texts: Third-party doctrine when recording isn't obvious

texts:
I'm not a lawyer (constitutional law or otherwise), but my understanding of the reasoning behind Smith v. Maryland (full text) and the subsequent "third-party doctrine" was that:

The phone companies know what number is dialed, and people know that because the phone company's equipment has to know where to route you.
The phone companies keep a record of every call dialed, and people know that because they see it on their monthly phone bills.
People know that "pen registers" and similar devices exist, or at least the technology to trace a call exists, because the phone company can track down people who make harassing calls.

Therefore, people shouldn't reasonably expect the numbers they dial to be private.

From the opinion:

  Telephone users, in sum, typically know that they must convey numerical information to the phone company; that the phone company has facilities for recording this information; and that the phone company does in fact record this information for a variety of legitimate business purposes. Although subjective expectations cannot be scientifically gauged, it is too much to believe that telephone subscribers, under these circumstances, harbor any general expectation that the numbers they dial will remain secret.

What I'm wondering is whether there's any subsequent case law which questions whether the third-party doctrine holds when one of these tests is not true.  I'm specifically interested in cases where #2 is violated, although I'd be interested in the others as well (e.g. a hypothetical secret machine that can read the contents of mail without opening the envelope).

My entirely untrained (and only moderately informed) opinion would be that because ISPs don't make it obvious in any way that they keep a record of what you do online (your monthly bill isn't broken down by website, for example), then the third-party doctrine shouldn't be applicable to them.  Likewise, until Snowden brought attention to it, I would have expected most people to not know that their activity could be easily intercepted.  Since there haven't been any cases making this point that I've heard of, I assume that either the cases have been quiet or there's a flaw in my logic and thus no one has tried.


texts: Could copyright infringement in an app result in a legal complaint?

texts:
My friend recently received an email regarding copyright infringement of app title in the app store. What surprises him is that, that company is asking for compensation from him individually, or would file a legal complaint.

I am wondering if this is possible. I mean, when copyright infringement takes place in the app store, is it legitimate to ask for compensation from that individual?


texts: GDPR - What's classed as an opt in for Google Analytics cookie and do I need to do it?

texts:
I'm wondering if anyone can shed any light on this for me please. I've been doing alot of research about GDPR lately and how it is going to effect my websites using Google Analytics.

From what I can understand, any website which uses Google Analytics needs to first get the users consent before storing a cookie on their browser?

I have implemented this in a cookie notice when the user first goes to the site and by default no tracking is enabled. Once they click agree, the page reloads with Analytics tracking.

However, since I have implemented this onto my websites the drop in traffic is huge and really makes it hard to optimise and understand how the website is performing.

My question is, Is it ok if in my cookie notice text said something like this..

'By clicking agree or continuing to use this site you agree to our privacy policy'

This way if they completely ignore the notice (which a lot of people do) and navigate to another page, then at least I am able to track more visits.

Is this still considered clear consent?


texts: Protocol if juror cannot hear or see something clearly

texts:
If a sitting juror, or a prospective juror during voir dire, cannot see or hear something clearly, what is the protocol for the juror to alert the court of this? Say something immediately? Raise your hand or number card? Write a note?

This happened to me during voir dire: While projecting a sequence of photos of ten witnesses, a court employee stood in front of the projector, blocking the view for some of us. At the same time, the judge read the names of the witnesses in a mumbling fashion. Overall, this made it difficult to know who the witnesses were. Then the judge asked if any prospective juror had various relationships (family, work, social, etc) with any of the witnesses. Some names were repeated more clearly, but we never saw the photos again.


texts: WV Probate court changing interpretation of will AFTER probate closed

texts:
My mother's will states that real-estate 'goes to my children' with no mention of their descendants. In the residuary estate section, it states the Residuary estate goes to my children and their descendants. Initially, probate court told me that I, sole surviving child, would get the real-estate.
Now, 2+ months after probate closed, my deceased brother's (remarried) widow hired a lawyer and now the probate court states her child is entitled to half of the real-estate.
The will also states that if any beneficiary contest any part of the will, that they lose whatever bequests were given in the will.
I am the executor of the will.
My questions:

Since Probate had already closed (12/20), is it legal for the Probate court to, in essence, change the terms of the will? I have several witnesses willing to provide affidavits to the effect that my mother, the deceased, made it clear that I would get the real-estate and that the grandson in question would get nothing.

if I cannot beat this challenge, can I remove myself as beneficiary and have the Probate court declare that all 5 blood-related grandchildren will get equal shares?

Under the original Probate interpretation, when the real-estate sold, I invested the proceeds in the stock market and there have been losses. If the challenge wins, will I have to come up with the delta--since the investment losses occurred under the original interpretation?

Not sure if it has any bearing on the situation, but the grandson in question was in jail at the time of their deaths (mother & father). He had stolen many family heirlooms and pawned them off to pay for his next oxy-fix.


texts: Is employer liable for theft of personal property

texts:
If I bring say my headphones to my work, and they are stolen under the following circumstances, can I legally sue my employer and prevail, i.e. they have a duty to provide reasonable safety and security?
Stolen when I:

walk away from my desk during normal business.
keep them overnight, unlocked, as my employer does not provide
lockable desks.
keep them overnight, locked, but the key is not unique.
keep them on my desk overnight in plain site.
keep them overnight, locked, but the lock was broken.


texts: Legal Proceedings concerning one individual due as a defendant in two courts at the same time

texts: A person is due to be a defendant in a court case in county 1, but they get arrested for another crime the night before their trial in county 2, meaning they are due in two court rooms at the same time, how is the situation rectified?


texts: Fee for Subject Access Request to GCHQ, Data Protection Act 2018

texts: When making a Subject Access Request to GCHQ I was told that I would have to pay a fee for this Request. The GDPR does not allow for such a fee, while the UK Data Protection Act does(Part 4 – Chapter 3 - Section 94). My Subject Access Request concerns the website of the GCHQ, and not the GCHQ's surveillance activities. Does the GDPR supersede the UK Data Protection Act in this case?


texts: If Bob has citizenship in countries A and B, and commits a crime in country B that is illegal in both countries, what happens?

texts:
Say Bob commits some first-time offense while living in country B, and is a citizen of both country A (let's pretend is the United States to help paint a more clear picture on jurisdictions) and B (let's say is some European country), which is a federal crime in both countries. Let's say it was also some crime that involved some foreign exchange between the two countries, such as importing a bomb from Country A to be received to his house in B. If found guilty..

Could he and would he be charged in both countries?
Where would he be tried being that he is a dual citizen?
If his conviction is able to spent sooner in country B, could he move to country B freely? Does he have to be forced to live in either country until he's served his sentence in both countries? Could he ever be unable to return to either country A or B and forced to live in the other even after serving his sentence?


texts: Is There a Federal Statue regarding Invasion of Privacy When it Comes to Landlords?

texts: I am wondering whether there is a federal statute or case law that discusses tenant rights to privacy? For example, a landlord enters a person apartment without their knowledge and one of the landlords agents steal money.


texts: I couldn't move in right away, can I claim my deposit back?

texts:
I have got an issue in a tenancy agreement in the UK.

On Jan 8th I visited an apartment. The agent told me the tenant's notice runs till Jan 31 but he said he would leave earlier.

I have accepted to rent the apartment starting Jan 16th, and the agent insured me that I would get refunded of everything if I don't move in by Jan 16th. He told me that the date is indicated on the agreement.

Now the tenant didn't move out and I have found another property. I thought it would be ok since I would get refunded. But now the agent says the deposit is not in his hands, and the building (they have like 200 apartments) say they won't refund since I have made the reservation, which starts in Jan 31.

They say the contract says "Jan 16th" is a "proposed moving date", nothing else. So clearly the agent screwed me and made me sign something and explained something else and telling me I had guarantees I didn't have. Note that Im not a native English speaker.

The agreement is attached, please let me know if I can do anything : small claims court, ... ?

Note that I have recorded a phone conversation with the agent where he says I will get refunded by both parties. (he didn't know I recorded) I made it before I paid for the new property.

Thanks in advance for your help


texts: From what legal tradition do the long "whereas" motivation clauses of the EU legislation come?

texts:
Practically all EU non-treaty legislation and regulations have pretty long "whereas" clauses, often pages long, introducing the context and often the motivation of the legislation/regulations.

From which country's (if any) legal or legislative tradition are these detailed "whereas" clauses inherited?


texts: What is the legal structure of online "TOS"?

texts:
TOS, also known as "terms of service" or "terms of use", is an agreement entered into by a user, usually before the user is allowed to use the company's product but is it an agreement(contract), or rules to follow when using the service.

A contract is a predetermined legal relationship between two parties, that if one party is to be found in breach of this relationship damage will ensue.

Example: Bobby gets married to Sarah, by doing so bobby and Sarah have entered into a contract that is broken by either party damages will ensue and the contract may be voided, or parts will be unenforceable.

Rules to follow is more of a guideline of what to do to be able to continue using the service. (usually legally unenforceable)

Example: A child is running around the store, the store and the mother of the child don't need to have a contract for the store to deny the mother and son service, because they aren't following the service's rules.

This question of is a TOS a contract or rules to follow can have a major impact on how the user interacts with the company. Some company argues that agreeing to their terms is a contract and legally binding; Others argue that these are the rules to be followed when using our service.

Is the TOS a contract, or rules of service?


texts: Constitutional autonomy of the state university

texts:
Some years ago it was commonly said that the University of Minnesota has a certain degree of autonomy that other agencies of the state do not have, and one of the consequences was that it was less than completely bound by budgets passed by the legislature. Thus if the legislature passed an act saying the Department of Transportation was to use a certain number of dollars for the maintenance of roads and a certain amount for building ten new bridges, then that's the law, but if they say the University is to spend a certain amount of money to hire new professors and a certain amount to build a new physics building, the University is allowed to deviate from that, incurring political but not legal liabilities.

I seem to recall failing to find that in the constitution of the state. It says "All the rights, immunities, franchises and endowments heretofore granted or conferred upon the University of Minnesota are perpetuated unto the university". Does "heretofore" mean it's incorporating some provision of a territorial organic act?

Does anything in my first paragraph make any sense from some reasonable point of view?


texts: What are the incentives for career prosecutors and assistant Attorney Generals/US Attorneys?

texts: Are they out to get the highest number of convictions per attempt?  Are they out to get the highest total number of convictions?  Do they get evaluated based upon maximizing revenues?  Are they lauded for getting the most amount of prisoners as possible?  What gets you ahead in that career path?  (And I am wondering if the incentive structure might be perverse in some way; that's why I am asking.)


texts: What is the legal take on the trolley problem?

texts:
From the Wikipedia page on the trolley problem:

  There is a runaway trolley barreling down the railway tracks. Ahead,
  on the tracks, there are five people tied up and unable to move. The
  trolley is headed straight for them. You are standing some distance
  off in the train yard, next to a lever. If you pull this lever, the
  trolley will switch to a different set of tracks. However, you notice
  that there is one person on the side track. You have two options: (1)
  Do nothing, and the trolley kills the five people on the main track.
  (2) Pull the lever, diverting the trolley onto the side track where it
  will kill one person.

What are the legal aspects of finding yourself in a train yard in the United States when this happens? Is it a crime to pull the lever? Is it a crime to not pull the lever? Does it depend on if you're professionally qualified to pull the lever?


texts: To whom does the German 'Impressumspflicht' apply?

texts:
'Impressumspflicht' is a law in Germany forcing people running a website to publish personal information like name, address, email, telephone number and so forth. If it is a commercial website, even more information needs to be provided like tax number, competent court and so on.

My question is, what are the exact circumstances for this law to apply?

I'm pretty sure it applies to people residing in Germany, even if the server hosting the website is not in Germany. But what about a foreigner or a German citizen not residing in Germany, but the hosting server is in Germany? Does the law apply then? Or if the website officially belongs to a foreign company?

Thus, the variables in which I would like the application of said law to be examined are:

Citizenship (German or not)
Permanent residency (in Germany or not)
Location of the server (in Germany or not)
The possible implications of a foreign company

It might also make a difference, if the foreign country is in the EU. Maybe the values should better read (Germany / EU / Rest of the World).


texts:
I recently lost my job & therefore I registered myself with ArbeitAgentur for unemployment benefits. The benefits will start from the next month. I've been working for the past 4 years as regular employee.
They've been sending some potential job pamphlets which I'm not really interested in since the jobs are not close to my skill set. I want to become a freelancer in Germany (I'm allowed to do that since I've Niederlassungserlaubnis).
My question is, can I register as a freelancer in Germany while receiving unemployment benefits - ALG1 or will the benefits stop soon after I register as a freelancer?
I'll have some freelance projects in August and therefore in August, I'd like to stop taking the ALG1 benefits before that I need the Alg1 benefits.


texts: If an app doesn't have a licence, can anyone use it in anyway?

texts:
Most apps you install on MS Windows get you to agree to their terms of service before using it. If an app doesn't come with any sort of agreement, does anyone who possesses a copy have the right to use it? Can they do whatever they want with it?

I'm talking about these sorts of things and don't really get their point. The first sentence after 1. is about granting the user the license as long as they follow the agreement, but why is it necessary to have a license at all? If you find a disk on the street, put it in your computer and run a program off it that doesn't have a license, are you breaking the law for using a program without license?


texts: Landlord responsible for extended power outage beyond their control

texts:
I rent an apartment in Oregon and have been out of power for nearly a week following a pretty nasty ice storm that hit the area. Our local power company has so far been unable to restore power due to the widespread nature of the damage (our block is apparently low-priority!)
The unit is heated electrically, so without power I have no heat and I'm unable to live in my apartment. I'm couch surfing with friends and family until power is restored. Since a landlord is required to provide heat and electrical power to the dwelling, is this something I should expect to see a reduced rent for?
The Oregon Tenant and Landlord Duties document I found from NCSL states

ORS 90.320 A landlord shall at all times during the tenancy maintain the dwelling unit in a habitable condition. For purposes of this section, a dwelling unit shall be considered unhabitable if it substantially lacks:
...
(d) Adequate heating facilities that conform to applicable law at the time of installation and maintained in good working order;
(e) Electrical lighting with wiring and electrical equipment that conform to applicable law at the time of installation and maintained in good working order;


texts: UK Consumer Rights Act - Can a third party rectify a fault?

texts:
Just over a month ago, I purchased a second hard car from a dealership. The car came with a 3 month warranty which stated that if anything goes wrong, it needs to be taken back to their workshop.

After the first week, the car broke down. I was unable to recover the car back to the dealers workshop as they are a 2 hour drive from my home. The dealership agreed for my local, experienced mechanic to fix the issue.

The car was returned and it broke down for a second time. Again, the dealership agreed for the same local mechanic to fix the issue.

The car has now broken down for a third time. This time I was closer to the dealership for it to be recovered to their workshop.

I have requested a refund from the dealership, but they are saying they never had a chance to look at the car and resolve the issue themselves. They have stated that they were relying on my judgement to choose a mechanic in my area. Based on this, they are refusing to refund me the money, but have instead offered a third repair.

In an email between us, they have also admitted that their workshop have diagnosed the same issue. They are also back tracking to say that the issue has happened a third time because my mechanic didn't do X, Y or Z. Both the dealership and local mechanic were in contact with each other during the two repairs.

The car has spent more than 14 days out of my possession. I have obviously lost trust in the car and I'm out of pocket (getting trains and taking time off from work etc).

As per the Consumer Rights Acts:

  You don't have to accept a second repair if something goes wrong and
  you'd rather not keep the car. You can ask for your money back if: the
  repair hasn't solved the problem another problem has developed

Do my rights still stand even if the dealership haven't done the repairs themselves? Surely it's up to the dealership to do their own due diligence before agreeing to a repair by another mechanic?


texts: software copyright : implementing the same class structure but for different specific clients and purpose

texts:
Let's assume the same consultancy implements for client A a software to analyze text data from internal communication of the company. The client B asked the same software to analyze text data from internal communication of its own company.
Now the consultancy will use the same code structure 'and sequence of operations' but obviously the names will be different as well as the name of the individual functions. Something like this:
For client A:

class Analyze_dataA:

     def Read_dataA:
          ....
     def Model_dataA:
          ....

For client B:

class Analyze_dataB:

     def Read_dataB:
          ....

     def Model_dataB:
          ....

Is this an infringement of copyright or intellectual property rights for the 2 companies?


texts: The image I want to get is from fandom and it's from a movie (a promotional image) so I'm wondering if I can legally do it. I would prefer a yes or no answer.


texts: Are municipalities responsible for rat problems?

texts: A friend of mine is having some problems with rats along with a handful of his neighbors. He is under the impression that the city should be coming out to get rid of them since it's a "health issue". Is there any validity to his reasoning?


texts: Avoid potential criminal liabity in IRS "interviews"?

texts:
As I understand it, it is a crime to lie to any federal "officer" including IRS agents. People have been convicted of doing so and sent to prison.

This obviously creates a serious liability for anyone undergoing an "interview" during an audit. Since the agent will ask dozens and possibly hundreds of questions, the potential for "telling a lie" is enormous, even for a person who is attempting to be as truthful as possible. Also, there is the possibility that the agent can simply misremember or incorrectly note information that makes it look like the person has lied. (Once I read an investigative officers notes about questioning me, and not only did he mispell my name, but his notes were littered with mistakes and mischaracterizations of what I had said.)

Therefore, there would seem to be the possibility that the IRS could convict anyone of a felony for "lying".

The only way to escape this would seem to be to claim the 5th ammendment and refuse to answer questions during an interview, but this appears to be illegal as well.

Does this mean a taxpayer is in Catch-22 situation that makes them legally defenseless, or is there some way to defend against this?


texts: Legality and liability of writing medical software by someone who is not a health care practitioner

texts:
Is a person who is a non health care practitioner (NHCP) allowed to write and distribute software for use by NHCPs? If so, will the liability be any different than that of any other software?

Let's take a simple example: say a software company wants to write an app for checking one's eyesight. A user will answer questions based on pictures shown on the screen and distance from screen etc., and will self determine their eyesight health. The software will contain a short warning that the installing user will have to confirm to have read, that it was written by a NHCP.

Would this be legal?
Could a user successfully sue the software company after a
misdiagnosis by the software's fault? Assuming the fault is
unintentional, of course.

EDIT

Perhaps I wasn't clear. I just wrote The software will contain a short warning that ... it was written by a NHCP. What I meant was more than that, that this software is not sold as an official "medical instrument" and should be treated as such. Much like alternative medicines are sold expressly for the treatment of certain ailments, but presumably do not fall under the medical category as long as they are clearly labeled as non-medicines. Would labeling the software as such relieve such software from the burden of being approved in advance by the FDA (as seems to be the case according to an answer below)?


texts: Does the Right to be Informed of Charges apply out of the legal system?

texts: Section 11(a) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states that "Any person charged with an offence has the right to be informed without unreasonable delay of the specific offence." Clearly, this has an actual charge in the legal system in mind. But what about lesser misdemeanours, punished inside an institution? For example, can a school punish a student without informing her about the specific offence?


texts: Does a tenant have the right to destroy furniture owned and not removed by landlord?

texts:
This is under South African law.
First, some background. Said "tenant" bought the house and is currently paying occupational rent to stay there until the property transfer has been finalized. I'll refer to them as the "future owner".
Initially, the future owner agreed to accommodate some furniture while the current owner gets them sold. Some time later the only item left was a large wall unit. The future owner gave notice that they wanted to start doing some building alterations, and the wall unit needed to be out of the way by a specified date. The current owner neglected to remove the wall unit.  A few days after the agreed date of removal, the future owner put the wall unit outside, and it got destroyed in the rain (we are currently in the rainy season).
The question then is: who should be held responsible for the damage (wall unit cost) and disposal?


texts:
I have a website that stores no personal data, however it does use ($_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR']), a code that scans the IP address of visitors, but the IP address isn't stored anywhere. It's only scanned to automatically select the language for the site.

Personally I wouldn't call it "collecting" since IP address isn't stored anywhere, so I'm wondering how GDPR views it?


texts: Where can one find authoritative answers and explanations of traffic laws?

texts:
Who can answer US traffic law questions authoritatively?

Does someone in the government answer questions about laws or do we only find out in court?

For example, can we expect answers from someone in the police department?


texts: Is it legal to make a 3D model of a person without their consent?

texts:
These would be 3D models of celebrities, famous people etc. Do I need consent for this?
https://www.turbosquid.com/Search/3D-Models/trump
Country - India


texts: Who actually enforces the bill of rights

texts:
The US bill of rights was constructed to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government.

Let's take for example our second amendment:

  A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

We only need two words for definitions "people" and "infringed". People is human beings in general or considered collectively.the men, women, and children of a particular nation, and that would be U.S.A . And at the end of the second amendment it clearly states "shall not be infringed" so that would be be defined as shall not  break the terms of (a law, agreement, etc.). Shall not     contravene, shall not violate, shall not transgress, shall not break, shall not breach, shall not commit a breach of, shall not disobey, shall not defy, shall not flout, including shall not undermine, erode, diminish, weaken, impair, damage, compromise; limit, curb, check, place a limit on, encroach on, interfere with, disturb, disrupt.

So my question is If our bill of rights was constructed to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government. Wouldn't passing any gun law federal or state to place a limit on where you can have it interfering with being able to defend yourself wouldn't be a breach of our safety? Diminishing the meaning of a free state?? How is any gun control law that dose everything in the definition of infringed not be a violation of the Second amendment??


texts: Can I include (similar styled) art/characters from other apps in my free trading card game app?

texts:
Say I wanted to make a free (+no ads etc.) app which is essentially a trading card game but the cards consist of characters designed to be similar to ones from other apps. For example, one card would be a different coloured 'Angry Bird' styled bird.

Is creating this art in my free trading card app considered trademark/IP infringement?

I.e. creating new concept art (similar styled) but not using actual characters by Angry Birds, like this:

If so, would I need to get license/permission from each app I wanted to include?


texts: What are the potential pitfalls of representing oneself pro se?

texts:
Where do pros se litigants most often fail? Is it because of ignorance of legal protocols? Is it because they use overly aggressive tactics that most lawyers wouldn't use? Is it because they failed to prove their case, when a competent lawyer might have succeeded?

This question was inspired by one of the the answers to another one.


texts: Does the United States legally not recognize phds from any specific country?

texts: For example, If I got a PhD from a school in Pakistan or North Korea would the United States still legally recognize it?


texts: Can Law Enforcement in the US use evidence acquired through an illegal act by someone else?

texts:
There are reports on the internet this morning that a group of people were able to hack Parler and download around 70tb of data from the servers before AWS ceased hosting the platform. There are plenty of accusations being levelled at Parler's users in regards to using it to coordinate activity during the 6th January Capitol Riots.
/r/ParlerWatch/ All Parler user data is being downloaded as we speak!
Can law enforcement agencies in the USA use this data without violating any laws themselves? Would it be admissible in a court of law should charges be brought? Would this complicate legal proceedings should law enforcement seek a court order to seize the same data from the source (it is presumably still being held by AWS).


texts: Working 60% hours, via UK furlough scheme. How does this apply to weeks with a bank holiday?

texts:
I'm on partial furlough, working 60% hours,  with the gov. furlough scheme paying the fourth day.
Next week has a bank holiday Monday.
Should I still work 3 days that week, with Monday and Friday as the days off? Or should I work only 2 days that week, ensuring that Monday and 2 other days are off?
I'm unsure how the bank holiday affects this.


texts: Legality of selling transcription services on copyrighted material?

texts:
I provide an audio transcription service, for which I charge according to the audio length. Mostly I receive either audios or videos that have been produced by the person or organisation that sent me the material to be transcribed, so the copyright is theirs on both the source and transcript. No problem.

Sometimes, however, I get asked to transcribe material that is publically available online (e.g. podcasts or YouTube videos), and not owned by the person requesting the transcript. The transcript may or may not be for the requestor's personal use.

Is it illegal for me to transcribe this sort of material? I  understand that a transcript of a podcast or video is a derivative work, and only the copyright owner can authorise creating a derivative work.

Thanks.


texts:
Some time ago, the Seattle School District hired a man who had been convicted of child rape, kidnapping and murder and put him in charge of a girl's locker room. He was fired after he raped a fourteen-year-old student.

I recently discovered that this man has now racked up four dozen felony convictions. The situation is especially puzzling considering the fact that Washington has a three-strikes-and-you're-out law.

I would like to know if there's a way to determine this person's current status. In particular, is he now in prison and, if so, which prison? It would also be helpful if I could get a copy of his entire record. (I know that he was occasionally imprisoned while employed by the Seattle School District.)

It would also be helpful to know how he got around the three-strikes-and-you're-out law, though I may need to ask that question separately.


texts: I get married in Canada but live in the US. What happens?

texts:
I'm U.S. citizen (my only citizenship). I'm a temporary resident of BC while I'm here for school.

I'm just wondering, what happens if I get married in BC or Canada to a fellow U.S. citizen, or really anywhere else in the world.

How does the U.S. find out, for tax or insurance purposes? Am I legally required to report it when I return? Obviously there's a little box that says [] Married but how would they know if I lied if I'm not registered in the United States? Would the Canadian/provincial government inform the U.S./state government?

I know that's a lot of questions so it boils down to I get married in Canada, return to the States. What do I (have to) do next?

I would like answers to be generalizable to any country without residence requirements for marriage.


texts: If I want to sue the government  for damages, such as pollution  or some other major case, where do I sue it? Can I take the federal government  to small claims court? Also, assuming I get a money judgment,  how I proceed with garnishment? Is the government  judgement  proof? If the federal government  fails to comply with a court order what is my remedy? Can I place a lien on the white house or congress building?


texts: Will a contempt of congress lawsuit actually reach the merits?

texts:
Hypothetical Scenario: Kellyanne Conway is subpoenaed by the House Oversight committee for Hatch Act violations. Conway appears but tells the chairman that he is a fraudulent partisan grandstander, a disgrace to Congress and is carrying out a ridiculous preposterous hearing that she feels is absolutely unpredicated on any legal basis and that she will not give credibility to the hearing by answering even a single question. But keep in mind, she honored the subpoena and showed up for the hearing.

Now, the House holds her in contempt for insulting the chairman and refusing to answer questions and applies the imprisonment penalty to her. She appeals her penalty to the courts saying that her first amendment rights are being violated as the government is penalizing her for speaking her mind and compelling her to speak against her intent.

Will this case be decided on the merit of Conway's contention - that the investigation is fraudulent (that is her reasons for not answering questions and berating the chairman) or will it only be decided on the statue that Congress has the power to hold her in contempt and the courts will not second-guess Congress' decision and accept whatever reason Congress gives them?


texts: Is it legal to use software that is no longer available for purchase?

texts: The company where I work bought a Bootstrap template that suits my requirements at another company. This template is no longer available for purchase. Can the other company use the template?


texts: Can a police officer make an arrest while working undercover?

texts: I am a playwright working on a new play related to Ag-Gag laws. My plot involves a woman who is trespassing with another animal rights activist to film animal cruelty at a CAFO. Unbeknownst to her, the "activist" is actually an undercover policeman who has infiltrated the animal rights group. Once the woman has captured the abuse on her camera, I would like the undercover guy to reveal himself and arrest her. But is this at all realistic? (I don't mind a little poetic license, but I don't want to make it completely far-fetched.) Thanks for any insights!


texts: Source for California citations in the form "vc" or "cvc" rather than the Veh. Code form

texts:
I have seen many citations of California codes that say things like 'VC § 1234', 'CVC § 1234', "vc sec. 1234", "cvc section 1234" etc, when referring to the Vehicle Code. I've also seen the same style used with "WIC" for the Welfare and Institutions Code, and "PC" for the Penal Code.

I cannot find any style guide that explains citations in the above manner. Instead the guides I find would say "Veh. Code", "Welf. & Inst. Code", "Pen. Code" etc. Is there a style guide that uses the first style I mentioned, even an antiquated one, or are instances of the first style entirely ad hoc?


texts: On the Fair Use of an Image Offered as an Answer to a Stack Exchange Question

texts:
About a month ago, I posted this question on the TeX Stack Exhange:
https://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/570484/how-to-draw-a-rose-in-latex
In it, I asked for assistance in producing the image of a rose using LateX (a software system for document preparation.)
I also indicated that the motivation for the question was to use such an image in a book in order to introduce new chapters.
Two people posted answers.
My two-part question is:
(i) Am I free to use any of these LaTeX images in a book I hope to have published in the future?
(ii) Am I free to modify the LaTeX code posted as an answer---in order to produce an alternative, but similar rose image to use in my anticipated publication?
Thank you.


texts: Can a non-insurance company create a financial "float" like insurance companies do?

texts: Insurance companies use "float" money taken in from premiums. Even though it is not their cash they invest it as long as when needed they can pay a customer claim. Could a non-insurance company that gets funds from customers for holding then create a similar scheme to use these funds for investment as long as they have the funds available when the customer needs them. I would believe the company would have to have full disclosure but if they do, is that possible within the scope of U.S. law?


texts: Is it a crime to run away from spouse and child and declare it as separation?

texts: Is this considered as crime in Canada to run away from spouse and child without meeting their expenses and paying house loan.


texts: Can pedestrians enter a marked crosswalk at an angle or cross the street without entering the marked path AND still have right-of-way?

texts:
Scenario:

There is a controlled crosswalk.
The walking sign is on.

Rather than cross the street via the path, you cross adjacent to it OR you cross at an angle initially and enter the path.

If a car is driving through the crosswalk at this time, do you have right-of-way?


texts: UK Estate Agent withdrawing house before occupancy without returning fees

texts:
In February, my relative agreed to rent a house.  She paid a holding deposit, and after numerous credit checks the move was agreed - to begin on 1st April 2020.  She paid the deposit and first month's rent.

However, the COVID-19 crisis has meant that she has been unable to move in to the property due to the lockdown, as she's in one of the 'at risk' groups.  I phoned the estate agent to explain the situation in late March, and the person (a director) told me that they'd handle the situation.

Then, on 7th April I received an email from the estate agents.  It was from a different person, also a director.  They offered 2 options: (a) to pay the rent as if the tenancy had commenced, making my relative responsible for all further rent, or (b) to consider the tenancy didn't go ahead, lose the deposit but they'd return the rent.  They would then re-let the property.

I emailed them back, saying that my discussion in March suggested they would hold the property until it was possible to move in.  I added that I understood the nature of this things was far from ideal, and suggested that the first month's rent be paid along with the deposit, in return for holding the property until lockdown measures had been eased.  The person in question replied saying that she'd ask the landlady.

Today I've noticed that the property has been advertised for rent both on a sign outside and over the internet.  They haven't contacted either me or the relative since the last contact on 7th April.

Of course, this is a matter for a lawyer if we were to take it up.  However, what legal position would my mother be in?  Surely they can't take the rent and offer to re-let the property at the same time?  Would they even be entitled to retain the deposit under these circumstances?  Finally, I'd rather not go down this route but is there any protection for my relative for not being forcefully 'evicted' - since she's paid the deposit, rent - and those haven't been returned?


texts: Can I refuse to tell Ontario Trial Judge my employment or daily life?

texts:
I'm Plaintiff in Small Claims Court case in Ontario Canada. Defendant filed Defence. If we don't settle after Settlement Conference, then we  Trial.  I read Charter Basics | Your Right to Silence

What is the Right to Silence?
In the Canadian legal tradition, the right to silence is a subset of the larger principle against self-incrimination. It is closely related to the rules governing confessions and is also enshrined under section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
At its most basic, the right to silence means that absent any legal obligation to the contrary, no one is obliged to speak to the police or respond to police questioning1. For accused or detained people, this is a Constitutionally protected right. The right to silence means that a detainee has the right to choose whether or not to speak or give a statement to the police2. Regardless of what the police might say, an accused person has absolutely no obligation to assist the State with an investigation or prosecution.

In my honest opinion, Defendant's lawyer lied some parts of Defence. I looked up Defendant's lawyer at Law Society of Ontario website, and his record and history are not clean. I don't want him or public know my employment or what I do everyday. I know people have falsely accused at workplace or like debt collectors, harass you at work or employer.
I don't duplicate

Can I refuse to tell Settlement Conference Deputy Judge my employment or daily life?, because here I ask about Trial, not Settlement Conference.

Can non-witnesses legally refuse to answer questions from judge?, because that question is New Zealand law. I ask Ontario Canada.


texts: Why obtain two first degrees in law, when one suffices?

texts:
(TL;DR - Summary) Why  study 2 first professional degrees in law? I know firsthand that a first degree in law from Canada, US, UK, or Oceania qualifies for postgraduate law programs (eg LLM) in these countries. So why did these 'legal eagles' NOT do an LLM, in place of the second LLB or JD? Doing a second LLB or JD, resembles repetition of material already learned.

(Optional Reading) I know that in North America, the LLB is superseded by the JD, but not in other Commonwealth countries (eg Oceania, UK). I exemplify with some notable legal practitioners:

SCOC Justices (whom I originally found from this article):

Ronald Martland,
B.A. in 1926, an LL.B in 1928 (University of Alberta),
BA in 1930, a BCL in 1931 (Hertford College, Oxford University)

Gérard La Forest
BCL in 1949 (University of New Brunswick), BA in 1951, MA in 1956
(St John's College, Oxford)

Ian Binnie,  LL.B in 1963, LL.M in 1988 (Cambridge University), LL.B in 1965 (U of Toronto)

Governor General of Canada David Johnston,
LL.B in 1965 (Cambridge University), LL.B in 1966 Queen's University.

I don't know what Justice Julien Chouinard studied at Oxford; so I don't list him.

Professor Trevor Farrow,
BA/MA Jurisprudence in 1992 (Wadham College, Oxford), LLB in 1993 (Dalhousie Law School)

Retired SCOTUS Justice David Souter,
 A.B. magna cum laude in 1961 (Harvard),
MA Jurisprudence in 1963 (Magdalen College, Oxford), LLB in 1965 (Harvard Law School)


texts: Why is it possible to sue non-original distributers of Pirated items?

texts:
I apologise in advance if this is a silly question.

Let's say you have a person A who bought a song from an online service, and is distributing it without permission. Person F obtains a copy of this song and distributes it himself.

I can understand why person A might be at risk of a lawsuit, as he's broken the contract agreed upon when purchasing the song. But Person F hasn't agreed to anything, hasn't signed any contracts and hasn't gone through a shrinkwrap agreement.

So why would Person F be at a risk of being sued?


texts: Is there an offence when you kill to prevent a murder?

texts:
Suppose Person A shoots and kills Person B, who was about to shoot to kill Person C, and Person C makes a statement to police to say that if Person A hadn’t intervened, there was no doubt they would have died (i.e. Person B actually pulled the trigger, and only missed due to a bullet to the head).

In the United Kingdom, what crime could Person A be charged with? What might be the minimum sentence, if they can be found guilty?


texts: Trademark Section 2(d) Refusal: Likelihood of Confusion

texts:
I'm having some trouble with a Section 2(d) Refusal: Likelihood of Confusion for a self-filed trademark in two classes. The fictional example below closely and accurately replicates the situation:

Trademark filed as "text": Sunset Bike Company

This was denied because "Bike" and "Company" are general terms for the specific Classes filed under, and because of cited conflicts that cause confusion with:

Sunset Home
Sunset Ski & Bike Company
Sunset Ski

Can the use of capitalization and combined words/characters help us avoid this confusion? Possibilities could include:

"SunsetBike"
"SUNSETbike"
"S U N S E T B I K E"


texts: How to prevent assets in a will from being passed to a person suffering from incurable dementia?

texts:
Triggered by this question, a similar one. How can I write a will such that if a beneficiary is suffering from senile dementia at the time I die, they are passed elsewhere? The situation may well arise if I have previously succumbed likewise, and so cannot revise my will. My siblings are of a similar age, and share my genetic inheritance. I would want the money to go to their children, if they are beyond considering for themselves whether to enter into a deed to reassign their inheritance at the time of my death.

Is there any reason it can't be handled in the same way as survivorship? Specify a condition which, if satisfied, means that the beneficiary is to be treated as if they had pre-deceased me.


texts: Photographs on social media being altered and reposted

texts:
What protections are available for images owned by me and published via social media when they are taken, edited, then re-published?

For example I publish an image which belongs to me on Facebook.
The image is then taken, modified, and republished.

The image is edited with comments beneath them which causes upset and alarm to me and close family.


texts: What is the status of a baby born abroad to an American parent, but fails to qualify for U.S. citizenship?

texts:
Looking at the "Acquisition of U.S. Citizenship by a Child Born Abroad" page, it seems that there are some combinations where the targeted baby may not be an American citizen by default.  So, what happens when the American parent tries taking the baby with them to the U.S.?  Does the baby get deported as an illegal immigrant?  Possibly to an orphanage/foster-care if the other parent isn't there and/or the U.S. parent doesn't want to travel?  Is there a way for the American parent have the baby converted to a (naturalized) citizen?

Oh, and that page doesn't seem to cover what happens if both parents are U.S. citizens, but not in wedlock.  Does anyone know the policy in that case?


texts: Case Law Regarding The Theft Lost of Property

texts:
Does anyone know of any case law about someone being found guilty of theft after finding lost property and demanding money to return it?
I've heard about it before but can't find it anywhere.


texts: Is marriage rejection on the basis of caste a criminal offence?

texts: I am a Brahmin and my girlfriend is Schedule caste, and my parents are denying our marriage because of caste. Will it be considered a criminal offence under Indian caste discrimination law, if any?


texts: Can people get in trouble for investigating or charging the president?

texts:
Not word for word and please correct me.

Is there a law like this? If so:
 Should any criminal investigation or legal action, investigation even a phone call that takes time from the president in office in any criminal investigation can be interpreted and considered a violation of this stature "The US president cannot be prosecuted for any crime while in office"? Unless it is a political offense like espionage is it a crime to use taxpayer money to investigate the president?

Related: Can the US president be charged of crime such as murder while in office?


texts: Was the Iraq war an act of terrorism, according to the UK definition?

texts:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/11/section/1

Reading the above legal definition, was the UK's action in Iraq terrorism? (and for that matter, were the actions in Libya and Syria terrorism as well?)

The war clearly falls within all of subsection (2), was designed to influence the Iraqi government (well, remove - but that falls within influence), so 1)(b) is satisfied, and even without the ideological motive that the United States government later adopted (spreading Democracy), at the very least there was a political motive for the war, therefore 1)(c) is satisfied.


texts: Can I allow use of a property while limiting exposure to liability?

texts:
I own a semi-rural property in Canada which I use as a seasonal residence; it's unoccupied for long periods. People in the surrounding community are accustomed to traversing the property recreationally: hiking, fishing, snowmobiling. I'm fine with this and other innocuous daytime use, but I want to limit my liability. I plan to post a sign prohibiting hunting, open fires, and trespass after dark.

I know of no truly hidden hazards--no old wells, for example--but there are a few ways to get hurt, especially in the winter: thin ice, obstacles buried under the snow, hard-to-see fence wires and posts. These are things common to such properties and, imo, generally known to people likely to be engaging in these activities. But that's what everyone says when someone is hurt on their property. And if someone broke into a shed or climbed on a roof, then there's lots of ways to get hurt.

Is there a way I can word a sign to allow people to pass, but limit my liability?


texts: Writing exam questions on docs.google.com, Legality?

texts: Scenario: someone creates an excel sheet in docs.google.com. Make the document publicly visible. And post some exam questions that he/she had to write at the exam and the answers if possible. And asks other exam takers to add their exam questions they had to face at the exam as well. Suppose the exam is a international exam, such as IELTS etc. Since we are exchanging what we had to write at the exam, can IELTS officials sue us from copyright infringement? Criminal law? Legal background of this?


texts: If a malicious website steals my credit card info, what happens?

texts:
Let's say I submit my credit card information to a website to purchase something. They give me a message saying the item will be delivered soon, and I don't notice anything wrong.

Later I find out that my credit card is being used for unauthorized purchases.

I believe my bank protects me against unauthorized use if I notify them.  But:

Will the bank take a loss?
What happens to the malicious website and its owners? (Will it be hard to prove that the website is guilty?)
What happens to the other shops where unauthorized purchases were made with the stolen credit card information? Do they take a loss too?

If this depends a lot in jurisdiction, just give an overall idea or choose your favourite jurisdiction. If you happen to know how it would be in Brazil, please provide that too (but it is ok if you don't).


texts: Use of trademark in personal email alias

texts:
I've just signed up to a new service (company) using my usual practice of giving them a unique email address companyname@mydomain.com.
I've just received an email stating:

Thank you for registering for an account with [COMPANY].
We would kindly like to inform you that ‘[COMPANY]’ and ‘[COMPANY ALIAS]’ are registered trademarks and therefore should not be used in any e-mail addresses so as to not cause any confusion or misleadingness. For that reason, we kindly ask that you remove the trademark from your email address.

I've got dozens of email addresses like this one, and they're never used for any comms outside of those between me and that company. I like using this system as it quickly identifies any hack/spam/sale of email and allows me to process the emails using a rule. I know others use myname+companyname@gmail.com for example for the same purpose.
Can the company compel me to change the email I use.  It doesn't hugely matter, I can just give them SomethingElse@mydomain.com.  Was interested in people's thoughts.
Edit: UK (England) Jurisdiction, UK company.


texts: Therapist violates confidentiality. Any laws applicable?

texts:
A friend is doing counseling as a domestic violence victim at a domestic violence aid agency. The therapist recently disclosed her information, including what they have talked about in counseling sessions, to other people in the agency. Being confronted, the therapist pointed the finger back and accused her of false things and refused to see her again.

We would like to know if there are laws and regulations applicable in this situation. Are there federal level regulations applicable in this situation? The agency is responding indifferently. We are considering filing a complaint with the state board of psychology. We found several possible names on the state's professional licensing website, but can't be sure which one is the therapist, since the therapist keeps her full name from us.


texts: Do law schools teach the logic in "Logic in the Theory and Practice of Lawmaking"?

texts:
I was browsing the Legal Reasoning section at a law library, and stumbled on  2016 Springer book Logic in the Theory and Practice of Lawmaking. I was curious and flipped. OMG! I have J.D. from  Canadian law school and LL.M, and I never saw these math-looking symbols before!

What kind of logic is this?
I scanned just the pages with the most logic symbols.
What level and subject in university do you learn this logic?!?  Google previews the book, and page xix starts to list contributors' degrees. I don't see any math degree.
If Canada's law schools are so great, why don't they teach this logic? Anybody know if Ivy League/Stanford or Oxbridge law schools teach it?   "Canadian law schools have notoriously high admission standards and successful applicants are justifiably proud of their accomplishment." "Canadian law schools are considered difficult to get into since there's on average, higher admissions standards."

Steven Haddock LL.B. Osgoode

  Canada. luckily, just has “first-tier” law schools where almost all the students pass and go on to get licensed as lawyers.

Most lawyers don't have Ph.D. in math or logic. Thus how does a typical lawyer learn this logic?


texts: Can a US non-profit manage a for-profit fund?

texts:
Is it possible to have a for-profit fund, taking on money from investors who expect to see returns, with fund management by a non-profit organization, where excess revenue from management fees would be slated to some charitable cause?

Are there any obvious legal, regulatory, or structural roadblocks to setting up a fund like this? (apart from incentive concerns)


texts:
I can see it is legal to sell their "free" content, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Buying_Wikipedia_articles_in_print_or_another_form

Can the same be argued for their non-content data? Such as any derivatives of their content (for example n-grams) or other data sources, such as their official traffic statistics?


texts: What can I do if someone does not pay as decided by court order?

texts:
Following a custody battle, a court ordered that 100% of the cost of higher education for the children would be paid by the father. He (the father) instead chose to cosign student loans which he has no intention of paying.

My question is fairly straightforward: What are the options to pursue payment in this sort of scenario?

I'm not asking what the best option is, or for legal advice, but simply what are the possible options.

It seems crazy to me that we would have to go back to court to force him to uphold the court order that was already ordered, but I really have no idea if that is the only choice or not.

I do plan to contact a lawyer, but thought I'd ask here first to gain a little more knowledge.


texts: Does copyright infringement by distribution have to be intentional?

texts:
Inspired by some things I've been reading: if you have a creative work which copyright law forbids you from distributing, and you're careless enough to leave a copy of the work in a situation where someone else can easily make a copy of it, would that count as distribution for purposes of a copyright infringement lawsuit? Or do you have to have the intent to distribute it for the lawsuit to be likely to succeed?
The (hypothetical) situation I had in mind for this is that a group of friends pool their resources and acquire a shared file server. They all trust each other and know not to use the server for sensitive data, so they don't bother to set up access controls that would prevent them from viewing each others' files. Now, suppose one of them uploads a copy of some copyrighted material to the server. It's something which they have the legal right to possess, but not to distribute, and (I forgot to mention this originally) their reason for uploading it is purely personal. For example, the material might be a rip of a DVD that they own which they want to transfer to their phone, or a legally acquired piece of software that they want to back up. The other friends are not told about the upload, but - critically - the uploader doesn't take measures to prevent them from accessing it either (like making it non-world-readable). So the file is sitting there unprotected, and any of the other users could make a copy of the material if they happen to find it. If they do, is the original uploader then liable for distribution, same as if they had shared the work intentionally?
I scanned through what seemed to be the relevant parts of copyright law, e.g. 17 U.S.C 106, 501, and 506, and 512 but didn't find any clear statement on the topic. Section 506 says that willful infringement is required for a judgment of criminal copyright infringement, but what about a non-criminal judgment?
If there has been an actual court case testing similar circumstances, I would love to have a reference to it, but I'm also interested in links to speculation from legal experts or other relevant resources.


texts: Can police charge someone with a misdemeanor in the total absence of evidence?

texts:
In California, given that the police have probable cause to arrest someone, can they charge that person with a misdemeanor in the total absence of evidence that any crime has been committed?  To be clear, it is NOT the case that the police gathered evidence that ultimately did not prove their case; rather, the police saw and gathered NO evidence at all (nor did they collect specimens of any kind from the arrested person).

I'm wondering if there is a cause of action against the police in such a situation.

UPDATE: The following are the details of the arrest.

Bob, a 70 year old single man, lived in a rented house with his girlfriend, Susan.  Susan has a history of causing problems and was evicted from the house about 2 years ago.  Bob remained in the house.  Bob also has a history of causing problems and over the last 6 months has had 3 or 4 women in the house (one at a time, not all at the same time).  None of the women established residency in house.  Two of these women used drugs in the house.  One used heroin and the other used meth amphetamines.  The police were frequently at the house responding to multiple domestic disturbance calls.  Bob used meth amphetamines just before calling the police for yet another domestic disturbance.  When the police arrived, Bob was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance.  Bob plead guilty and will be taking a drug diversion class.  This was approximately 3 months ago.

Two months ago Bob moved in with Susan in her apartment.  Recall that Susan was the woman evicted two years ago from the house Bob rents.  Bob continued renting the house even though he was living with Susan in her apartment.

One week ago, Bob moved back into the house he is renting.  Susan remained in her apartment.  Susan, who has not been to Bob’s house since being evicted 2 years ago, called the police and falsely reported drug activity at Bob’s house.  The police showed up at Bob’s house and informed Bob that someone called to report drug activity in the house.  They asked if they could enter the house and conduct a search.  Bob agreed.  The police found nothing and then asked Bob if he was under the influence of any medication.  Bob said yes, he had taken a Ritalin and produced the bottle of Ritalin, showing that it came from a pharmacy and was prescribed for Bob.  The police asked Bob to produce a urine sample.  Bob unsuccessfully attempted to produce the sample (the police had arrived only a minute or two after Bob finished using the restroom).

The police gave Bob 3 bottles of water to drink, which Bob drank.  The police then waited for about 90 minutes at Bob’s house to give Bob time to produce the sample.  Still unable to produce a sample, they arrested Bob.  Bob challenged the arrest, asking why he was being arrested.  The police responded by saying that the house was a known drug house, that Bob had a drug conviction and was on probation and that they felt Bob was under the influence of something other than the Ritalin.  Bob believes he is not on probation, having never been ordered to meet with a probation officer.  We are now investigating whether or not Bob is on probation.

While in police custody, the police never asked Bob to attempt to produce a urine sample.  The police released him the next day, charging him with misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance.  Bob never admitted using anything illegal and the police left the house with no evidence and no evidence was gathered while Bob was in custody.


texts: Can the German Embassy go through your Whatsapp messages during Visa document verification process?

texts:
I am a Pakistani professional living and working in Germany under an "EU Blue Card" visa. I got married a little while back and to join me in Germany, my wife has applied for a Family Reunification Visa from Pakistan.
She was interviewed at the German embassy in Pakistan and submitted several documents (both of our birth certificates, marriage certificate, etc). To verify these documents, the embassy normally hires a contractor (usually a Pakistani lawyer) who visits spouses' homes and local government offices that have issued the documents.
Recently there have been several reports of these lawyers asking the spouses in Pakistan to show them their Whatsapp conversations (chats, not call logs) with their spouse in Germany. Then the lawyers scroll through and take pictures at several points as evidence.
My questions,

Is is legal to do this under German law?
What can one do to stop this (who should be informed about this)?
If this is illegal but already happened to you, what can you do about it?


texts: Does SB-1341 prohibit educational research entirely?

texts:
The text of SB-1341 bill (just introduce to the US Senate) is available here.
Summary
As far as I understand it, if this bill were to pass, researchers would be unable to connect student-level data to any other outcomes (e.g., academic, social, etc.). Student-level data can be test scores and survey data about any number of topics (e.g., learning strategies, student mindsets, etc.). The bill would also prohibit collecting video or audio data, which can be helpful for identifying important aspects of teaching behaviors, student-teacher interactions, student interactions with peers in small group learning formats, and so on. It also appears to restrict research based on standardized test results.
Basically, the bill seeks to severely restrict educational research.
My question:
Would this bill prohibit educational research entirely?


texts: Does selling certificates from Let's Encrypt violate their ToS?

texts:
A company I (unfortunately) worked for in the past is selling Let's Encrypt certificates for about 10€/month. I don't need to tell you that these certificates are free for everyone. The customers are not getting any information about what certificate they are buying.

Is it against the ToS of Let's Encrypt to do this?


texts: Am I allowed to open source my Dr. Seuss txt files on GitHub?

texts:
I've been working on building a Dr. Seuss dataset which provides training data for my recurrent neural network.  The goal is to use machine learning to get the computer to generate Seuss-like works.

I was looking for an answer online and I saw that Seuss stuff isn't going to be in the public domain for quite awhile.  But, does hosting it on github for educational/open source purposes put it under fair use?

To be clear, it's just a bunch of plaintext files with Seuss books/poems in them.  They aren't all perfect, and of course there are no illustrations, and the 'form' is rarely perfectly represented, but they definitely all contain Seuss' intellectual property.

Is it possible to put it on Github?  If so, under what possible licenses?


texts: Remove characters from an OFL font and use it on a web site

texts:
I found the OFL font Sarabun on the web and I want to use it on my web site. The ttf file is quite large because it contains letters of the thai language.

I removed the unnecessary characters using the pyftsubset command of fonttools.

According to the OFL a modified version must have a different name so I renamed the new font to PaperStroke.

It would also be possible to use the original name if Function Equivalence (FE) is given. But because the font name doesn't play a big role for me I prefer to rename the font.

According to the OFL-FAQ, a font should contain a FONTLOG which lists the original version and the modifications. The original font (Sarabun) has no FONTLOG. Should I create one?

On my website I want to create a credits section which tells the user that the PaperStroke font is licensed under the OFL and is based on the Sarabun font.

Is this the right way?
I modified the ttf version of the font. Is this ok or should I rather look for the source code?
I also don't want to use Google Fonts because i prefer to host the font on myself.


texts: Employer Added Wife to Insurance, Now They Retroactively Voided Her Coverage

texts: My employer "accidentally" included my wife in my health insurance plan. (They are now saying that they don't cover spouses). They retroactively voided the plan without informing us. We thought she had coverage, but due to their mistake, we are stuck with medical bills. Can my employer do this? Does PPACA apply since it was their mistake for enrolling her?


texts:
Is it legal for a company to scalp their own tickets?

I guess in this specific instance, the jurisdiction would be Illinois.

I am curious because there seems to be evidence that the company who puts on Lollapalooza music festival, artificially "sells out" of tickets, so they can increase prices on the fly on second hand sellers.

I have this suspicion for a couple reasons.

They usually sell out in a couple hours. That is quite fast for 150,000+ tickets.
As soon as they sell out, there seems to be a never ending supply of tickets on the second hand sellers (literally the same day).

3.The second hand websites NEVER run out of tickets. I have observed second hand lollapalooza tickets on sale till the day of the show, and not in diminishing numbers.

The interface of stubhub has seemed to changed this year, but last year they said something like "1875 tickets available at this price", and the number rarely changed, and sometimes would be replenished.

Is there anywhere in the US that this sort of practice is illegal, or is it just shady?


texts: I just got asked not to walk on a seemingly public sidewalk. Being as sensitive as I am it upset me a great deal. I would like to know how to find out who owns the apartments I was walking by and who to contact to force him to post a no trespassing sign if he indeed has the right to not let anyone walk on that sidewalk?


texts: Does the GDPR enforce an age restriction?

texts: Many services limit the age of users in europe to 16+ bases on the GDPR. Does the GDPR really forces them to do this?


texts: UK - Does a foreign, non-EU company's ToS Override GDPR

texts:
MiHoyo is a Chinese company that has recently produced the hugely popular online game, Genshin Impact. However, terrible online security has led to thousands of user details, emails, phone numbers, and the accounts themselves being hacked and leaked.
Firstly, MiHoyo states in their ToS that the user is responsibly for their account security.
https://genshin.mihoyo.com/en/company/terms

You shall be responsible for keeping your Account secure and confidential (including but not limited to usernames, passwords or other related account information). Also, you acknowledge that you shall be responsible for any and all behaviors performed and identified on or through your Account, whether or not authorized by you.

But at the same time, it is MiHoyo's fault for allowing the security vulnerability to exist. Therefore, is it possible to file a GDPR complaint? Or does the ToS override this?


texts: How long does an energy supplier need to honor a deal from its shady contracted salesman?

texts:
These door-to-door energy salesmen came by my house wanting me to switch energy companies.

They made several worse-than-dubious claims including trying to hide the fact they were representing another energy company rather than the one I had.

In any case they wanted to offer me $29.95 flat rate for unlimited gas usage. They claimed thirty day money back guarantee, at which point I told them to leave. (Scam has now become obvious--it would take four or five months to notice if they were lying and the money back guarantee is shorter than that).

I'm convinced they took in a lot of my neighbors.

They actually wrote their offer rate onto the piece of paper they wanted me to sign without reading. Let us say I hadn't told them to leave, how long would have the company actually selling gas had to honor that ridiculous rate?

Hint: the rate is ridiculous because I would gladly buy a natural gas generator and switch all my electrical stuff to gas if it were remotely competitive because PG&E can't offer reasonable power availability guarantees anymore.


texts: Do short quiz questions on copyrighed material need permission?

texts: If I make a question and answer game based on a mix of popular licences such as Harry Potter, Marvel, Lord Of The Rings and so on, do I need rightsholder permission?


texts:
When are names trade marked? Say I'm part of a sports team called "Big Ball Chasers" and it wasn't me who named the team that. If I latter decide to

call my dog the same name
join another sports team and encourage them to go by that name
create my own sports team with the same name

would any of these be in violation of trademark?

I've heard companies and products sometimes change their name as there was already an existing one with the same. When situations like this arize, do things normally not go immediatley to court but the parties work it out between themselves? For example (IIRC) the computer language Java used to be called Oak but there already existed a language with the same name so Oak changed there's to Java (but didn't get sued).


texts: Does the European Convention on Human Rights protect from infringements arising as a result of exercising rights in conjunction?

texts:
I was reading the cases of Modinos v. Cryprus and  Pay v United Kingdom, and am confused regarding the interaction of Article 8 private life & Article 10 freedom of expression.

In Modinos v Cyprus, it was held that criminalising homosexual relations is a violation of Article 8 of the ECHR. Meanwhile, in Pay v UK, it is suggested that publishing images of sexual acts may mean that the activity is not part of one's private life.

What happens, however, when someone’s expression (protected by article 10) leads to a lack of protection under article 8, resulting in criminalisation?

For example: Suppose a state criminalises homosexual activity.
Expressing support for & educating regarding homosexual activity is protected by Article 10. Homosexual activity itself is protected by Article 8.

What happens if one both engages in homosexual activity and publicly documents their engagement for advocacy purposes? Are they left without protection as a result of their free expression rendering their activity outside of the scope of private life? Or does Article 10 freedom of expression protect them from prosecution arising as a result of their speech, despite the underlying crime being actual homosexual activity (rather than speech), which is only prosecutable as a result of their otherwise-protected speech?


texts: My name was not included in an US patent but I am the main inventor. What process I should initiate so that my name is included as an Inventor?

texts:
I found about the patent too late while searching for eventual patent. The main idea of the patent under question was entirely my own. It was first implemented in a prototype, and then a production facility was setup in Japan. The patent was issued to two other inventors. One ofthem I knew very well and we worked together on the prototype. Unfortunately, He passed away last year. I do not know the other inventor and I could not find any clue about him nor about the Company name mentioned in the patent (neither could my friends in Japan).

I have all the evidence (and I have witnesses abroad, too) to prove that I am the main Inventor of the patent. Who I should contact so that my name is included as an Inventor of the patent:

the law firm under the correspondence address?
the US Patent Bureau?
or third party law firm?

Does it matter if the patent has expired because the fees have not been paid?


texts: What kind of a legal action a man needs to take prior to having sex with a woman in order to make sure she can't accuse him of rape?

texts:
A marriage contract? I have been told the wife can claim that her husband has raped her.

A signed document stating that she is having sex willingly? I have been told she can claim later that she asked the man to stop.


texts: Negligent supervision in a Canadian graduate university program - legal remedy?

texts:
The Faculty of Graduate Studies handbook at my Canadian university provides clear guidelines for what supervisors and committees are expected to do. The supervisor in question has been delinquent with respect to many of these guidelines. Administration is resisting replacing him, possibly because the path of least resistance for them is to assume things will work out in time.

My understanding is that, while the courts in Canada do not generally adjudicate academic issues (quality of academic work, etc) they have in some cases treated the handbook and regulations at the time of enrolment as a contract between the student and the university. What sort of lawyer or practice would be appropriate (if any) to explore outside avenues for a remedy in the form of a new supervisor, which is allowed by the regulations, but not preferred by administration because it's a paperwork nightmare for them?


texts:
Any ideas for prenup clauses to discourage fighting at a future divorce?

I've got so far:

Binding mediation & arbitration
Fees (attorney, court, etc.) awarded to opposite party for refusing mediation, not participating in mediation, or for disproven or highly unlikely accusations
Otherwise each party pays own attorney fees and mediation, arbitration, and court fees are split.

Any other ideas?


texts: Does an attorney in Germany have to prosecute own relatives

texts:
In German penal law, does an attorney (Staatsanwalt) have to prosecute own relatives (parents children, siblings, etc.)?
If no, by what law (I could not find any that would provide them with that right)?
If so, are there some case examples?


texts: Is Apple abusing its position with iOS by requiring MacOS to build apps?

texts:
In Europe, we have a concept of abuse of a dominant position.
http://ec.europa.eu/competition/consumers/abuse_en.html

When you develop an App for the very popular iOS devices, you're required to use a less popular MacOS device to do so. Is this an abuse of a dominant position in the mobile/cellular market to sell their (poor quality in my opinion!) MacOS devices?


texts:
The CC-BY 4.0 license is 1,958 words.

As I understand it, the MIT license is functionally equivalent to CC-BY: it established that you can do whatever with the published work, as long as you give credit.

But the MIT license is just 162 words, most of which are in the disclaimer. The ISC license, which should be functionally equivalent to the MIT license, is even shorter: just 111 words.

Why is the CC-BY so much longer than the MIT or ISC license, even though it offers the same conditions? Or this question could also be reversed: why are the MIT/ISC licenses so short compared to the CC-BY license?


texts: Developing software from others research

texts: I was reading around the web and found an interesting idea for an online software that I would like to publish commercially. My question is if the software is based off of research such as https://arxiv.org/pdf/1409.3215.pdf (just an example) am I able to develop and sell it commercially? Are their legal complications?


texts: Do (any) US State Governors have legal authority to preemptively pardon persons of a state crime?

texts:
As I understand it, the President of the United States is empowered to pardon a person prior to being charged with a federal crime. I further understand that State Governors have the power (under their specific state Constitution) to grant pardons. However, what I don't know is if any states have empowered their governors to grant pardons to persons prior to being charged or convicted.

For clarification, I am defining "preemptively" as anytime prior to actual conviction (whether charged or during the prosecution process)

BTW, I was told by Politics.SE that is was a question that should be posted with Law SE rather than Politics. I looked at other Law SE questions and they did not seem to answer this question about preemptively pardoning


texts: Judge to jury instruction in shooting of Colten Boushie case

texts:
I was told that with the following instructions the judge asked the jurors to acquit Mr. Stanley. Is that so?

You must not find Gerald Stanley guilty unless you are sure he is
guilty. Even if you believe that Mr. Stanley is probably guilty or
likely guilty, that is not sufficient. In those circumstances, you
must give the benefit of the doubt to Mr. Stanley and find him not
guilty because the Crown has failed to satisfy you of his guilt beyond
a reasonable doubt.
...
If you have a reasonable doubt
about Mr. Stanley's guilt arising from the evidence, the absence of
the evidence, or the credibility or the reliability of one or more of
the witnesses then you must find him not guilty. In short, the
presumption of innocence applies at the beginning and continues
throughout the trial, unless you are satisfied after considering the
whole of the evidence that the Crown has displaced the presumption of
innocence by proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

See Shooting of Colten Boushie and full transcript of the instructions.


texts: What is the purpose of a Notice of Understanding and Intent and Claim of Rights?

texts:
While looking up interpretations of the meaning of Karnivool's "All I Know", I saw the following meaning of the song:

  This is the Karnivool's Notice of Understanding and Intent.

  From Black's Law Dictionary:
  Understanding: an agreement to "stand under", or be bound by, the terms of a contract.

  In all common law jurisdictions under the British Empire (Australia, Great Britain, Canada, New Zealand, etc), you can send a notice to the government, informing them what your understanding of the world is. Further, you inform them what your personal laws are, and how you are going to live your life. Lawyers and Law Students in these countries have been encouraged to remove themselves from being bound by all the acts, statutes, and codes of their particular country of origin. The rest of us (slaves) are never told that we can do this. Seems someone told the band. :)
  Songmeanings

He has this phrased like it's the ability to decide which laws you follow, and that it's an ability being withheld from the general public (although I seriously doubt that at least the former is the case).

I tried searching for a solid definition, but all I could find was people/organization's Notice of Understanding and Intent and Claim of Rights.

What is the purpose of declaring your Notice of Understanding and Intent and Claim of Rights?


texts: Copy the design of Fortune 500 Website to promote your software

texts:
I have a piece of software that allows you to easily create website designs. To communicate how easy it is to create website designs using the software, I have created a copy of a fortune 500 website and wish to post it on my website. The message being 'You too can create fortune 500 website designs using this software'.

Is it legal to both copy the design of a fortune 500 website and is it legal to use that copy to promote my own software?

Information about what I mean by copy:

No images have been taken from the original fortune 500 website (F5W). I use free to use stock images that look very similar to those used in the F5W. For example if the F5W shows an image of their new phone at the top of the page horizontally centred, I show an image of another different phone (taken from public stock images) at the top of the page horizontally centred.
The words on my webpage are different and not copied from the F5W. But they are similar; so in the F5W design it may say 'Introducing the new iPhone X', mine will say 'Introducing the new Cell Z'.
The layout of the fortune 500 webpage has been copied pretty much exactly. So if the F5W design consists of 3 rows each with 2 columns I have copied this. Where the F5W has a section with a heading, text below it and a background image of a phone, I have also copied this design (except the text and image is different).
The colours used are exactly the same.
The language and wording is like so; instead of the company being 'Apple', its 'Orange', instead of 'Apple TV' its 'Orange Film', instead of 'WatchOS' its 'TimeOS'.


texts: Cookie expiration time per GDPR guidelines

texts:
I am working on a task that requires to set cookie expiry date to Jan 2038. This cookie is used for showing personalized content to end user e.g. If user is on Home page and he clicks on Business Insurance page and then browse back to Home Page, he should see marquee specific to Business Insurance.

I came across an article which states that persistent cookies should not last more than 12 months!

In my case - apart from tracking ‘specific’ pages visited by user I am not storing any personal data here. So does this rule applies to me? Am I free to extend expiry date till 2038 or restrict it for 12 months?


texts: What is the legal status of challenging polyamory prohibition in USA?

texts:
I know some people (especially in various poly/kink communities) have discussed the idea extensively that post-same-sex-marriage SCOTUS decision, it should be possible to defeat the prohibition on polyamory.

But... internet talking is one thing, legal cases are a different ballgame.

As such, I have a two-fold question:

Has anyone tried to bring actual cases to various courts that would result in a challenge to the prohibition on polyamory? If so, it's be appreciated if the legal theory, main arguments, and results could be summarized?
Is there consensus among legal experts on what good legal theories and arguments that could be used to bring such cases in theory?


texts: Work remotely in a EU country for a non EU company

texts: I am a German citizen permanently living in Germany. Is it legal to be employed by a company located in Mauritius and work 100% remotely without ever visiting Mauritius?


texts: Possibility for class-action suit due to property overtaxation?

texts:
This is a hypothetical question.  I am in SC and we pay annual property tax on vehicles.  I have been arguing with the county auditor about the valuation of my car, which is $10,000 over the actual value and this happens every year.

Assuming that this type of overvaluation is being applied to all vehicle owners in the county, is this a valid basis for a class-action suit against the county?  Or is the government pretty much untouchable in regard to taxation?


texts: Can I share online some complaints I have raised against my university?

texts:
Recently, I sent a complaint to my university for a problem I had.
I got a reply.

Can I share the official documents online? Or am I liable of defamation?

Best
Luca


texts: What happens if I negatively answer the court oath regarding the truth?

texts:
Bailiff: (to the witness) Please raise your right hand. Do you swear
to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Witness: No.

What would happen? Unfortunately, in the limited research I did, I could not find a definitive answer.
 Transcript adapted from here. Question inspired by this post.


texts: Can water bills be shared in independent flats of a building (UK)

texts:
I have signed an assured short-hold tenancy agreement for a year in a London flat. The building has a main entrance and then 4 different flats.
My main question is whether it is normal that the landlord told me to pay him directly for the water as this is shared with the other flats. Note that it is not a joint tenancy or an HMO agreement. Every tenant rents on his own. Every flat pays a separate council tax.
Lately, I have some issues with the tenant above who loves banging all over the place and also uses the washing machine excessively. This is one of the reasons that triggered the question above. Also, considering that the house is a cheap construction (renovated) without a proper sound insulation as most parts are from wood, isn't there a way to complain regarding the decibels? Sometimes, I am getting 30 or 50 decibel sounds generated by machines or the tenant above. The recording was made using an iPhone which means that if I use a professional device, the decibels might be even more. Is there a way to complain about the constant noises and the fact that his washing machine wakes me up every morning at 8 or 9?


texts: Reverse engineering for security research

texts:
Is it legal to reverse engineer a closed source application in order to check how secure it is if:

the software came preinstalled on the device (i.e. I have not signed
an EULA)
I have signed an EULA that forbids reverse engineering

I have seen a lot of renowned experts reverse engineer popular software and publish details on their flaws and their inner workings on conferences. Is this legal ? (I am particularly interested in EU law)


texts: Are priests held to the same standards as attorneys?

texts:
The Seal of the Confessional for priests (at least in the Catholic faith) prohibits a priest from disclosing anything and everything that was said to them in a confession. Given that, if someone confessed a crime (major or minor) the priest could not report that individual to the police (i.e. act on his own will).

I understand that a defendant's attorney could not be forced by a judge to sit in front of a grand jury and disclose what was exchanged between the defendant and even if the attorney accidentally revealed that the defendant did commit the crime, it would have to be removed from record because that is privileged information.

My question is: Are priests held to the same standard? Can a judge (federal, state, etc.) order a priest to sit in front of a grand jury and disclose what was said in confession? And if the judge did and the priest refused, would the priest be held in contempt? Does this apply to all states in the US?


texts: (Spoiler) Slayer Rule in Knives Out (2019): Can accidental homicide also disbar you from inheritance?

texts:
Spoilers from the movie - Knives Out (2019). I want to investigate if the movie's plot operates correctly regarding the legal principle in question - Slayer Rule.

Millionaire Harlan Thornby bequeaths his entire estate to his nurse (but she doesn't know this). One night, she accidentally administers him a fatal dose of morphine. She looks for the antidote but cannot find it. Harlan Thornby would die in 10 minutes because there is no antidote. He sends her away and asks her to pretend everything is alright. And then slits his own throat with a knife and dies. His body is discovered next morning and the will is read.

Question: Was his throat-slitting necessary to protect the nurse from being disbarred from his inheritance? Does the throat slitting help or is she still disbarred?


texts: Copyright or protecting my code written in open source language

texts:
We have a business that has become successful, the platform is a very customized build of Drupal where we integrate many different APIs and have a lot of custom code, mostly in PHP. Drupal and PHP are covered by the MIT license.

We talked to a lawyer and they said because it is the GPLv2 license if someone requests the code we have to give it to them, can we copyright any of this code? How can we protect it.

I know so many startups and platforms are written with open source software so I'm sure there is a clear answer to this but I can't seem to find one on the web.

EDIT We are using drupal which is the GPLv2 license.


texts: Which is more severe in an aggravated assault case?

texts:
Is a dislocated shoulder or broken arm bone more severe?

My argument  is that a dislocated  shoulder has potential for repeat dislocation  and therefore is a more aggravated lasting injury. Which is considered more severe, a broken arm bone or dislocated shoulder?


texts: Can I use copyrighted media for strictly personal use?

texts:
I know copyright / author's rights definition. I read bunch of texts about them and I am also aware that, for example, there are a kind of tolerance on YouTube about uses of copyrighted media (ex: songs' covers, remixes...) but even if they are tolerated, it is still not legal. But Youtube is a platform for sharing.

My question is : What about personal use of a copyrighted media ?

I searched on Internet but it is always about diffusion of such content, not personal use. In the strict aspect of law, would I be allowed to, for example, remix copyrighted songs just for my own usage, listening to them in my headphones ?

My first opinion would be no, as a copyrighted media covers :

the right to reproduce the copyrighted work
the right to prepare derivative works based upon the work
the right to distribute copies of the work to the public
the right to perform the copyrighted work publicly
the right to display the copyrighted work publicly

It would be creating a derivative work of a copyrighted media, so it would be infringement, right ? Also, using a copyrighted music to put it on my vacation videos and showing it to my family only would be, law speaking, a copyright infringement, right ?

If that so, are every people drawing famous characters or playing famous music songs on their instrument, for training or just for fun, without any public diffusion, doing copyright infringement ?

By extension, are those doing public diffusion (ex: artists doing fanart of a video game character which is copyrighted) also doing copyright infringement ? Or is it considered as fair use ?

I got a bit lost when a friend ask me questions about that aspect of law.

Thanks !


texts:
This question was prompted by a discussion I overheard recently at a scientific conference about a specific example (background given below), but ideally I would like the answer to explain the legal principles involved in this general area if feasible. If the answer varies by region, please assume either the US or Australia (since the most recent article I could find on the subject described a field release in Australia).

Bacteria in the genus Wolbachia naturally occur in a large number of insect species. It was discovered a few years ago that putting some species of Wolbachia into some species of insect reduced their ability to transmit viruses causing human disease such as dengue (sample US patent) - they are rendered 'refractory'. The use of Wolbachia-transfected mosquitoes is increasingly suggested as a possible method of controlling mosquito-borne disease. It is my understanding that the process to transfer one strain of Wolbachia into a new mosquito population is time-consuming, requires specialist equipment and training and has a high risk of failure, but once it is accomplished the bacterium spreads vertically to all descendants of the modified mosquitoes.

Field trials of transfected mosquitoes are happening in various parts of the world (for example in Australia, as reported this week). To be clear, these are not GMOs (in fact that is part of the reason they are popular, from a regulatory perspective): they are mosquito strains taken from nature, transfected with bacteria that naturally infect other insect species, and then mass-reared before release, where they freely breed with the natural population which allows the bacterium to spread.

My question is this: In a situation like this, if a researcher went out and collected mosquitoes from a region where field releases were occurring, what restrictions would exist on what they could do with them?

For example (ordered in what I would guess is decreasing order of likelihood of permission), could they:

'observe' the collected mosquitoes (e.g. measure their survival or
immune response under various conditions compared to unmodified mosquitoes)?
establish their own breeding colony of the collected mosquitoes?
share the mosquitoes or their descendants freely with international collaborators (assuming Nagoya compliance)?
attempt to further modify the collected mosquitoes or their descendants?
mass-rear modified mosquitoes for commercial sale or to release freely (assuming no regulatory barriers to this)?

How would any of these answers change if the researchers genuinely had no idea they had collected modified mosquitoes (for instance, were not aware of the trials), or if they had reason to suspect the collection included some modified mosquitoes but never actually tested to confirm it? (In many parts of the world where mosquito-borne diseases are common, surveillance programmes are operating that routinely collect thousands or millions of mosquitoes to monitor abundance or test for pathogens).

By my limited understanding of IP, patents cover processes, not products, so in this case might cover the process of modifying the mosquitoes, and maybe the process to confirm their modification status, but could not cover the mosquitoes themselves. Is this correct? I also understand there are more restrictions on patenting natural organisms than there used to be, but I've not kept up to date on this since my (biology) undergrad reading on it.


texts: I want to use Moonlight Sonata in my movie - Copyright Issues?

texts:
I am shooting a movie in which there is a shot of a phone ringing. The ringtone is moonlight sonata by Beethoven. Can I download the music from youtube and use it in my movie?

Will I be breaking any copyright issue because of that?

Or should I compose my own music and put it?


texts: Can prices change in the middle of a contract

texts:
I am one of those people still clinging onto an AT&T unlimited mobile data plan. Three months ago I signed a two-year contract to renew the plan. Today I got an email from AT&T saying that my data price would increase from $35 to $40 per month in March.

Here is a contract I found for my plan.  Notice that it says, "Prices are subject to change." I assumed that meant that prices could change up to the point when we signed the contract, and that they would be locked in after that. AT&T is offering to let me out of my contract with no penalty, but I just want them to honor the contract I assume we both signed.

Do I need to either pay the new price or exit the contract? Are those my only options?


texts: Happy Birthday song lawsuit: grounds for retroactive class action lawsuit?

texts:
there. you may know about the lawsuit by a documentary filmmaker against Warner-Chappell for controlling the right to the Happy Birthday song.

http://boingboing.net/2015/08/07/the-twisted-history-of-the-hap.html

I don't know how this will turn out (and by the way IANAL).

If the Court rules against Warner--Chappell (let's say they find that copyright control ended in 1998), would there be grounds for everybody who paid licensing fees during the intervening time to recover those amounts? (I'm assuming there's no deception or fraud on the part of Warner-Chappell). Would there be grounds to recover damages retroactively?

Is a class action suit a viable mechanism to recover these amounts?

I know this is all wild speculation, but I have always wondered whether there is legal risk in wrongfully keeping something under copyright. Thanks.