this Par. 43 shall survive the termination or expiration of this lease.

I saw this question. It's related but not the same--asks about arbitration.


texts: Is it legally binding to have a racist clause in a software license?

texts: If I have a software license and somewhere in it states something to the effect of "Only white people can use this software", is it legally binding in the United States?


texts:
I would like to know Is it legal to build same website like amazon or any other website's by copying there features.

Example:

I am planning to use amazon as requirement gathering source for my eCommerce project.

I would go to amazon.com and note down all there features and UI design etc, then I would start building website from scratch using the requirement gathered.

Note:

I will not exactly copy the websites design. But only features like Cash On Delivery, Online Payments, Recently Viewed Products etc.

I would like to know how could one gather requirements without looking at competitors or How to get any idea without searching ?

Didn't all similar websites got the requirement's by looking at competitors ?


texts:
Due to the pandemic, my university moves all classes online. This is a new situation and the administration is not well-prepared for this (which is understandable). I will give lectures online, in one of the courses, I will pre-record them and upload as streamable videos. The question is, who owns the copyright? I give you a couple of circumstances to specify the problem.

The material is not a direct derivative work, there is no other copyright-protected material I use that would take a large percentage of the course. All use of materials is lawful.
I record and edit the videos and I am the only speaker. There is no one else involved in the production process.
There is no recorded interaction with students in the videos, so privacy issues do not play a role.
I live and work in a public university in Germany.

To be even more specific, and because copyright covers multiple things, I am wondering if 1) I can use the videos elsewhere and if 2) I can use them to make money by creating an online course.


texts: In the United States, is Freedom of the Press absolute, or are there limits on it?

texts:
I've been doing some research into New York Times Co. v. United States recently, and I'm a bit unclear as to what was the outcome of that case.

I understand that Near v. Minnesota established that prior restraint is illegal in the United States, with certain exceptions:

  No one would question but that a government might prevent actual obstruction to its recruiting service or the publication of the sailing dates of transports or the number and location of troops. On similar grounds, the primary requirements of decency may be enforced against obscene publications. The security of the community life may be protected against incitements to acts of violence and the overthrow by force of orderly government. The constitutional guaranty of free speech does not "protect a man from an injunction against uttering words that may have all the effect of force."

What I'm confused about is how New York Times Co. v. United States fits into this. As Near v. Minnesota allows for prior restraint if publishing would obstruct military secrets, was the question of the Pentagon Papers one of whether that fits into this exception, and the ruling is that it doesn't? Or was it a question of general national security, posing an additional exception to prior restraint, which the Court denied? Does the Court's ruling overrule Near v. Minnesota entirely, giving absolute Freedom of the Press (at least ahead of time), or did it reestablish the same exceptions to prior restraint?

What makes this all the more confusing is that while a majority of the Justices agreed that the Times and the Post could resume publication, there's no majority opinion as to why. On the one hand, you have Justice Black declaring,

  The press was to serve the governed, not the governors. The Government’s power to censor the press was abolished so that the press would remain forever free to censure the government. The press was protected so that it could bare the secrets of government and inform the people. Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government.

and likewise Justice Douglass, who writes that the First Amendment

  leaves, in my view, no room for governmental restraint on the press.

Their views seem to indicate that Near v. Minnesota was entirely overturned, and there's no more prior restraint.

On the other hand, Justice Brennan says that

  Only governmental allegation and proof that publication must inevitably, directly, and immediately cause the occurrence of an event kindred to imperiling the safety of a transport already at sea can support even the issuance of an interim restraining order. In no event may mere conclusions be sufficient.

and likewise Justice Stewart's opinion that

  disclosure of any of [the Pentagon Papers] will surely result in direct, immediate, and irreparable damage to our Nation or its people.

which seem to narrow Near v. Minnesota to direct harm, rather than any resulting harm, but not entirely overturning it.

So, which is it? Does New York Times Co. v. United States overturn Near v. Minnesota, or does it simply limit it?

I'm further confused by Frank Snepp v. United States, where Snepp was forced to turn over all profits from his books and cease publishing further copies. Why? Didn't both Near v. Minnesota and New York Times Co. v. United States establish at least some form of revoking prior restraint? Why does it suddenly apply here?

In summary: In the aftermath of the above cases, is prior restraint legal in the United States, and if so, to what extent?


texts: What worst outcomes Derek Chauvin can expect on appeals?

texts: Will Derek Chauvin's situation get worse on unsuccessful appeals? Is there a rule, law, or reasons that prevent him from going deeper into the appeal process to gain a more favorable/lenient ruling?


texts: Is there such a thing as a "one way" contract?

texts:
There are two parties to a contract. Call them Party1 and Party2. The contract will take effect when Party1 meets condition precedent A, and Party2 meets condition precedent B.

Party1 meets condition precedent A. Party2 does not meet condition precedent B.

My understanding is that Party1, having met his obligation, condition precedent A, can now enforce the contract against Party2. But Party2 can't enforce the contract against Party1 because he hasn't met condition precedent B.

Is this, in fact, the case?


texts: Copyright compliance for music used in a TV show

texts: How do shows recorded and syndicated for replay on television (and comparable media) comply with the copyright of a music they play but do not own?


texts: In NYS, can a medical marijuana patient be fired or denied a job for a positive drug test result for THC?

texts:
In New York State, do medical marijuana patients have legal protections when it come to THC showing up in a drug test? Assuming they are both living and working within the state.

Additionally, do any localities such as New York City have differing rules?


texts: Has the First Amendment been held to include the right to film jurors?

texts:
When (in what case) has the First Amendment been held to include the right to film jurors in a court room?

I also leave open the possibility that there has been no such holding or even an opposite holding.


texts: Multieffect pedals- Do companies pay royalties to original pedal makers?

texts:
When looking into effects list of multieffect pedals (ex: Boss Gt6, Zoom ms50g...), the manual clearly identifies the effects of whom the original pedals where modeled from. And recent multieffect pedals with there modern audio processors are able to highly imitate the original effects(amps, drive, reverb, delay).

Do these companies pay royalties to the original manufacturers when they include copied sounds from them? If I buy multieffects due to their practicality in size and cost, am I supporting the original pedal/amp makers who have been manufacturing for years and deserve credit for the signature sound they made?


texts: Fair use for a free online school notes [UK]

texts:
We are working a project for a website which will offer free notes, and we don't plan on selling them, although we may use advertising at one point to help pay for the domain etc. However, we were wondering whether any use of images would fall under "free use" in the UK, as we are not charging for access to the images or anything like that.

Regards,
hoix


texts: Does a company have the right to perform MITM SSL stripping attack on their employees?

texts:
Does a company have the right to sniff all the traffic on their network irrespective of whether it contains personal data of employees if they show a warning message which states "...are subject to having their activities on the system intercepted, monitored and recorded."

Does US law states anything about this?
Does company policy enforcement with such a warning override the right to not be subject to surveillance?


texts: What can I do legally about a property which constitutes a major fire risk for my property and neighbouring school?

texts:
There is a property out the back of my place full of long grass and Gorse Bushes which are taller than any adult. this property sits between the edge of a forest and the back of a couple of properties including my own and the neighbouring school.

Having dealt with Gorse on my own property and seeing just how quickly it burns up and the fact people are just generally idiots/dicks and would be the cause of a fire starting during a fire ban if a fire was to be set in this property or come in from the forest it would make the situation much worse.

the only time this property has ever been treated was well over a decade ago when the CFA tried a controlled burn but lost control, since then there as been no attempt to do anything about this property.

ideally I would like to hire people to come in and rip the ground up so it can be used as sort of a fire defence front (ie, clear any obstacles for firetrucks, allows easy access to water, reduce potential fuel etc.) but I don't know if this property is owned by the local council or privately owned, either way neither one seems to have noticed or care about the danger this property presents.

So I am wondering what I can legally do to deal with this property.


texts:
I've noticed that the NYPD uses some sort of custom fleet license plate such as that seen below.

I was able to find this reference that states:

  No person shall operate, drive or park a motor vehicle on the public highways of this state unless such vehicle shall have a distinctive number assigned to it by the commissioner and a set of number plates issued by the commissioner [...]

As the license plate matches the identifier on the side of the vehicle, I'm guessing that this is an NYPD-created identifier (and an NYPD-created plate). Are these plates simply special ones issued by the commissioner? If not, how is this practice in accordance with state law?


texts: Business obligations under the OECD AEI/CRS

texts:
101 governments have meanwhile signed the OECD Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters (AEI, AEoI) and have thus agreed to send information on foreign account holders to the home tax authority of each account holder, beginning with information from the year 2016 or, for later adopters, 2017.

The defining document, https://www.oecd.org/ctp/exchange-of-tax-information/automatic-exchange-financial-account-information-common-reporting-standard.pdf , describes in its Annex, Section VIII, that a Reporting Financial Institution is essentially every institution that keeps money in user accounts.

Banks have picked this up and will fulfill their obligation. Some banks have warned their customers before beginning to collect user data. Some banks have kept quiet about it. Other financial institutions, for example, bitcoin exchanges that keep user accounts, are very quiet. Some may even be unaware of their obligations under the contract.

Hence my question. If a government signs an international contract, how is that binding for companies in its jurisdiction? Does the government have to inform all effected institutions? Does it have to pass a law? What happens if an institution does not fulfill its obligation? What happens if an institution does not even know its obligation? Is everybody obliged to read every contract which their government signs?

Would a financial institution be obliged to inform its customers before it begins reporting user data that had hitherto been kept secret to the tax authority in each user's home country?

Background information


texts: Does an Internet Service Provider rewriting TCP traffic to prevent SSL/TLS constitute wiretap?

texts:
Context:
I rent two dedicated servers from a hosting provider, one on a yearly basisis, the other monthly. The Terms of Service and AUP state clearly that they are not to access the server or data contained within without a work authorization or valid legal request.

They also provide an internet connection to said servers, as well as several public IP addresses for use on these servers.

Through testing and diagnosis, I have determined (and their support team has confirmed) the existance of a device that intercepts outgoing SMTP traffic from said servers. This device acts as a man in the middle device, and rewrites said traffic to strip out the STARTTLS ESMTP capability (i.e. disables encryption), meaning that all ougoing email communications are either unencrypted, or fail (if encryption is set to be required).

Their reasoning for the presence of such a device is to prevent abuse of their network.

18 USC § 2510 defines a wiretap device as such:

  5.
  "electronic, mechanical, or other device" means any device or apparatus which can be used to intercept a wire, oral, or electronic communication other than—

  (a) any telephone or telegraph instrument, equipment or facility, or any component thereof,
  (i) furnished to the subscriber or user by a provider of wire or electronic communication service in the ordinary course of its business and being used by the subscriber or user in the ordinary course of its business or furnished by such subscriber or user for connection to the facilities of such service and used in the ordinary course of its business; or
  (ii) being used by a provider of wire or electronic communication service in the ordinary course of its business, or by an investigative or law enforcement officer in the ordinary course of his duties;

This leads to two questions:

Does the usage of this device fall under the classification of "ordinary course of its business," given that it is not providing email service, but internet service?
If not, does such action constitute illegal wiretap, or is there some other law or regulation that makes such action legal?


texts: Child attained legal age, do the parents still hold any rights to medical documents from childhood?

texts:
Situation

A child, let's call him Pete, went to some medical treatment when he was younger than legal age (18).
All documents about this treatment were sent to his parents.
Pete is now (way) above legal age.
The documents are still in (physical) possession of his parents.

Questions

Are the parents allowed to use or publish these documents? (against Pete's will)
Can Pete ask (demand) the parents to hand these documents over to him?

Pete's goals

Get hold of at least a copy of these documents.
Prevent use (disclosure) of these documents by the parents in any legal process (at court).


texts: How can I transfer ownership of an LLC in Virginia?

texts:
In 2011 I filed paperwork with the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) to form an LLC. I was the "registered agent" for the LLC.

Now, in 2015, I would like my wife to own 100% of the LLC. I have changed the "registered agent" for the company from my name to her name with the SCC. However, SCC says they don't deal with the question of "how to make someone 100% owner of the company."

What would I need to do to officially make my wife 100% owner of the LLC?  Would this paperwork be need to sent to a federal agency or remains internal to the managers/shareholders of the LLC?


texts: What juries usually do – hard statistical data

texts:
This morning the jury in the Manafort case had not yet returned a verdict but said they had a partial verdict. It was not yet clear on how many of the charges they had reached a verdict. A commentator on TV said something like "If a jury has decided he's not guilty on 16 of the 17 charges, then usually they will....etc....etc."

Does someone collect data on such situations that indicates what they usually do, or how often they do what?


texts: Can I use my personal Photoshop subscriber license for a commercial purpose? (Germany)

texts:
I have the Individuals Creative Cloud Photo Subscription (annual subscription). I'm paying this on my own and use it mainly at home. Now I want to use Photoshop for several things in the company I'm working in, is it allowed?

I'm from Germany, if this is relevant. I already asked the support but didn't get a clear answer, I got only a link to Licenses and Terms of Use | Adobe.

I registered online on the Adobe page and bought the following (Pricing Table) and pay monthly via PayPal.


texts: (UK) Holiday entitlement during first 3 months aka. "probation period"

texts:
I've been working for a company in UK for 3 months (exactly 29.06 to 29.09) after which the company has been sold.

(edit: actually my contract says that I started on 2.07 which isn't true, but that hopefully doesn't change anything)

With the last pay we were supposed to receive our accrued holiday entitlement paid in lieu.
..and most of us (employees) did but I didn't.

When asked about that my ex-boss aruges that I didn't finish my probation period of 3 months and therefore am not entitled to any holiday.

(She also claims that had I worked more than 3 months I'd get 7 days of holiday for the whole probation period)

Now as far as I found online - there's no such thing in work law as 'probation period' and that for each month I worked I should get 1/12th of my annual holiday.

Is that true?


texts: Would a conspiracy to break patient confidentiality be a crime?

texts:
Inspired by this question on The Workplace, I wonder if a company that hired a doctor to spy on patient/employees would be committing a crime in the US.  And would the doctor be committing a crime by doing so?

Details:

Patient/employee means a patient of the doctor and employee of the company.

By "spy" I mean the company says, "Employee: this doctor is our health provider, go to him for all your health care needs, with a small or even zero co-pay;" and, "Doctor, we will send our employees to you, and you will in turn provide all records of their visits to us, while telling our employees (your patients) that the records would never be shared with us."


texts: What protections does Common Law copyright give me?

texts:
What does Common Law copyright protection give me exactly?

From my research, all I've found is that if I create a work, it is automatically protected by common law copyright, and that if I register the copyright, I get additional protections like the ability to sue in a federal court.

So what protections do I get with Common Law copyright in the first place? Suing in a state court?

Is the only right that it grants me, the right to use the copyright symbol, which deters others from copying my work? But if they actually copy my work, then I can't go after them?


texts: Can I make a sports compilation on Youtube using clips from various broadcasts?

texts:
I would like to create a "Top 10"-style compilation of clips from a sports event that I particularly enjoyed watching some weeks ago.

Since there are literally thousands of content creators on Youtube who publish such highlight reels on a regular basis, without any mention of permission from the broadcasters, I thought I could do it as well.

However, it slipped into my mind that doing so would not necessarily be "fair use" legally speaking as I am neither criticizing nor educating anyone, nor is it for purely "personal" use. On the other hand, such a compilation has a "journalistic" nature, i.e., it shows the best moments from a match, or the worst fails from an event.

Am I committing copyright infringement by uploading a sports compilation on youtube?

If the answer to the above question is "yes", can someone explain to me how those thousands of compilation content creators get away with their videos, even as they're monetizing them?


texts: Can a childless home owner living in rich neighborhood pay property tax to poor school districts?

texts: I bought a home in a rich neighborhood because it is close to my work place, but I think other school districts would benefit more from my money. Is there any chance to choose where the school funding part of my property tax goes?


texts: Software developer not getting paid for contract work

texts:
I'm in Canada, subcontracted for a company in the US. I have been working with them for 4 months. They refused to pay me for the last month I worked, giving a reason that my work is not up to their expectation. I told them this would go to court and that I can defend my work, and they threaten to sue me back for whatever reason.

We don't really have an official contract, but I got an email that states all the details. We agreed on hourly rate, not project-based, since they don't have a clear requirements set out.

Two questions here:

I planned to sue them in small-claim in Boston, where their company is. Could my travelling expense from Canada be included in the claims?
What could they sue me for? Even if there are some flaws in my work, but those've never cost the company any lost.


texts:
Under California PC647(i),

Except as provided in paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) and subdivision (l), every person who commits any of the following acts is guilty of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor:
...
(i) Who, while loitering, prowling, or wandering upon the private property of another, at any time, peeks in the door or window of any inhabited building or structure, without visible or lawful business with the owner or occupant.

The language in this section suggests the space must be occupied at the time the act is done, because of the term "inhabited." Is this a valid interpretation or can "inhabited" simply mean "owned/rented", e.g. it may be that the occupant has gone to the market but does currently live there.


texts:
I know that some businesses accept cash in exchange for services and never declare that income (tax evasion). I understand that it is illegal for businesses to do so. But what about the other end of the stick?

What happens if a person proposes a cash-for-services deal to a business to avoid having to pay taxes on the service? What if the person actually proceeds with the transaction?

Does the client have any legal liability? Or is the liability only present on the business end?


texts: does receiving a FAX acknowledgement prove that receiving machine received the FAX?

texts:
I send a FAX to a company.  I receive an acknowledgement from my FAX machine that all the pages were transmitted and that the receiving FAX machine acknowledges that it received the FAX of a given number of pages.

Today's technology in FAXes uses a CRC code to verify that every dot on each page is exactly where it was supposed to be placed and that the receiving FAX machine does the same CRC computation on the pages it receives and acknowledges that its CRC value matches the transmitting FAX machines CRC.

Does this constitute proof in a court of law that you sent the FAX to the receiving machine and that the match of the CRC codes proves that the receiving machine actually received the document?   It does not prove that the receiving machine had enough paper or ink to make all the copies of the document, but just that the receiving machine received the electronic embodiment of the document.  I believe that the US government takes this position on FAXes that have a received acknowledgement.


texts: How do US municipalities get their authority to govern?

texts:
Municipalities in the US can:

Make laws that apply to all people who find themselves within their boundaries.
Tax residents.
Tax economic activity (e.g. sales).
Arrest people and apply other police powers.

Where do municipalities get the authority to make all of these impositions on people? Can an individual buy up a parcel of land, declare it to be a municipality, make arbitrary laws, and use armed police to enforce those laws? Clearly not, but why not?


texts: Terminating contract before book is published

texts:
My situation is as follows:
I signed a contract with a book publisher to write a book.

The problem is now I wish to terminate the contract early. I have not received any money from the publisher yet. The editing process has just started, they started editing one chapter (out of 10).

Normally in this kind of case, will I be required to pay any damages? I am ok with giving up the rights to my work to the publisher. (It is a children's workbook), however if possible I would like to avoid paying any damages.

Thanks for help.


texts: After US Supreme Court overturns precedent, are old cases revisited?

texts:
Hypothetical scenario:

1950: government uses method A to convict John Doe of crime B, SCOTUS upholds conviction
1990: government uses method A to convict Jake Smith of crime B
2000: government uses method A to convict Jane Roe of crime B, SCOTUS overturns decision from 1950, vacates Roe's conviction

What would now happen to Smith's conviction, if anything?


texts: What is the basic term sheet of joining of software company?

texts:
I'm not a law student. I'm just software engineer who only knows how to code.

I'm pretty confused. My friends are starting a software company and they are not software engineers; they have BBA degrees. They asked me to join their company as a software developer. I've got good skills, they asked me to sign a term sheet that says:

  Job is for 1 year only.
  I can't quit the job during this time period.
  They can terminate me
  I have to work 8 hours a day

I'm new to working for a software company, because, this is my first job. I need help. I want to be able to quit the job anytime I want, I would give them one months notice before I quit. What if there's is project of one year. And, I started project, but I want to quit the job in the middle of the project. What would I do?

I'm in my last year as a student.


texts: should I acknowledge the value of information?

texts:
I am reading a contract in which there is the following content: you acknowledge you will have visibility to valuable information. My question is what is the exact meaning of this statement? Going strictly by the dictionary meaning of the word acknowledge, this statement can mean two different things:
1- To admit to be true and real
2- To show or express recognition or realization of
The first meaning seems to imply that I am making a statement about the value of a content. While the second definition seems to imply that I accept the author's claim that the information is of value. Which is the case here?


texts: What limitation can a judge place on examination or cross examination?

texts:
There are a number of limitations that a judge can place on the examination or cross examination of a witness. For instance, a judge can bar questions that are "immaterial, irrelevant an/or incompetent." Ditto for a question that has been asked and answered earlier. And cross examination is usually limited to matters brought up in direct examination. These are what I call "subject matter" limitations.
But are judges allowed to place limitations on non subject matter issues, and if so, when? For instance, is a judge allowed to say, "we would like to save time on this case," and therefore place a limit to the time or number of questions asked of a witness, even when clearly relevant. How about a limit on the number of witnesses?


texts: Can I claim if Customs open & damage my parcel even though contents clearly labelled & nothing was found

texts:
A model train was sent from Canada to UK & clearly marked. It took a year to make & was then sold. It has been drilled by customs from bottom to top & the buyer no longer wants it. He was charged £101 when delivered for the pleasure of having his train ruined.
Can I claim compensation?


texts: Future resident, not prospective resident, schedules walkthrough of my apartment, is this legal?

texts:
Today my landlord informed me that

  that next year’s resident has scheduled an appointment to tour the
  apartment for Thursday May 28th, 2020 at 12:00pm

emphasis added by me.

Here is the quote from my lease:

  ENTRY BY LANDLORD. Landlord or its agents may enter the Premises in an
  emergency or to perform repairs, maintenance, code inspections,
  appraisals, insurance inspections, or for other purposes reasonably
  related to the operation of the building and to show the Premises for
  sale or lease. Except for entry during an actual or apparent
  emergency, all entries shall be made during reasonable hours; and
  Landlord shall make reasonable efforts to inform Tenants of its
  intention to enter and shall attempt to establish a mutually
  acceptable time.

My residence is in Michigan.
 This stack exchange post lists the requirements for entry. I interpret this case, however, as not a prospective tenant but a confirmed tenant i.e. they are already legally bound, unless they break the lease, and are no longer a prospective tenant.

Finally, this is also during the COVID-19 lockdown so I have no where to go during this time. The landlord did inform me that they would wear facemasks while entering the apartment but I just don't feel safe having strangers enter my apartment for no good reason.

Therefore, can I reasonably refuse them entry if they have already "sold/leased" the apartment?


texts: Can a plaintiff sue a party that would be foreseeably be impleaded by defendant

texts: E.g. in an agency situation, where the causes of action arise from the defendant's agent's negligence/fraud, can the plaintiff directly sue both the defendant-principal & his agent? Since the agent would foreseeably be impleaded by the defendant-principal. Or must the defendant do that himself?


texts: Can congressional leaders "expel" elected members of Congress?

texts:
According to a Washington Post article about Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, in the spotlight for an apparent history of sexual relations with teenagers, congressmen are trying to...

  pressure GOP nominee Roy Moore to withdraw from the Alabama Senate race amid allegations of sexual misconduct, declaring him “unfit to serve” and threatening to expel him from Congress if he were elected.

That last part is the interesting one. Do members of Congress have the power to "expel" a democratically (if controversially) elected senator from the United States Congress?


texts: How to construe terms of a license agreement?

texts:
I read a license agreement and it seems the following part is vague:

  Without prejudice to any statutory rights so to do, you must not reproduce or alter any of the software or any associated documentation.

1) Does "Without prejudice to any statutory rights so to do" mean "If your local law supports this limitation"?

2) Does "you must not" means that "you are not allowed"?

3) Does "any of the software or any associated documentation" mean "either the software or any associated documentation"? Or does it mean "any part of the software or its associated documentation"?


texts: Guidelines to claim right to use physical force as self defense?

texts:
I was wondering what constitutes a provocation to which it is justifiable to use force as self defense. For example, if someone came a slapped you on the face but did not proceed hitting you (at which point it could be claimed he no longer presented threatening force to you), would it be okay to punch him and not be legally liable?  Or if someone started getting in your face but not really touch you, would it be legally okay to punch them to get them out of your face? What are some examples of provocation that the law would be sympathetic with the target using physical force against?

In general, what are some guidelines, in the U.S., to know when it is okay to respond with physical force?  Is ANY violence (e.g. a humiliating act like slapping somebody) enough to exempt the victim from ...  beating the c**p out of or shooting the perpetrator?  At which point does shooting the perpetrator becomes fair game because their actions constituted a legitimate threat?


texts: There is a gap in my Landlord's Gas Safety Record (UK)

texts: I have a lodger living with me at home. I got my Landlord's gas safety check done but a bit late (it was a day after the last one expired). I just read that if anything happens they will look at your gas safety record history. Is there anything I can do about it now? Will I get in trouble for this?


texts: Do I have the right to enter into someone house without permission if my child is in there?

texts:
Here's the situation

  Main persons:

  my daughter Maria, 16 years old
  my daughter's friend Mario, over 18 years old

  My daughter was asked by her friend Mario to hang out at someone's house.

  At 1:00 am, while I and her oldest brother (20 years old) were already
  resting, someone knocked on my door and said that Mario (already drunk)
  was getting my daughter to hangout at someone's house. So I woke up her
  oldest brother to go into that house to get his sister.

  When we arrived at the house, while we were knocking we heard a noise of
  singing and like partying, but it suddenly stopped when they heard us.

  My son looked into the window and saw his sister, he felt angry and
  without thinking, he jumped through the
  window to get in, he opened the door for me and let me in.
  When we were inside the house, we found people were already gone except
  for Mario and my daughter.

  Mario faked sleeping, while my daughter was sitting next to
  him. So my son woke up Mario and said "If I saw you there, outside,
  I'm gonna punch the hell your face".

  By the way, the parents of the child (owner of the house where the
  incident happened) were not at home, and the child of the owner is
  under age of 16.

  So, me and my son were trespassing and threatened someone.

Do we have the right to do that? When my son says "I'm gonna punch your face when I saw you there" is that considered a threat?

PS: This is for educational purpose only, and the situation happened in real life. I'm not in the situation, but due to curiosity I wanted to know what my rights are when this kind of things happen to me, considering I am the father of Maria.

UPDATE

Thanks for commenting and those who wrote an answer. After reading those comment and answer I realize that I had a mistake for not clarifying my question.

WHICH COUNTRY

These situation happened in Philippines, but I would like to know if the situation also happen in US and India, so three countries.(US and India is optional, I'm just curious).

THE PARTY

It wasn't a party after all, it's just a hang out leading by MARIO.

THE WINDOW

The window is not something like a glass, it's an open window, not lock at all.

WHY DO I ASKED THESE QUESTION IF I ALREADY KNOW THAT THE FATHER AND SON IS TRESPASS

I think this is about protecting the child.
Well, I'm currently not in the age of having a son/daughter or family, but you you know, if I we're in the situation maybe because of wanting to protect my daughter/sister, I will do the same(I'm not sure at all). In addition, I would like to know the possible defense that I can make when this kind of situation happen to me. Anyway, sorry for bad English.

So, what I actually want to know is

1: That thing could be consider as a threat?

2: What are the possible defense can I have in these kind of situation?


texts: Choosing what level of scrutiny to apply to enumerated rights

texts: In court decisions dealing with burdens on enumerated rights you often see a discussion, or at least a reference to a previous decision, as to what level of scrutiny to apply. Why, in the case of enumerated rights, is it not automatically strict scrutiny? If the rights were important enough to list, I would expect them to be given the highest level of scrutiny.


texts: Last day to give notice for UK Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST)

texts:
If I had a UK AST (Assured Shorthold Tenancy) agreement

Which was signed 1/6.
Saying a 6 month fixed term starts 27/6 (they possibly meant 27/5 as that was the move-in date, but unless it matters for the answer, as over a year has passed, assume they didn't).
Saying rent must be paid monthly, starting 1/8 (first month of rent was paid in advance; pro-rata payments for any "loose days" have been discussed informally).

Which day would be the last day in the month the Landlord could give notice after the 6 months had passed?

I think it is the "rent period", ie. the 1st (which incidentally is also the date it was signed), but I am slightly confused by the unusual fall of the dates in the agreement. Thank you.


texts: Is a state issued ID required to see a doctor with insurance?

texts:
Suppose there is someone who has insurance but they do not have a state issued ID card, let's say they only have a school ID. If this person goes to a doctor's office and shows their school ID and insurance card and provides all details such as their DOB an SS number, can the doctor still refuse to see them because they did not show a "proper" ID (a state issued one)?

A related question is does this ID check come from the insurance companies or is it a legal requirement in some or all states?


texts: In a Title IX investigation, does the Coordinator have an obligation to email me questions regarding the investigation?

texts:
I have hired a lawyer because my exboyfriend said I'm stalking him after I filed a sexual assault case against him.

My sexual assault case was closed, but the Title IX coordinator is asking me about the stalking case. I spoke to my lawyer who said I do not have to answer anything over email and that I can answer relevant questions in person with an attorney present.

I told this to the Title IX coordinator three times on separate occasions (noting that this Title IX coordinator is overtly and visibly biased in favor of my ex) and I gave dates and times I am available.

However she emailed me again saying that it is her obligation as Title IX coordinator to check with me regarding significant issues that come to her attention in advance of our meeting. I don't see this as a good excuse because what if I didn't communicate via email like some people, what if I didn't have a phone? How would she communicate with me?

Is there a legal expectation (as she says there is) for her to ask me questions about the accusations made by my ex via email, if I said I will speak to her in person with an attorney present?

I know I could send the messages to junk (which I do) but I still have to check my junk mail because she might be emailing me about dates/times to meet. This is dealing with an NYC public college.


texts: Is it rape to have sex with a man without disclosing that one is a male-to-female transgender?

texts:
A male-to-female transgender person meets a male partner, but does not tell the partner about being transgender. Thus, the male partner believes the transgender woman is a (cis-gender) woman, and they have sex. If the transgender woman hadn't hidden this fact, the male partner would not ever have wanted to have sex.
Is this considered rape?

Considering the growing ratio of people going through a sex change operation, and living later hiding this fact from the society, the problem will likely become more and more common.


texts: California Legal Ethics: Attorney Bringing On Co-Counsel w/o Client Knowledge?

texts:
Is is a breach of ethics in California for an attorney representing a client in a civil matter to discuss their client's case in detail with potential co-counsel without the client's knowledge or consent?

In this case I found out about the conversations only when told by my [long-since former] attorney that they had engaged co-counsel. Speaking of which, is is ethically acceptable in California for an attorney to bring onboard co-counsel without mentioning it first?

(Obviously this is not hypothetical. The matter was settled - by a different attorney - years ago. I was reminded of it when going through some old records and am asking about it now so I can properly calibrate my gauge of appropriate behavior in the future.)


texts:
I understand that curfew laws are a concern due to the possibility of use of them to violate the constitutionally protected rights of individuals.   Even in the face of pandemic-level health concerns, and civil disorder, local and state officials seem reluctant to impose curfews, perhaps due to the concerns about judicial and voter reactions to warrantless arrests this might lead to.
Could the judicial branch issue arrest warrants based based on time, place and perhaps manner to aid in restoring order in the face of civil unrest without generating 1st amendment concerns?
Has this been tried?   Are there serious constitutional restrictions this would be subject to?


texts: If landlord insists/pressures tenant to move out early should mutual agreement to end tenancy be signed?

texts:
I know this is a bit of a strange question.
I have a fixed term tenancy agreement and the lease is not up yet. However, the landlady really doesn't like me and has made it very unpleasant for me to live in the home. (for example, the landlady lives in the same building and has barking dogs who she won't do anything about even though I've told her they disrupt my sleep and work). The landlady has asked me to move out early, and of course I want to because it's been so unpleasant.
I was thinking of signing a "Mutual Agreement to End Tenancy Early" but I really don't think this is right as I am being pressured into moving out. I already have decided I will be filing a claim against her for loss of quiet enjoyment due to dogs barking, and was wondering if I could make the evidence strong that she broke the lease by forcing me out early? I could just not sign any agreement, but then it may look like I broke the lease (though I would still have emails about her pestering me to move out). Is there any better fit from the Tenancy Act on how to end tenancy in this situation?
From here:

How a tenancy ends
44   (1) A tenancy ends only if one or more of the following applies:
(a) the tenant or landlord gives notice to end the tenancy in
accordance with one of the following:
(i) section 45 [tenant's notice];
(i.1) section 45.1 [tenant's notice: family violence or long-term
care];
(ii) section 46 [landlord's notice: non-payment of rent];
(iii) section 47 [landlord's notice: cause];
(iv) section 48 [landlord's notice: end of employment];
(v) section 49 [landlord's notice: landlord's use of property];
(vi) section 49.1 [landlord's notice: tenant ceases to qualify];
(vii) section 50 [tenant may end tenancy early];
(b) the tenancy agreement is a fixed term tenancy agreement that, in
circumstances prescribed under section 97 (2) (a.1), requires the
tenant to vacate the rental unit at the end of the term;
(c) the landlord and tenant agree in writing to end the tenancy;
(d) the tenant vacates or abandons the rental unit;
(e) the tenancy agreement is frustrated;
(f) the director orders that the tenancy is ended;
(g) the tenancy agreement is a sublease agreement.

I know I am within my rights to stay, but considering how unpleasant it is (with things like dogs barking) I want to move first and then be compensated for damages latter. The only reason the landlord gave me to move out is because she doesn't want "a man" living in the home.


texts: Deficiency judgement period after foreclosure in IL

texts:
A friend entered in foreclosure in 2014, for a condo in Chicago, IL (Chase Bank). Some time later he received a form 1099-C for cancellation of debt for around $9K. I know there's a deficiency but, while we tried contacting the bank to know what the status of that debt is, nobody in the bank seems to knows the answer.

I want to know what's the period while the bank or a collector can still claim that debt. I know the form 1099-C is only for tax reasons, but I wonder when will that debt will stop being enforceable. Or, what would be procedure, if possible, to get a deficiency waiver with the bank?


texts:
Video shows:

An Army lieutenant is pulled over by Virginia police, with firearms dawn upon exiting police cruiser. "I’m honestly afraid to get out of the car,” Lieutenant Nazario says.

“Yeah,” says one of the officers, Joe Gutierrez, according to footage from his body camera. “You should be.”

“What’s going on?” Lieutenant Nazario then asks.

“What’s going on is you’re fixing to ride the lightning, son,” Officer Gutierrez yells. (Later, after striking Lieutenant Nazario behind his knees, the officer told him to “lay down or I’m going to tase you,” as the officers appeared to struggle to get Lieutenant Nazario on the ground.)

The questions are asked in the context of weapons drawn and pointed at the driver.
Questions:

Is the verbal threats " you’re fixing to ride the lightning" from an officer in violation of law or Lt. Narario's rights?

Did the officers have cause to stop the driver?

If the did not have cause, are the officer's subsequent actions (pepper spraying, leg strikes, detainment) criminal in nature or are they protected under qualified immunity?

I believe that riding the lightning is slang for execution (electrocution).

At one point, Gutierrez told Nazario he was "fixin' to ride the
lightning," according to the lawsuit. The phrase was a line from the
movie "The Green Mile," a film about a Black man facing execution, and
references the electric chair, the lawsuit states.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/10/us/caron-nazario-windsor-police-virginia.html
https://abc7ny.com/lawsuit-virginia-police-threaten-pepper-spray-army-lieutenant-during-stop/10504779/
UPDATE: stated reason for stop / detainment

In a report from that night the officers said they had pulled over
Lieutenant Nazario because his S.U.V. did not have license plates.
Lieutenant Nazario said he had recently bought a Chevrolet Tahoe and
was waiting for license plates. Temporary ones had been taped inside
the rear window and were visible, according to the lawsuit.


texts: How can Loose Constructionism befit narrower interpretations and judicial self-restraint?

texts:
Source: Richard A. Posner, How Judges Think (2008), p. 191 Bottom - 192 Top.

p. 191

    [2.] "Strict construction" can mean interpreting statutes (and other documents to which
  legal significance attaches) narrowly, as in the old "canon of construction" that
  statutes in derogation of the common law are to be interpreted narrowly so as to
  minimize their inroads into that law. Or it can mean interpreting statutes and other
  documents literally, that is, according to the "plain meaning" of their words, without
  recourse to considerations of legislative history, real-world context or consequences,
  or other indicia of legislative purpose. Literal interpretations

p. 192

  can be astonishingly
  broad. "Literal when narrow" may be the practical meaning of strict construction. The
  loose constructionist is a nonliteralist, [1.] but he does not necessarily favor broad
  interpretations of statutes or constitutional provisions, creating new judicially
  enforceable rights. [End of 1.] [2.] He could in other words be a practitioner of judicial self-restraint
  rather than of judicial activism.

How is 1 true? Any examples?
Can someone expound 2 please? How can Loose Constructionism facilitate judicial self-restraint?


texts: Bob requests a lawyer to be present while the police interview him after being arrested. The police just laugh.


texts: How to ensure that no one can copy my app design and name

texts:
Can an application developer from outside the USA prevent other developers in the US from copying the name and design of the application? How will this work?

How can a developer who has published a game on one site (such as google play store) prevent other developers from copying the name, design, or idea of the game on a different platform and site, such as the iPhone App Store.


texts: Can a husband throw away his separated or divorced wife's mail?


texts: Why is Software Piracy Considered Theft?

texts:
I know the question sounds mundane and perhaps even silly at first glance, but, consider it for a moment.

Our qualm with piracy seems to be premised with some notion of loss at the owners/business' expense. Every study I've read calculating loss by software piracy presupposes that, without piracy, every transgressor would have bought the software (particularly the BSA). Additionally, we cannot deny businesses have all the litigious incentive in the world to pursue the highest estimates of damages

Now, by definition piracy is generally

  The illegal duplication and distribution of copyrighted files (US Legal, Inc)...

By definition of loss/theft, how is one deprived of their software if the "crime" is only the duplication of said software?
How is there loss when the owner(s) not only still own the original piece of the software, but only dealt with general expenses of management, coding, advertisement, et cetera, and not any expenses of the duplication? There is some exception when it comes to physical copies such as video games at stores, for example, in my opinion, because there are direct expenses keeping those games on shelves, producing cases and discs, et cetera.

If we consider even a copy of software [without consent] a form of theft and therefore loss, then would it not be theft for me to legally license software and then duplicate another file of it? After all, even though I licensed the software I still made a duplicate without consent, yes?


texts:
I am having difficulty interpreting a clause relating to a referral rewards program, which entitles an existing client to an incentive for each additional client they refer to a company. The confusion revolves around the parsing of this clause:
"You cannot refer yourself via a joint account, a family member or a member of the same household"
Which of the following structures does this parse to?

You cannot refer yourself via:

a joint account;
a family member; or
a member of the same household.

or

You cannot refer:

yourself via a joint account;
a family member; or
a member of the same household.

Is this clause poorly constructed? Would it leave the company open to legal challenge, or is there clear grammatical precedent for interpreting such a clause? The company is very well legally resourced and in a highly regulated industry.


texts: Federal seizure of money from foreigners in foreign banks

texts:
I don't understand how it is legal or even possible for the United States to seize money belonging to a foreigner from a foreign bank without that person having been convicted of a crime. What is the legal basis for this?

This is about seizing assets of FOREIGN citizens located in FOREIGN countries, not US civil forfeiture.


texts: If someone removes a speed limit sign, can one still be ticketed for driving over the limit?

texts:
Say a truck driver were to plow into a speed limit sign, rendering it completely unreadable, and further completely unidentifiable as a speed limit sign. It just so happens that this same sign is the first sign indicating a drop to a lower speed limit.

I am driving 60 miles per hour on a 60 mile per hour street, and pass by where originally sat a sign indicating a drop to, say, 40 miles per hour. As there is no sign, I don't know to slow down, and continue driving until stopped by a police officer who claims I am driving past the speed limit. Even if the road is legally set to be a 40 mile per hour road, with no sign indicating the decrease in speed, and no way of knowing there had ever been a speed limit sign there, can I still be ticketed for going over the speed limit?


texts: For HIPAA, Does US Patient Data Have To Stay On US Servers?

texts: For an application that stores US patient data, does HIPAA require that US data stays on US servers?


texts: Where is the line between transactional vs marketing emails with GDPR?

texts:
If a company that offers a product where the user logs in, such as a SAAS product, and they send emails with certain intentions, where is the line drawn between a transactional and a marketing email?

Some seem pretty obvious, such as

Buy my product - Marketing
Here is a coupon to buy stuff - Marketing
Password Reset Email - Transactional
Policy or Terms have been updated - Transactional
You have been given administrative rights - Transactional
Your coworker has invited you to this platform - Transactional

But there are other reasons for sending an email that are not as clear, such as:

You have not logged in for a few days, come back
Check out this new feature (encouraging people to use the platform)
Welcome to the system, here is how to get started
Here is a report of your activity on our platform for the last month
You are halfway through your goal, keep going!

Where would these other kinds of emails fall under, transactional or marketing?


texts: Can someone in California record a phone call without consent?

texts:
Can I prosecute someone in California for secretly recording my conversation with them?

I had a private call and the woman is stating publicly she recorded it, though I had no knowledge of that at the time.  She lives in California.


texts: Are CuddleFix participants engaged in prostitution?

texts:
Is CuddleFix (http://www.cuddlefix.com) prostitution, or not? If not, where (or at what actions) is the line drawn exactly?

In brief: you pay them to come to your house and lie in bed with you and spoon. With clothes on. No kissing.

Regarding jurisdiction – let's say Alabama, then the U.S. at large, and finally "the West" generally.


texts:
I want to copyright a video game I'm making but I want it to be part of a series where each title of the game will begin with the same prefix and end with a unique suffix for the game. I want to have ownership of the prefix so others cannot make any other games with it. For example, EA owns the Battlefield series and no one else can make games related to that. I think I'm probably thinking of more of a trademark and not a copyright but I'm not sure. How can I copyright/trademark and protect the prefix of my game for when I want to make another game related to the first?

For a different game I'm working on I want to include music made by composers who have their music protected under the CC 3.0 license and I have permission to use their works in a commercialised product as long as I'm not just reselling their music as is and without any form of modification. Obviously, since it's a game with graphics and other music that will be made by my team I will want to protect those assets and the game under a copyright, but if I copyright my project with music protected with a CC 3.0 license, would that cause problems with the copyright preventing me from protecting my stuff?


texts: What kinds of pictures can I used for my poster without violating copyright laws?

texts:
I am designing a poster for my school competition but I am concern about the legality regarding the usage of online pictures. Most of them are under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 and I know what each term roughly means.

However I am still very new to all these and will like to confirm that using them for my poster design competition is considered sharing and not commercial.

In addition, under attribution (BY), do I need to give credit to the pictures on my poster? I think it will look really unglamorous to include the source for each of these pictures on my poster and wondering whether I can get away legally without including them.


texts: Can a hit and run victim sue the car owner for not having insurance?

texts:
An adult driver hit-and-ran someone who found the car later at the driver's mom's house. Her son had been driving but she owned the car. She talked to the police and gave them the insurance card, which had expired 9 months prior. If one sued the son in small claims court for the damages, could one sue her also? She has more assets so a victim could be fully paid sooner than just from her son.
UPDATE 1:
Jurisdiction is Bonneville County, Idaho; inside Idaho Falls city limits.
Re: previous question, I didn't word it well, and some users edited it to remove information which caused answers that weren't applicable anymore. I decided to narrow the focus and try asking again.
UPDATE 2:
Damages are about $5k. A cop told me later that she's alo responsible for costs because she didn't have insurance, that's where I got the idea about sueing her also. I don't know if he's wrong.
Idaho is an at-fault state and requires proof of $25k/$15k bodily and property liability insurance before registering a car. He lives with her and drives her car; therefore he should be on her insurance. They also check VIN every two months with a nationwide database to ensure they still have insurance. Violations include suspended car registration, license suspension, and required SR-22 insurance (expensive). Second violation is up to six months jail and up to $1k fine.
The mom has court history of not having car insurance, but they've been dismissed. It's odd she didn't have card in car each time, so she either she really does forget to put in her car, or she buys a policy the same day as citation to prove to court she was insured and get charges dismissed.
I think she does have insurance, but gave officer cancelled card so she only pays $75 ticket, her rates don't go up, and her son can make payments over several years. I hope by suing her with son, that I can force her to bring forth the insurance or risk a lien on her house, force sale of valuable items, etc.
That's why I'm hoping to include her in lawsuit.


texts: Consent to searches: Who wins "my-word-against-yours?"

texts:
Hypothetical

Officer testifies citizen consented to be searched.
Citizen denies consenting to be searched.
There is no other evidence (that weighs net in favor of either party).

Question

  Whom does the judge believe?

Clarifying Discussion

from previous comments...

Point

The testimony of the officer and the citizen would be more complete than just the officer saying "The defendant consented to be searched" and the defendant saying "I did not consent to be searched". Each would give a narrative of the situation that could be cross-examined. This would give the judge more information on which to base a judgement of trustworthiness.

Response

Although everything you say is true, to put all that information into the question would miss the point. Which is: What is the standard of proof (for consent to searches)? And is their any "weight" advantage (in practice) for testimony from either side (all other factors being equal). For the purpose of this question, please assume all the other factors (the ones you mention and all the others) cancel out each other. Imagine both narratives agree except in one version the citizen gives consent. In the other he does not.


texts: What are good options for affordable consultations on U.S. law that can be reached from overseas?

texts:
I have a U.S. legal problem and would like to know if there are places I could either call or email to get some legal advice relatively cheaply?  Unfortunately I am outside of the U.S., so visiting an office in the U.S. is not an option.

This is regarding civil law in an educational setting.

Where I live, there are lawyers appointed by public offices that give free legal advice over the phone/email/visitation.  Is there anything like that in the U.S.?


texts: How should copyright be notified when the owner isn't the one publishing the material and wants to be "left out"?

texts:
CompanyIP owns a mobile app.

CompanyL is the exclusive licensor of the app and the company who enters into the agreement with Apple and the company whose name will appear in the App Store.

What should the copyright notice look like? I'm inclined to demphasize CompanyIP by going with something like

  Copyright 2018. All rights reserved. Exclusive Licensor: CompanyL

But maybe something more appropriate would be

  Copyright 2018 CompanyIP. All rights reserved. Exclusive Licensor: CompanyL

I don't think I can say

  Copyright 2018 CompanyL. All rights reserved.

or can I?


texts: Is there a legal prohibition on aircraft cabin crew serving as witnesses?

texts:
While browsing some stuff on quora, I came across that cabin crew is not a legal witness as per law.

  Cabin crew cannot be a legal witness as per the law, due to cabin
  pressure and altitude they tend to have a bad memory.

Trying to understand is that true only in India or does it applies to other parts of the world as well?


texts: Social Services - Legal Jurisdiction of Child Abroad

texts:
Does the child care department of social services have the legal right to interviene with a child that has a legal domicile (and juristiction) from another country?

For the sake of argument:

Child A is born in Germany.
Parent B takes Child A to the United Kingdom for a short holiday.
Person C makes a baseless, malicious phone call to United Kingdom social
services regarding Parent B's capacity to care for Child A.
United Kingdom social services remove Child A from Parent B's care for a short time.

In the example above, did United Kingdom social services have the legal right to interviene or not?

Thank you,

KA.


texts:
I am a US Citizen currently in Bulgaria with my girlfriend. I was a previously a contractor in the Middle east and came to Bulgaria straight from my last contract - on a passport (90 days validity)

The problem: I am not allowed to apply for a long-stay (1 year) visa from within Bulgaria.

Possible Solution: Is it possible that I assign my father/mother as a Power of Attorney to submit my Visa application and relative documents to the Bulgarian consulate in the US?


texts:
I was checking if it was possible to get EU permanent residence as a Union citizen of another EU country in less than 5 years. Generally, PR is obtained by working/living in another EU country for 5 years, but in some situations, it is allowed in less than 5 years.
One way is:
"if you retire and have worked in the country for the last year, or have lived there continuously for 3 years"
I am having some confusion in understanding it. Can anyone elaborate?
Edit: My understanding is that say if you  moved to another EU country when you were 50 years of age and retired after working for at least 1 year, or after having lived there for 3 years without working in those 3 years. You can get PR straightaway. Is this right? Also, what if someone moves to another EU country as a retiree already? Will they qualify for PR after 3 years?


texts: Can I get full refund after the correspondence flight gets cancelled in a booking trough a travel agency

texts:
I had made a booking to travel from London to Greece some days ago. There were two flights in the booking. The second flight got cancelled and I am looking for the travel agency to refund me for the whole trip as I cannot reach the second destination and there are no other alternatives due to coronavirus.

Note that the two flights were made in the same booking. I didn't pick them. The whole trip came up as an option. The two flights are operated by two different companies. The one that wasn't cancelled is operated by wizzair.

I am expecting the agency (kiwi.com) to fully compensate me. Is that possible? I know that in some cases, they might ask for the fees to the travel agency to be paid normally. Is that also correct?


texts: As the copyright owner of a song, can another artist decide to change its title? Or should that be open to change by a performer who wants to perform the song?


texts:
In 2012, my husband and the father of our four children deserted us and left Canada to his home town in JORDAN-AMMAN. Since then he never supported us financially in any way or shape. He married someone else and never looked back to us.

My question is this. In 2015 I have to renew my mortgage and I submitted a request to the court of OTTAWA via a Lawyer to remove my Ex-husband name from the Mortgage document since he is not living with us, and the Judge gave me the permission to renew my Mortgage with only my signature.

Now, how do I take his name totally form our matrimonial residence and claim total ownership of my house? I have been paying my mortgage by myself since he left and now my house is fully paid, however, his name is still in the deeds and in all the utility bills as well. I have no intention to sell my house nor to relocate, but still, I need to sort this out for good and claims my full rights to my house.

I do have the court order and all bank documents to prove all the payment of my Mortgage as well as Utility bills.

Thank you so much in advance for your time and effort for any guidance or advice that may help me sort this issue for good and go on with my life.

Kind Regards
Lobna Ayari


texts: Is it really illegal for Google to keep unblurred Street View imagery made in Germany and even in European Union?

texts:
If so, what exact laws are responsible for it?

I'm a big fan of Google Street View and I have heard that it's illegal in European Union and in Germany to keep street view imagery in unblurred form indefinitely. At least as this article claims (about EU).

http://gizmodo.com/5482668/google-must-delete-raw-uncensored-street-view-photos-within-six-months-in-uk-or-eu-regulators-will-be-mighty-unhappy

I'm absolutely upset by this allegedly existing regulation and I'm trying to construct a campaign against it - I myself live in Germany and I feel moral obligation to fight this immoral regulation (because it hinders historical preservation which is moral value too).

From what I know, their reasoning is that faces and license plates are private information and private information must be deleted as soon as possible after it's no longer needed.

Do Germany and European Union really have any laws prohibiting storing unblurred Google Street View? If so, what exact laws are responsible for it? It's about storage itself, not publishing.

Thank you very much.


texts: Why is Age of Consent set at a specific age?

texts:
Suppose a 15 year old girl is wed by her own parents to a 30 year old man and she gives her consent. In most US states this marriage will not be recognized and the man would likely be prosecuted for statutory rape.

On this Wikipedia says....

  "Statutory rape laws presume coercion, because a minor or mentally
  handicapped adult is legally incapable of giving consent to the act."

But if her parents waited only a few months till her 16th birthday then all of a sudden her consent is recognized by the state and the marriage is valid and her husband is safe from prosecution.

Why do the states set a specific age?

Why don't they judge each marriage license application on a case by case basis (perhaps by interviewing the minor when their partner is an adult)?


texts: If someone sues me and sends their request for me to waive service of summons but sends the request via certified mail to my deceased cousin's house, we have same name, and my cousins widow tells me about the mail she opened by mistake, same name remember, and I tell her to just ignore it and throw it away; is that a violation of any law?


texts: Can you demand un-attribution under your name?

texts:
If I previously released content under CC-BY-SA 3.0, can I demand my name be removed from attribution as in the case of no longer wanted to be associated with it?

The FAQ has this to say

  While you cannot revoke the license, CC licenses do provide a mechanism for licensors to ask that others using their material remove the attribution information. You should think carefully before choosing a Creative Commons license.

What is that mechanism and do I have that right?


texts: Can 2 cars go at the same time at a stop sign?

texts: The first car stops at the stops sign line and then pulls up to the edge of the road at an intersection. The second car stops at the stop sign line behind the first car. When the traffic is clear is it legal for both cars to depart at the same time?


texts:
If a person downloads a font illegally, but doesn't use it for commercial purposes, what are the legal and ethical implications of their usage?

Could the font be ethically (and legally) used for personal documents that aren't distributed?
Could it be used in the writing of a document that is later distributed, but in a different legally-attained font?
Could it be used in internally distributed memos?
Could it be used in non-advertising documents distributed under public domain (i.e. with no restrictions on copying and redistribution)?

I ask because many fonts are extremely expensive to purchase for someone of limited financial means, and because I have no intention of commercially distributing any media or documents in an illegally downloaded font.


texts: What rights do foreigners have when the CBP wants to search their laptop?

texts:
Since laptop and other electronic device seizures at US borders became legal without a warrant (including making copies of data), 7% of ACTE's business travelers reported being subject to a seizure as far back as February 2008.

Recently U.S. District Judge Amy B. Jackson has issued the government a long overdue smack-down in this regard. While her ruling is based on the particularly egregious circumstances of this case (waiting for someone to leave in order to get around a warrant, seizing the laptop without searching it and transporting it to be imaged and forensically analyzed, the flimsy tip, and the lack of any allegation of a current crime), she resoundingly rejects CBP’s assertion that it needs no suspicion to do whatever it wants at the border regarding digital devices.

Americans can plead the Fourth Amendment, but what can foreigners do?


texts: Sublease when Landlord unreasonably withholds consent

texts:
I live in Deerfield, Illinois. My rent term is 18 months. I want to sublet after 12 months. My landlord said no. Under the law, am I legally allow to sublet?

Here is the term in my contract:
'Tenant will neither assign this lease nor sublet the premises without prior written consent of Landlord; such consent will not be unreasonably withheld. Landlord's consent in this instance will not waive Landlord's right to refuse subsequent assignments or sublettings nor will Landlord's consent release Tenant from liability under this lease.'

Suppose I find good credit subtenant, can my landlord refuse my sublet?

Thanks

Edit: I have made 2 complaints about noise coming from the neighbors.

Update: The company that manages the property told me that tenant can only move in for a 12 month period and my sublease is only for 6 months. This is not in my contract with the landlord. How can I still sublet?


texts: Could all participants of the recent Capitol invasion be charged over the death of Officer Brian D. Sicknick?

texts:
Prosecutors in the US Attorney's office plan to open a federal murder investigation into the death of Brian D. Sicknick, a US Capitol Police officer who died Thursday night, a law enforcement official tells CNN.

source
I am not a lawyer, not even American, so perhaps someone (who is both) could tidy up this next bit ...
I am aware that American law has a concept of each member of a group being jointly responsible for the actions of other members of the group (could someone please cite the relevant law?).
So, for instance, a getaway driver parked around the corner can be charged with murder if an accomplice kills a bank teller during a robbery.
Could this be applied such that every member of the crowd (or some subset thereof) around the Capitol at the time of the officer's injuries be charged? I realize that this is, in practice, highly unlikely to happen. But I seek to understand to what extend that the could theoretically apply to such a large crowd.


texts:
I have two Facebook accounts: A, and B.

FB account A uses my real email address and has my real life friends.

FB account B uses made up information and is in no way associated with my real life.

I recently installed Instagram on mobile using the same email address as FB account B.
I have never selected the "Connect to Facebook" or "Connect Contacts" options.

Imagine my surprise when I look at my Instagram friend suggestions and see many of my REAL LIFE friends, people who are ONLY associated with FB account A.

This means somehow Facebook knows or is assuming that email address B is me even though I have never associated my name or any of my friends' names with it.

The only association I can think of is that I connect to Facebook using both accounts on the same devices, and with the same IP address. Otherwise, there should be no association between the two identities.

I haven't authorized Instagram to dig into my contacts or share data with Facebook, but somehow an Instagram account with my fake identity is being associated with my real life Facebook account.

I know that Facebook owns Instagram, but this feels like some kind of invasion of privacy. I know nothing of legal policy, and would like some advice on how to know if this is legal or not. Thank you for reading this.

(side note: my second identity is not being used for any nefarious purposes)


texts: Interim Relocation Coverage Under Homeowners Policy

texts:
We had a flood in a rental property in Philadelphia, PA. The floors are now "dry" but there is significant water damage and the walls and ceilings are soaked.

To prevent mold from forming, as soon as tomorrow a remediation company is coming. The adjuster from the insurance company has not come out, yet, although a claim is filed.

We have been asked by the tenants to move them out, because they work from home, placing phone calls, etc. The noise of the fans, dehumidifiers, walls being demolished, and other is bound to be intense, and disruptive.

If there is a critical time when they need to be out of the house is more now than in the future, when everything is dry, and they are just putting walls back up again.

So the question is, How can we make it happen so that the insurance company honors our request to grant our tenants temporary housing under our landlord-homeowners policy without delays?

Thank you in advance!


texts: What is an appropriate level of self defense for non-immediate but still dangerous attacks?

texts:
While browsing Reddit I came across a video where a person purposefully coughs on another person in an elevator, and then gets forcibly removed from the space.
After watching I wasn't sure if the victim acted appropriately in subduing the perpetrator and removing him from the situation. In a global pandemic the risks of spreading a fatal disease are much greater than in years past, but at the same time I don't know if that makes it ok to drag a man out of an elevator by their hair for pulling down their mask and coughing.
Due to relative harmlessness of a cough, but the risk of harm by spreading disease what is an appropriate level of self defense to an act like this?


texts: Can a nation A stop nation B from issuing visas to citizens of nation A?

texts:
How would it legally work?

For example, could India force U.S. consulates to stop issuing H-1B visas, or other specialized visas, by claiming it amounts to poaching of important human resources?

Edit: I used 'brain drain' as just an example. What I wished to know was how much control can a country exert on other countries' consulates on its land. Barring shutting down a consulate, what can a country do to prevent issuance of visas?


texts: What is the difference between a vacated judgment and an exoneration?

texts:
I just read an article in the Austin Chronicle (link) about Fran and Dan Keller, who were convicted of a felony in the Oak Hill satanic ritual abuse trial.  The article states that "their felony convictions have been 'vacated', but they're technically on bonded status...the absence of an explicit exoneration leaves her and Dan at the mercy of any online background search."

The article also states that "Their 1992 conviction...has effectively been overturned by a May 2015 Court of Criminal Appeals ruling 'granting relief' to the Kellers...but the ruling was not accompanied by actual exoneration."

I haven't found concrete information online about what effects of the original judgment a vacation or an exoneration reverse, although this statement would imply that a vacation doesn't expunge the criminal record whereas a full exoneration would.

Can these words be precisely defined in terms of what the effects the court can compel to happen?  E.g. release from prison, expungment of criminal record, etc.


texts: Do British judges violate judicial conduct if they tell lawyers to "sit down and shut up"?

texts:
I transcribe 2:39

And I was once before a very senior judge, and the first thing he said  was, 'You have to finish your arguments by twelve o'clock. If you can't finish, sit down and shut up'. Very hostile, and before I said anything.

This judge's hostility startled me, not least because the interviewee is a famous barrister and law professor in Hong Kong! This isn't just some sharp practice shady lawyer!  Professor Johannes M M Chan SC 陳文敏 | Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong is

Chair of Public Law, and former Dean of the Faculty of Law (2002-2014), being the longest serving Dean of the Faculty.
He is a Visiting Professor of University College London (2018-2023), and formerly the BOK Visiting International Professor of Penn Law School, University of Pennsylvania, Herbert Smith Freehills Visiting Professor of Cambridge University, and a visiting fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge University. As a barrister, he has appeared in many major constitutional law cases. In 2003, he was honoured by the Chief Justice by his appointment as the first (and so far the only) Honorary Senior Counsel in Hong Kong.  In 2019, he was awarded by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council the RGC Prestigious Fellowship in Humanities and Social Sciences.

I don't have any relationship with Hong Kong, so I ask this  just for British judges and the Guide to Judicial Conduct. Of note, some Hong Kong law is based on English law, and Hong Kong was a former British colony.


texts: A company giving me a broad copyright permission, but also told me not to use one specific thing

texts:
Let's say I run an organization called Shoesies-For-Kids.

I know about this really cool art company online. They have some awesome pictures of shoes and I contact them with a "Hey there! I love your shoe pictures. Could I get permission to use pictures of your red shoes?"

They email me back with "Well, sorry we aren't giving permission to anyone to use pictures of our red shoes anymore. However, we are giving permission to use our blue shoes. Would you like a copyright permissions document?"

I respond back, "Yeah! That would be awesome can I get that permissions doc"

"Sure" they email back "Here ya go!"

And here is how the permissions doc reads.

  "Blah blah blah this doc gives permission blah blah blah, you may use pictures of our blue, black, purple, pink, red, orange, yellow, and white shoes."

I really really like the red shoes picture. Even tho its obvious they don't want to give permission for their red shoes, the copyright document says we can use the red shoe picture. Maybe they just haven't updated their copyright doc in awhile? So whats the deal here? What is some legal text I could look at to understand how this scenario works legally?