texts: Do Colombia and Norway have an extradition treaty?

texts: I had no success googling this and thought it would be better to try here before contacting embassies.


texts: Vienna Convention on Road Traffic(1968) Letters Only Vehicle Registration Plate

texts:
There is a large media scandal in Romania about a car that had a preferential number from another country. According to police, the number was illegal because was having letters only and no digits so basically, this number was violating Vienna Convention on Road Traffic (1968) (wikipedia link here) that was ratified by Romania in 1980.

Now according to a UN official that convention was modified in 2016 and because Romania did not oppose it is should be automatically applied. The amendment allows letters only plate. Is there any UN law/directive that says that a country that doesn't oppose an amendment is accepting it by default?


texts: Blackmail is illegal. But how is that enforced pragmatically?

texts:
I am a total layman and I don't have any experience in the field of law. Please keep this in mind when responding to this question.
Obviously blackmail is illegal. However, I  have always wondered how exactly this would work in a real world scenario. I was wondering if any lawyers could chime in.
Lets say I killed someone, or my company is committing massive fraud/tax evasion. If someone threatens to reveal my dark secrets unless I help them do something, then this would be considered blackmail.
So what? What could I even do in this scenario? Report them to the police and go down in flames together? What are the practical implications of blackmail being illegal?


texts: Interpretation of this Purpose clause in an NDA

texts:
I'm a contractor and have come to familiarise myself with the standard wording that comes with most NDAs. I perform contract programming work for companies overseas and access their IP to perform my services (bug fixes, feature adds, etc).

However, I'm not 100% clear on the interpretation of a the following section.

  Purpose. In furtherance of the purpose or purposes stated below, the Company may disclose its Confidential Information to Recipient.
  This Agreement is intended to bind Recipient and prevent it from
  disclosing the Confidential Information as herein provided or from
  using the Confidential Information for purposes other than considering
  whether to enter into a contractual business relationship, including
  but not limited to a potential investment transaction (the “Permitted
  Purpose”).

Usually, the purpose is much wider than this. It'll include things like offering my services, or performing designated tasks. From my interpretation above, I'm only allowed to use their IP for "considering whether to enter into a contractual business relationship", which doesn't seem to fit the end goal of my services at all. If I sign this, I still don't have access to their IP to offer my services.

The "including but not limited to a potential investment transaction" doesn't seem to apply to me, because I'm not an investor. It seems like this NDA is more likely designed to be signed by potential investors than contractors.

Especially since later on in the contract,

  Recipient further agrees not to use the Confidential Information
  provided to it by the Company for any purposes other than the
  Permitted Purpose.

Naturally, I'm going to bring this up with the client before I sign, but I thought I'd also enquire here. My question is as follows:

Is my interpretation of this wording correct, or is there scope within this wording that does allow for my services within the Permitted Purpose?

If it's relevant, this contract was supplied by a company based in California, USA.


texts: Legality of secretly micro-chipping coins?

texts:
In the UK, we are less than a week away from the new £1 coin coming into circulation, which has been billed as 'the most high-tech coin in the world'.

In an effort to reduce counterfeit, they have had a mysterious new technology integrated into their design, code named iSiS (Integrated Secure Identification Systems). There seems to be some deliberate ambiguity around the nature of this technology: undoubtedly as an attempt to unnerve potential counterfeiters, who can't counteract what they don't know about.

Some people are speculating that the 'top secret security' of the iSiS coins is in-fact an RFID or other microchip; which not only explains how 'thousands of coins [can] be scanned and verified in a matter of seconds', but among skeptics leads to concerns about them being used as tracking devices.

IF this were the case (and I'm certifiably not trying to persuade anyone that it is), what would be the legality of UK security services being able to use these coins to track citizens? If the coins were capable of this, wouldn't they be under an obligation to publicly disclose this?


texts: If police come to my house with a warrant for my arrest, can they break in?

texts:
Suppose police have a warrant to arrest me for a minor offense, like failure to pay fines.

If police come to my residence and I quietly hide they go away.

If they see me at the window or I speak with them through the locked exterior door will they break in if I refuse to open the door?


texts: 60 days Notice allowed for Month-to-Month rental in California?

texts: Can a California landlord require 60 days notice on a month-to-month rental agreement?


texts: Is it illegal for an employer to know that their employees are lying to the companies customers for their own personal financial gain?

texts: An employer is aware that their employees are lying to customers of the company for their own personal financial gain. Is that against the law? If an employer is aware and continues to let the employees do so.


texts: Can I make a t-shirt design matching others

texts:
So if I see a simple t-shirt design on the internet, with a normal phrase. for example lets use, "Live Laugh Love" and I copy that design. Am i opening myself up to a lawsuit if I sell it?

The design matches someone else's, however the phrase is common so all that is being copied is the font used and a square around it.

I feel like I did a poor job of explaining and I cant seem to think of a good way to put this. But I guess the question is. What is the threshold of creativity?


texts: Are the opinions of a United States superior court public knowledge?

texts:
If I bring a case to a superior court and I lose, is that information public knowledge?

What are the ramifications to me?  For example, could it hurt my credit score?


texts: Do I need to be co-operative when stopped by a law enforcement officer?

texts:
This question asks how you should respond to a police stop, and one of the answers sited what I believe is common wisdom, ie "be co-operative".

This got me thinking - what are the advantages of being co-operative, rather then being non-responsive except to the extent you are obliged to be - ie simply not answering any questions you are asked (without explaining why), while still following lawful instructions (eg handing over your papers when asked, getting out of the car if instructed etc) ?


texts: Is the car in my possession part of my household effects?

texts:
The Netherlands have a tax on the acquisition or import of private motor vehicles (BPM) which can be fairly expensive depending on what car you have.

I am moving from Germany to the Netherlands and planned to bring my car with me. The conditions for exemption from this tax include (source) :

  You move from another country to the Netherlands and you take your motor vehicle with you.
  The motor vehicle forms part of your household effects.
  You will use the motor vehicle which you bring with you for the same purpose as you used it abroad.
  You bought the motor vehicle which you bring with you at least 6 months before you moved to the Netherlands and you used the motor
  vehicle during this period.
  You lived at least 12 months abroad before you moved to the Netherlands.

My question regards point 2.:
The car in question was bought by my parents in Germany in 2009 and is registered to one of them since then. Since 2010 the car has been in my possession, with me being listed as one of its drivers in the insurance, while the ownership of the car still lies with my parents.
For the purpose of exemption of the tax listed above, can the car be considered part of my 'household effects' ?


texts:
My Mom was killed by Kaiser, I have the hospital report. She died from sepsis but was on dialysis.  They were giving her contraindicative drugs, treating her for diabetes, which she did not have and she told me they were giving her "fake" dialysis.  When I went to the clinic where she had dialysis they confirmed this from the report. Your site says to share my research but it is too lengthy for this limited space.  Suffice to say I have done my due diligence on the health issues.

I dropped the ball at arbitration for an extremely good reason and no showed. I lost with prejudice. I am not bound to the Kaiser arbitration rule as I am not the insured.   Can I still sue them in court?  What is the statute of limitations on wrongful death?


texts:
I sometimes cough. Sometimes when I cough, there is phlegm and sputum that's suddenly on my mouth.

I usually, of course, run to a nearby sink and spit that out.

In Singapore, is this a fine able offense?

Also what are laws in Singapore that tourists should be aware off?


texts: Can I file a GDPR "request to be forgotten" on behalf of someone else?

texts:
Assuming a person might be interested in requesting to be forgotten by a large number of sites that store personal or behavioral data, sending individual requests to hundreds (or thousands) of sites is practically impossible.

A service that sends this kind of request on behalf of someone else, en masse, might be a possible soultion - but is it applicable to make such a request on behalf of someone else?


texts: Gun ownership prior to involuntary commitment

texts:
My father gave me a family gun when I was 16.

Let's say I was involuntarily hospitalized recently do to an antidepressant overdose.  Am I required to turn in my gun?


texts: If you commit a crime on the border of two different countries, which will you be charged in?

texts:
If you commit a crime on the border of two different countries*, which will you be charged in?

In addition, for the sake of argument:

Both countries want to separately trial the criminal
The criminal is a citizen of both countries**
The police of both countries appear at the same time
The suspect stays on the border after committing the crime.
The criminal act is illegal in both countries, but the sentences are different.

The countries hate each other
It is not a crime against humanity - just a violent crime such as a murder.

*technically, jurisdictions, but then it interferes with the wording of this question

**or, alternatively, the criminal is stateless


texts: Do US or Australia have laws that prevent insurance companies from racking up too much margin?

texts:
Are claim ration in US or Australia much higher and if so, what laws differences cause it.
What are the typical claim ratio of insurance companies in US, Australia, and Indonesia?
https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/042315/what-difference-between-loss-ratio-and-combined-ratio.asp
Claim ratios are the ratio between reimbursement and premium.
Say I buy insurance.
From a gambler points of view, I want to know how much, on average, I will be reimbursed compared to how much money I pay.
For example, if I pay $1000k for life insurance, I want to know that on average, I will get $900. The amount I get if I die may be $1m., But the chance that I will die is 0.09 percent, for example, I will on average, collect $900 out of my $1k premium. Of course, on average I lose. But because I am risk avert it's still worth it.
However, given that I don't lose a lot and I want security, I am okay with that. Of course, if the loss ratio is very low, it's stupid to buy insurance.
If premium fees are very clear and insurance companies compete with one another, I would expect the loss ratio to be very high.
If premium fees are unclear and customers insurance companies avoid competition, I would expect the loss ratio to be very low. Most extra money goes to marketing and profit.
Do US and Australian companies have much higher claim ratio? Can we know? What sort of laws on western countries that ensure that that differs from those in Indonesia.
I asked a friend of mine in some group and an Australian told me this

An established, mature insurance company in Australia (and most
western countries I would think) will expect, in the long term, to pay
out more money in claims than they receive in premiums. They make
their money by investing the premiums during the time interval between
receiving the premiums and paying out claims. Insurance companies live
or die on their funds management. That's not due to any legislative
requirement. It's a competitive business. If their prices aren't
competitive, they won't get any customers.

It seems that in Australia, buying insurance may be "worth it"
In Indonesia, insurance agents are told that it is unethical to compete on price.
Also, companies can increase fees through various tricks or scam.
One such trick is by using a combination of not writing fees clearly, combining investment with insurance, and simply having huge fees.
For example, someone may pay $10k premium believing that most or all money is "invested". The company can obfuscate contracts that make it very difficult for customers to see the fees. Agents can lie to customers claiming that all money are invested.
Basically, it's like Sim Lim scam, but much more obfuscated. https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/sim-lim-scams-student-reduced-tears-after-being-charged-1k-iphone-warranty
One agent told me that there is no way a customer can know about those fees unless the agents tell and most agents simply don't tell.
Latter, even though the insurance benefit only worth $500, the customer can end up paying $5k in fees. Because the insurance and investment is joined, the customers do not know about it till it's very late. Also, it's very difficult to compare prices among different companies.
So why Australian or us companies do not just pull the same trick? Why do they bother competing?
In general, I think buying insurance in western country may be worth it but buying insurance in Indonesia may not be. I think the claim ratio, that is, ratio between reimbursement in western countries is high and the reimbursement ratio in Indonesia is low. Am I correct? If I am correct, or not, why?
Update: I just found out that life insurance premium in Singapore is 1/10th the price in Indonesia, for the same amount. This is what I am talking about. I am very sure that mortality rate in Indonesia, while higher than in Singapore, isn't really 10 times more. So insurance in Indonesia is simply very inefficient


texts: License of translation software Quran and Hadits

texts:
There is software license on "9 imam Hadits" by lidwa.com and it is copyrighted, the owner claim no one can copy their database, but aren't the Quran and Hadits themselves licensed and copyrighted by God and Prophet?

According to Islamic laws it is free to copy the Quran and Hadits, but can someone claim copyright for the translation?

They translate the Arabic to Indonesian with huge effort and what is Legal Law to copy the Indonesian translation of the Quran and Hadits?


texts: Why does browser cache not count as copyright infringement?

texts:
My browser is saving a copy of the web pages I visit on my computer. How is that not copyright infringement?

in this answer I read:

  I would hazard a guess that displaying an HTML webpage online is implicitly allowing others to read that code

How does that imply that you can make a local copy, when a web page includes a copyright note, or does not mention copyright at all (in which case standard copyright rules apply)?

I suspect that the only possible way out would be stating that digital text is not the same thing as printed text and therefore the same rules should not apply, but we are constantly told the opposite, aren't we?

UPDATE

I'm adding some quotes from the only answer and comments below, to bring more elements for further answers that I hope will come, since I'm still not convinced that this situation makes completely sense.

It has been pointed out that

  Fortunately I don't need to be convinced, as I'm not a judge on a
  relevant case (Jon Story. I changed "you" from the original comment to "I")

And that's totally true, so I feel like reassuring that my question comes only out of my couriosity and noone needs to answer if they don't wish to satisfy that.

I'd like to receive an answer that copes with some alternative views seen here, possibily making me understand which one is right (or more logical, or more convincing). I don't mean to make this question become too broad, so we are still dealing with the original problem: whether browser cache violates (US and EU) copyright laws in theory. I do hope this is a good subjective question.

Please be aware that I believe the term Intellectual Property, which appeared in the comments, to be misleading. It refers to patents, trademarks, copyright and other stuff, while we're just discussing about copyright here.

Quotes from answer and comments:

  Copyright is not about copying, it is about use (Jon Story)

  Many misconceptions are based on copyright being about use. Copyright
  is not about use, it is about copying  (Marcks Thomas)

  To expand on the point about use, not copying, being the main issue,
  it would be a violation of copyright to take a BD and project it onto
  a large screen and charge money for people to watch it. I didn't copy
  the disc, just played it for profit (or even if i didn't charge, as a
  public performance) and I'd go to jail (Andy)

  You wouldn't say the optical fiber the data was sent through was
  copying the data? (kasperd)

  In order to read printed text, your eyes make a copy of that work (in
  a different format, made up of neurons firing in your brain) (Jon Story)

  routers don't copy the data in full. They process one packet at a
  time, which by no means is enough to contain the full work. A packet
  is more comparable with a citation, than a copy of the work. (kasperd)

FURTHER UPDATE:

I'm going to start a bounty on this question. Here I add the parts of the current answer (Jon Story's) I'm less satisfied with:

  Because you are not duplicating the content or re-publishing it

I'm clearly doing the first of these two things.

  The web page is publicly available anyway (or at least, accessible by
  you), so you have permission to read it: copyright is about whether
  you have permission to access and read the file, not about whether you
  have permission to make a copy of the file as part of the technical
  process of accessing and reading it.

I'm almost certain that copyright is not about the permission to read and access the text, but about the permission of making copies, modifying, redistributing and other stuff like that. For instance, I don't think you can make a copyright note that does not allow reading your content. Is fair use the key point here? That may be, and in the comments I was almost convinced. However, I've never known that fair use could justifiy copying the entire text. They won't let me photocopy an entire copyrighted book for personal use, I guess.


texts: Why is an attempted violent crime judged less harshly than a successful one?

texts:
There exist crimes that bring great damage to the victim, such as murder, rape, aggravated assault, theft, etc. If anything had escaped that list, I'm sure it's intuitive what that would be.

In most law systems I'm familiar with, an attempted crime is seen as deserving a lesser punishment than a properly executed one. Yet it eludes me as to why it would be so - if one is shooting another with the intent to murder them, and through sheer luck of having an inept murderer does the victim survive (the same is applied for any other heinous crime), why should the murderer-to-be's "attempted murder" sentence be any lighter than a "murder" one? To me, this seems like a flaw of the system that lets inadequate criminals get lighter sentences just because they're awful at committing crimes.

How did law evolve to bear the distinction in sentencing between the two?


texts: What are the options for a landlord when he/she finds out that the tenant has been doing a business in the house with a licence obtained fraudulently?


texts: How to find what arguments were used in a case?

texts:
Is there a public record of the arguments used in court cases?

There is a news story in the UK at the moment about the Post Office  prosecuting sub-postmasters for fraud, where it was the post office who made the mistake.  One example:

  Following an audit, Mr Castleton's branch was found to have a £25,000 shortfall. He was subsequently suspended.
  The Post Office spent the next two years pursuing him for the missing money through the civil courts.
  He was forced to defend himself in London's High Court because he had no money to hire a lawyer. When he lost the case, he was made bankrupt.

I assume for this to happen the post office stood up in court and presented evidence that convinced the judge or jury that their numbers were right, when that was not the case.  I think it is important that we as the voting public know how this happened, in particular what evidence was presented, so that we can pressure our elected representatives to ensure such a thing cannot happen in the future.  Is there a way to find out what arguments were made to convince the High Court that what did not happen did happen?


texts: Is it legal to intentionally manipulate a person towards suicide?

texts:
I think this should count as murder (attempted murder if the victim does not fall prey that is), since there is an intention to kill and the process is plotted and carried out ruthless with extraordinary care and profound understanding of human psychology on the killer's part. But legal definition of murder often refers to UNWILLINGNESS on the victim's part. So I'm very confused.

I have two other questions: is there truly a legal path to prosecute the killer and has any of such killer actually been caught and punished? If so, what type of evidence would be needed in the court to make such act prosecutable?

I'm more interested in US law but cases in other countries are welcome as well


texts: What is "a place where Member State law applies by virtue of public international law"?

texts:
Art. 3 (3) GDPR mentions that:

  This Regulation applies to the processing of personal data by a controller not established in the Union, but in a place where Member State law applies by virtue of public international law.

What are those places?


texts: Does creating an unpaid event poster for a commercial event constitute commercial use?

texts:
Licenses of artworks or stock photos often state that they are free for non-commercial use.

Assume I create a poster for an event. I do not sell the poster, but the event is commercial (has an entry fee. or sells drinks. or something like that). Am I then allowed to use that stock photo?

For example, pexels states

  All photos on Pexels can be used for free for commercial and
  noncommercial use.
  Attribution is not required.
  Giving credit to the
  photographer or Pexels is not necessary but always appreciated.
  You
  can modify the photos. Be creative and edit the photos as you like.

I am interested in an internationally accepted answer, if there is one. Otherwise, I am interested in US, European Union, and Swiss law.

Related questions, but without any sources (and so seem like the answers could just as well be somebody's opinion):

Do Portfolio Projects Count As Commercial Use
The Scope Of Free-For-Personal-Use Fonts


texts: What is the legality of an lawsuit filed against a foreign national in California

texts:
There was an NDA signed between an Individual Residing in India (Entity A) and Company based in San Jose, California (Entity B). Due to perceived breach of confidentiality agreement a cease and desist letter was sent to entity A from entity B with following closing statements:

  "You will not receive another cease and desist letter from this office. Should you fail to produce a confirmation in writing within twenty-four (24) hours, a lawsuit against you will be commenced immediately in the County of Santa Clara, California regardless of where or which country you are currently residing and company will pursue maximum penalty for disclosing our competitive and intellectual property information publicly or non-publicly."

What is the legality of an lawsuit filed against a foreign national in the County of Santa Clara, California when the foreign national has never resided in California nor has the means to defend himself personally there?


texts: If "peppercorn" rent is not collected, can a tenant claim legal ownership of property? (UK)

texts:
I live in a property which has a garage attached which is rented to a  neighbour, these are on a peppercorn rent of £1 per year. Now with a peppercorn rent I've read various descriptions which some saying you don't have to collect it, however my solicitor upon buying the property told me it was important to collect them. He did not at the time state the reason, but after doing some research it occurs to me that if the rent is not collected there could be repercussions. The property owner I rent to actually told me that he was told when buying the property that the garage would be his in ten years, this would be a terrible situation for me as the property owner.

Obviously these people are my neighbours and I don't want a dispute over this, but I don't want to potentially lose the value of my home, by not owning the garages and potentially making it unsaleable. My neighbours actually refuse to pay now, but I could be in the wrong on this one.

So my questions are:

Do I have to collect the peppercorn rent?
Is requesting the rent enough?
If the tenant tried to claim ownership of the garage in court, would it go in my favour?


texts: NDA when employed at a competing company

texts:
I'm employed at a company (A) and am now being interviewed by a competing company (B) for a similar position. The interviewer has obviously asked me to sign a one-way NDA.
The case is that I've not yet decided to leave A and may as well continue working here for another 5 years or so. For this sake, the proposed Agreement says that:

"Neither this Agreement, nor any disclosure of Proprietary Information
hereunder limits either party from developing, manufacturing or
marketing products or services that may be competitive with those of
the other except insofar as this Agreement limits the use and
disclosure of Proprietary Information"

So I see I can continue to be employed with A. If I choose so, I surely don't want to disclose any B's proprietary information to A, BUT it may happen that A will simply out of a coincidence create some new product similar to what B is going to tell me about (since they're going to tell me about their big plans for the future).
The coincidence can actually easily happen, purely out of the logic that the companies in our market use to develop products. So, if B, or their lawyers, are belligerent, they can say it was me who disclosed their secrets and claim back every penny they lost.
Question: What are the chances that B takes me to court if this was coincidence? What is my preferred course of action here?
Note that under the Agreement the case will have to be settled in the court of New York and I'm not a US citizen. I'm not bound by any non-compete agerement or NDA at A at the moment.
UPD: by Proprietary Information they mean literally everything:

all financial, business, legal and technical information of Discloser
or any of its affiliates, suppliers, customers and employees
(including information about research, development, operations,
marketing, transactions, regulatory affairs, discoveries, inventions,
methods, processes, articles, materials, algorithms, software,
specifications, designs, drawings, data, strategies, plans, prospects,
know-how and ideas, whether tangible or intangible, and including all
copies, abstracts, summaries, analyses and other derivatives thereof),
that is marked or otherwise identified as proprietary or confidential
at the time of disclosure, or that by its nature would be understood
by a reasonable person to be proprietary or confidential.


texts: In the Europe Union, it is mandatory for a seller to indicate where the food is coming from. If fish were caught in international waters, should we consider its origin as the closest country or the ship's flag?


texts: Does GDPR apply to announcement/technical emails?

texts:
I work on a SaaS website offering both free, and paid subscriptions to B2C customers.
On it, I collect statistics, and emails(subscribed and double-opt-in users only)

As far as newsletters and marketing emails go, I understand those require re-approval to be allowed.

My question, is for the types of emails below. Under what circumstances can I send them without specific approval? (Besides on the terms and conditions):

Service outage and maintenance announcements(Can I send to my entire emails list?)
Terms and Privacy Policy updates
New Feature Announcements(something new the site can do) that are relevant to the current user(or for most users, does the specificity matter?)
Notifications about account status changes(like an existing paid feature being made free for the user)
Security notices
Personal contact with users(for example for surveying them)

Thank you in advance


texts: Does any other country, besides the US, employ something substantially different from the ‘loser pays’ system?

texts:
Although many of the jurisdictions that do employ the ‘loser pays’ system only do so up to certain limits, usually of modest amounts, nonetheless all the places I am familiar with have the expectation that some monetary compensation is due to the victor. Even for a jurisdiction such as Quebec, where such compensation is usually very modest, it’s quite rare for no money to be given.
Are there countries, other than the US, that have differing expectations?


texts: How to shoot a movie based on Harry Potter fan fiction?

texts:
As I understand, J.K.Rowling owns right for characters, story, special words (like "muggle"), and so on. Warner Bros. has exclusive right to make movies based on the original books/stories.

Here is a discussion on acquiring a license to produce Harry-Potter-related products. But what about movies, based on alternative stories in the same universe with the same characters?

I imagine that one can just ask J.K.Rawling for her permission to make a movie based on a fanfic. Since it is not an original book/story, which can be filmed only by Warner Bros, it means that one can make a deal to produce a movie based on fanfic, and pay, say, 80% of revenue to the author, if author is agreed :)

But I suppose this only possible in the ideal world.


texts: Can a person sign away alimony after marriage

texts:
Hypothetical question:

Mary and Sam have been married for 20 years. During the marriage both persons commit adultery and reconcile at different stages of the marriage.

Let's also say there is still one minor child in the marriage.

Let's also say that Mary has been abused both mentally and physically at times during the marriage.

Sam has always controlled all the money and Mary isn't even on any bank accounts.

Sam and Mary get into a fight one day and Sam orders Mary to leave the house. So Mary leaves the house and takes the child with her. The two stay off and on with friends for a month or two. But Mary controls no money.

Mary calls Sam one day and asks Sam to please pay for her an apartment; deposit and a month of rent for Mary and the child.

Sam says he would do it as long as Mary signs a paper stating that is all he owes her and all is even at that point.

If a divorce has NOT yet been filed;

Would such a contract be binding? After 20 some years of marriage, can all of the alimony and child support which might be owed just be written off by Mary simply signing a contract that states this so that she can have a place of her own to stay for a while?

I have done a little research but I'm not a lawyer, and I don't see how one could sign away child support at all, but I could see how alimony might be signed away, but would it be "reasonable" in the courts eyes being that Mary feels duress because she's basically homeless and has been staying with friends for a few months.

I think after 15 to 20 years of marriage there would be a lot of alimony owed and a few thousand dollars for an apartment can't make up for it.


texts: Would using a wired BYOD device to connect to a corporate network be considered a breach of the BYOD policy? - United Kingdom

texts:
I connected my laptop to one of the ethernet ports at work, having signed a BYOD policy allowing me to bring my own devices to work. The document never explicitly said that I couldn't connect my device via the wired network.

I have my account suspended and am facing being banned from bringing my own devices into work with me.

The argument that the sysadmin made was that I could have introduced malware and other viruses onto the network if my antivirus wasn't up-to-date.

Should my account be suspended and should I be banned from BYOD?


texts: Am I allowed to reproduce work published on a website for free which bears an "all rights reserved" tag?

texts:
I'm aware of this answer Quoting from a book with "All rights reserved". Fair use? but my case is slightly different, so I will ask another question.

There is a website which contains entire contents of books, published online for free (which I'm guessing they got permission from the author to publish it compeltely online), as part of their webpage. Here's a link to one example page:
https://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/tanya.asp?tdate=2/2/2020

the key point is a passage at the bottom of the webpage which states:

  Translated from Yiddish by Rabbi Levy Wineberg and Rabbi Sholom B.
  Wineberg. Edited by Uri Kaploun. Published and copyright by Kehot
  Publication Society, all rights reserved. The text on this page
  contains sacred literature. Please do not deface or discard.

There are many more pages like this, both involving this specific book and other books with similar situations / statements.

I wanted  to download all of these web pages and republish them as a separate website with slightly different styles etc., but not for commercial purposes.

Would this be allowed under copyright law, since it's already published as a webpage on the web, which anyone can download, or since only this particular website got permission, it wouldn't be allowed?


texts: Is there a minimum thresh hold for severity that must be met to take someone to court?

texts: Is there a minimum threshold that must be met in terms of intensity for someone to charge another person with breaking the law? For example, if someone (purposefully) shoved someone as a form of aggression once, this would be considered assault. If someone was smoking in a no-smoking area, could you take them to court? Does this mean they can sue them? I think there has to be some damages.


texts:
I want to use a single frame from a movie made in 1973 in an email marketing piece.  The thing being sold is software used in law schools and is not  entertainment.  It's use is to compare the 1973 way of doing things to the 2019 way of doing things.  Fair use?

The factors:
the purpose and character of your use.  It is commercial, but unrelated to entertainment  It is transformative; it is being used to show the improvement in a process used in schools.

the nature of the copyrighted work.  The work is a movie made in 1973.

the amount and substantiality of the portion taken, and.  It is a single frame from a 1 hour 53 minute long movie.  The portion taken is not the “heart” of the work.

the effect of the use upon the potential market.  It is unlikely that our use deprives the copyright owner of income or undermines a new or potential market for the copyrighted work.  We are using it to sell some software in law schools.  We are not creating an artistic work that Twenty Century Fox could make money from.


texts: Kinds of improper wordings or self-conflicting terms which can undermine the effect of an agreement

texts:
When there’re improper wordings or self-conflicting terms in an agreement, what factors should be considered to determine whether the effect of the agreement is undermined?
For example:
A tenancy agreement has been created between a landlord A and a tenant B. B pays the rents to A to rent the place. But one (the first) clause in the agreement read: Outlines the arrangement and terms of the tenant to rent as a subtenant of the landlord through a sublease of the premises of ADDRESS OF THE PLACE
In this case, B pays the rents to the landlord to rent the place, he/she should be considered as a tenant, but the above-mentioned clause states that the tenant rent as a subtenant, which may cause confusions. But is that confusing enough such that the enforceability of the agreement is undermined?


texts: Are paramedic required to recognize stroke and deliver the stroke victim to ER?

texts: ER arrives for a somewhat confused patient. Her speech is slurred, she has no balance. Her husband has very limited English and calls his son to translate via Skype. The paramedics warn about the danger of contracting covid-19 in ER and asks the patient whether she wants them to drive her to ER. The patient doesn't quite understand what's going on and says "no". The son asks the paramedics via Skype to evaluate her and make the decision. The paramedics reply that they don't see anything wrong with her. The daughter-in-law, an RN, tells them via Skype that the patient may have a stroke and they should take her to ER. They reply that they have to go with what the person present tells them. They leave. The patient indeed had stroke and, due to 24-hour delay, her condition worsened significantly and irreversible. Is the paramedic company liable?


texts: How do I know which District Court in my area to go to?

texts:
I see this list of district courts for my county:

http://access.tarrantcounty.com/en/civil-courts/district-courts.html

How do I know which one to go to? Can I just go to the closest one, or do I need
to visit a specific one?


texts:
This could the US government but it could be any government in the world.
Is there any way for a government to tax itself, or for different layers to tax each other? If a local government has cash and the federal government wants it, is there any way to take it?
Also, a related question is if government can sue itself, ie, a local government can sue federal or vice versa, or different government departments sue each other. But one question at a time.


texts: How long can an employer keep financial details after employee has left under GDPR?

texts:
I finished a job in 2019, but just received notification of a data breach at that job in 2021, and my bank account number, sort code, national insurance number, full name, address and date of birth were compromised.
As far as I know under GDPR data controllers can only hold data for as long as they have grounds to process it - does anyone know what this means in practice for HR and financial records? (e.g. why would they need my bank details for over a year after they had stopped paying me?)
I'm wondering whether I have grounds for compensation or to sue my ex-employer for keeping such sensitive data for so long and letting it be compromised.
Jurisdiction is England and Wales.


texts:
Google Books shows just one other use of μing by the same author. Wikipedia evinces no use of μ in law or philosophy. But I read on  Phi - Wikipedia that

  In philosophy, φ is often used as shorthand for a generic act. (Also in uppercase.).

Herring, Criminal Law: Text, Cases, and Materials (8 edn, 2018). p. 217

  A. Simester, ‘Is Strict Liability Always Wrong?’ in A. Simester (ed.) Appraising
  Strict Liability (Oxford: OUP, 2005), 33– 7

  ...

    Objections Specific to Paradigm (Stigmatic) Crimes

    Suppose that the state were to create a crime of ‘homicide’, defined as a strict liability
    offence of causing death. Objections to crimes of this type depend, in turn, on the nature of
    the criminal law. Without dwelling on the familiar analysis, there seem to me to be certain
    paradigm features associated with the criminalization of μing. Ex ante, μing is prohibited
    and declared to be wrong: citizens are not merely requested but instructed not to. Ex post,
    where D is found to have transgressed, he is convicted of μing and liable to punishment
    which may be substantial, perhaps including imprisonment. The conviction and the punishment
    also express censure, to D, Y, and the public at large. As well as suffering hard
    treatment, D is labelled as a particular sort of criminal (a ‘μer’), a labelling that conveys a
    public implication of culpable wrongdoing.
          These paradigm features of the criminal law imply certain objections to making μing a strict
    liability crime, at least where strict liability leads to conviction of blameless defendants . . .


texts: Can I copy and sell any boat designed prior to 1924?

texts:
Keyword: “hull splashing”
I have heard that any copyright created prior to 1924 is expired. Therefore, my question: If this is true, can I simply copy and sell any boat designed prior to 1924, i.e. the 12 foot dinghy?
In particular, I am not interested in the complete boat design, but only the hull, as this is the most difficult part to design right for a boat, and without extensive tests/CFD modeling, it can be quite tricky to get right.
Many thanks for your input.


texts: What rights do travellers have against unreasonable customs officers?

texts:
I ask or worry not about the standard questions required during customs, such as a traveller's basic personal information, purposes of travel, etc... However, what if a traveller fears for his privacy, and suspects hostility or nosiness from a customs officer?

For example, can a traveller exercise his right of silence, without adverse inferences drawn by an impartial court? Or even the customs officer, who may loathe the silent treatment?

Afterword: I ask the above for Canada, USA, and UK.


texts: Do you have to live in California to have a California's Driver's License?

texts: I lived in California for many years under a work visa. I then moved back to Canada. Can I keep/renew by California driver's license if I currently operate a business in California (and thus currently have a California address)?


texts: I am launching a business directed towards college campuses. I know the email address format of the first college I will be launching at is firstname.lastname@college.edu . Basically, I would not have these emails because people signed up to hear from me, I would be taking a list of possible first names and last names and combining them in the email format of ifrstname.lastname@college.edu and sending out an email to all, whichever emails happen to actually exist the message would be delivered to. Is this illegal in anyway? I do not know much about spam or the legality of it so I apologize if this seems like a rookie question.


texts: Long notice period when in employment a short amount of time in UK

texts: I am in full term employment in the UK. My notice period set out in my contract is 3 months. There is no probation period (I know this is unusual). I have only been working for 10 weeks and have handed in my notice. My employer is insisting I work for the full 3 months to hire my replacement. There is someone else in my team at the same level who does the same job. Do I have any options to work a shorter notice period?


texts: Example of "fraus omnia corrumpit" in which a person loses rights they had before a fraudulent act?

texts:
I'm looking for a bit of case law - as an inspiration more than as valid precedent - for the following scenario:

A person has some prospective rights w.r.t. some physical objects, or future rights w.r.t. the distribution of property or profits.
That person engages in some legal procedure in a fraudulant (and possibly criminal) way, to obtain recognition of expanded rights (e.g. can use objects more extensively, entitled to larger part of future profits or ownership etc.)
The person is found by a court to have engaged in said wrongful acts or behavior.
The court not only strips the person of the excess or additional rights they had tried to secure, but prevents or limits that person from realizing even the rights they had initially had grounds to realize.

I realize this is a bit vague, but I wanted to make it general enough to make it easier to find such an example.

I am most interested in such scenarios in Common Law systems, despite the fact that the adage in the title is Latin; other systems are also relevant, altough a bit less so. Cases which are discussed in juristic literature are the most relevant, and otherwise cases heard by higher courts. I don't need a long list, but rather a prominent example in which the ruling is explicitly justified based on more fundamental legal principles and/or by appeal to justice.

Note: The case or the ruling need not actually use the phrase "fraus omnia corrumpit" anywhere, I just used it in the title because it seems relevant.


texts: Can impeachment proceed after a resignation?

texts:
Can a federal official be impeached and convicted after he has resigned or otherwise left office? (For example, could the impeachment of President Nixon have proceeded after his resignation? Or could Hillary Clinton be impeached now for crimes committed while she was Secretary of State?)

If the answer is no, then at what point in the process can an impeachment be thwarted by resigning? It seems unreasonable that the culprit should be able to escape the harsher penalty of disqualification from holding office in the future, by resigning just before the result of the vote to convict is announced in the Senate.


texts:
I made a right turn on red onto a major drive in Atlanta, GA.  The police officer who pulled me over wrote the wrong intersection on the ticket which did have a 'no right turn on red sign, however, the intersection where I actually did make a right turn was 3000 ft (more than half a mile) south of the intersection where the officer indicated the violation occurred. There were no 'no right turn on red' signs where I turned and I have pictures to prove it.  I am a college professor and I was making a right turn on the street behind the college where I work which has no signs prohibiting right turns on red.    I pulled over immediately after he turned on his lights and I remember the store where I stopped and received the ticket.  The distance between the street where I turned and the ticket stop point is 244 ft according to Google maps.  The distance between the street where the officer said I turned and the store where I stopped to receive the ticket is 3272 ft according to Google maps.

There is no way I traveled more than half a mile before I stopped for the ticket. I pulled over immediately after he turned on the flashing blue lights.  Perhaps he made a mistake and just assumed that the street I turned on had a sign prohibiting right turns on red just like the other sign at the previous intersection.

How should I proceed in this situation?  Should I pursue dash cam film footage for that date and time? I don't think there were cameras at either intersection.  Are there any other options available in this situation? I know the court systems prefers the word of the officer and assumes they never make mistakes :-)

If I cannot defend this, how can I keep my insurance from going higher?


texts: HR1 would force states to have independent districting. How does the federal gov't have authority to require this?

texts:
Section 2401-2422 of the H.R. 1 - For the People Act of 2021 would require states to set up independent districting commissions in order to prevent gerrymandering. This seems pretty clearly to infringe on state's rights, and doesn't seem like it would be under the federal government's authority to require (as good for democracy as it would be). I've skimmed the text, but I am not a lawyer--was this written in some way which tries to anticipate this challenge? At the moment, it appears there's little chance of this bill passing the senate, but presumably the authors would still try to write it such that it would stand up to any potential challenge as strongly as possible, should it get passed.
Is this part of HR1 written in such a way that it appears to be enforceable, based on the authority of the federal government? If not, is there such a way for the federal government to require states to set up independent districting commissions without amending the constitution?


texts: In Canada, how big does a work need to be to qualify for copyright?

texts: I understand that a single letter, or even a word cannot be copyrighted, because they are too short to be a unique work. So how big does a work need to be to qualify?


texts: Is it possible for something to be Creative Commons and have exclusivity?

texts:
I came across this Licensing and Copyright.

  By submitting to an open access agreement
  under Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution Non Commercial International
  conditions an author or creator is hereby granting IAFOR an exclusive
  license for the full period of copyright throughout the world,
  including the exclusive right to publish, distribute, or communicate
  your original submitted work in any IAFOR publication, whether in an
  online, electronic or print format, be that in whole, partial or in
  modified form. Authors retain originating copyright in their own work
  but agree to transfer the license of their work to IAFOR under
  Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Attribution Non Commercial
  International conditions. All publications and digital media produced
  will be openly archived on the IAFOR research archive or other open
  access online formats or published online through IAFOR publications and/or other IAFOR media.

Is such a license possible? I don't believe you transfer the CC license to an single entity. It's granted to all is my understanding. And is it possible in such a situation for someone to retain exclusive publication rights.

https://think.iafor.org/licensing-and-copyright/


texts: I am 22 years old. I am self-supporting. In 2017 - 2018, I lived in San Jose and paid my rents and expenses,In 2018-2019 I moved to Davis and stayed with my aunt.   Because I have been living with my aunt and instead of paying rent, I have given her ride services and bought most of the grocery. Now my residency is not being accepted by UC Davis and therefore I am being requested to pay tuition fee for non-resident. For the last 2 years I have been paying tuition fee to college as a resident. My parents do not live in US and are not able to support me. What is the law on this, and what appeals are available?


texts: Can a power of attorney be used for criminal matters?

texts: Can a layman with a power of attorney lawfully represent someone else in criminal matters?


texts:
Does anyone know if it is a legal requirement to send out invoices for SAAS subscriptions every time you take a payment from customers? Or is it enough for users to be able to simply log on to your site and download them from a 'billing' section in their profile?

Thanks!


texts: Can I work on patent-infringing software in private, then release it when said patent expires?

texts:
This is not a scenario I'm actually going through; this is just a thought I had.  The situation proposed in this question is entirely hypothetical.

Suppose some algorithm -- for this post, let's say something compression-related -- is patented in the United States.  But the patent is going to
expire within a year.  I want to add this algorithm to an established project of mine, which is open source and sees both personal and commercial usage.  Is it legal to privately develop a feature for this project that infringes upon this patent, but withhold releasing it until the day after the patent expires?

For the sake of this post, assume the following:

All Git commit history is available and commits are signed; once the patch is released it will be known that I (and possibly others) have worked on this infringing feature while its patent was still active.
I might or might not have announced my development of this patch; I didn't exactly go on a big media blitz about it, but I could have dropped a vague hint (or even an explicit confirm) via Twitter or similar.  I never outright lie about it, though.
The infringing patch is not publicly accessible until the day after the patent expires, but it (or some parts of it) might still have been transmitted to other parties, either for collaboration purposes (e.g. with a friend, storing the patch on his personal server) or when seeking help on support communities like IRC, mailing lists...or StackExchange.
The patch is tested and feature-complete upon release.


texts:
The owner of the house is deceased, and still has mortgage to pay.
The wife would like to take over the home, and pay for it whole.

With this circumstance, which quitclaim deed is needed?


texts: Is British Columbia violating the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic by requiring foreign drivers to exchange their license within three months?

texts:
According to the 1949 Geneva Convention citizens of any country that signed the agreement are able to drive in any other country for up to one year with an international driving permit:

No Contracting State shall be required to extend the benefit of the provisions of this Convention to any motor vehicle or trailer, or to any driver having remained within its territory for a continuous period exceeding one year.  (Article 1, paragraph 2)
...
Each Contracting State shall allow any driver admitted to its territory who fulfils the conditions which are set out in Annex 8 and who holds a valid driving permit issued to him, after he has given proof of his competence, by the competent authority of another Contracting State or subdivision thereof, or by an Association duly empowered by such authority, to drive on its roads without further examination motor vehicles of the category or categories defined in Annexes 9 and 10 for which the permit has been issued.  (Article 24, paragraph 1)

The only requirement as set out in Annex 8 is...

The minimum age for driving a motor vehicle under the conditions set out in Article 24 of the Convention shall be eighteen years.

But at the same time British Columbia (which is a member state of Canada, which is a party to the convention) requires foreign drivers to exchange their licenses within three months of becoming a resident:

a person who has become ordinarily resident in British Columbia and who has a
validly issued and subsisting driver’s or operator’s licence or permit issued
according to the laws of the jurisdiction where he or she was most recently
ordinarily resident, for 90 days after he or she became ordinarily resident in
British Columbia;

Isn't there a conflict between domestic and international law in this situation? Or am I misunderstanding the 1949 Geneva Convention?


texts: What are the legal obligations of non-profit organizations as distinct from for-profit?

texts:
For-profit businesses have many obligations such as paying taxes, keeping records, fair hiring practices, proper classification of employees, etc.

Many of these obligations are shared by non-profit organizations.

Many for-profit obligations are not required for non-profit organizations, such as paying taxes.

But what obligations, if any, do non-profit organizations have that for-profit organizations do not have?


texts: Absolute immunity, judicial corruption and public interest

texts:
I'm reading DENNIS v. SPARKS, (1980). It is part of larger reading from Operation Greylord. Part of the decision says:

  Judicial immunity arose because it was in the public interest to have
  judges who were at liberty to exercise their independent judgment
  about the merits of a case without fear of being mulcted for damages
  should an unsatisfied litigant be able to convince another tribunal
  that the judge acted not only mistakenly but with malice and
  corruption. Pierson v. Ray, supra, at 554; Bradley v. Fisher, 13
  Wall., at 349, 350, n.

The decision also makes reference to 42 U.S.C. 1983, but I have not read it yet. So I may be missing something obvious. (If so, then please accept my apologies).

I'm not clear how it is the public's interest not to hold a corrupt judge accountable. In Operation Greylord the 17 judges willfully accepted bribes; it was not a matter of a "honest" mistake or false accusation.

Naively, it seems to me a holding a judge accountable for willful criminal acts provides a deterrent. (A similar argument is usually made when the state provides a death sentence and executes its citizens). Or maybe the contra-positive is more import - a judge who knows he or she is not held accountable is free be be as corrupt as they like knowing they will probably not get caught.

How is it in the public's interest not to hold a corrupt judge accountable?


texts: Can you be held accountable for copyright infringement due to a mistake by a third party?

texts:
Lets suppose Party A creates material and decides to distribute it under some restrictive license entailing fees or similar.

Party B now obtains a copy from the copyright holder A and makes it available under some less restrictive license (which violates the license agreement with A).

Party C now obtains a copy from B.

What are the implications to B and C provided that:

B obtained the copy legally/illegally
B made the copy available under the less restrictive licence knowingly/unknowingly

Also, are there significant differences in EU/US?

I am asking simply as an interested amateur and have no serious background in law.


texts: Religious exemption to vaccines that relies on preservation of life

texts:
Almost every US state allows a religious exemption to vaccination requirements in schools.  Some religions are opposed to vaccination as a basic principle (maybe because healing is reserved for God or something like that), and those obviously fall under the religious exemption.

Judaism is not one of those religions.  If someone claims that it is and requests a religious exemption on those grounds, I understand that the government is not going to dig any deeper and deal with questions of religious law.  But as far as I understand, the more usual claim is along the lines of "mumble mumble dangerous mumble autism mumble mumble and Judaism requires me to keep my kids out of danger, so therefore religiously I'm not allowed to vaccinate them."  (See the deservedly downvoted answers to the linked question.)

Does that really support a religious exemption?  It's not even a religious argument!

Or to put it another way, comparing these four claims:

vaccination

My religion says that healing is reserved for God so I can't vaccinate
My religion puts a high value on human life and Dr. Quack says vaccines are dangerous so I can't vaccinate

accomodations at work

I'm Sabbath observant.  I'll have to miss the Friday afternoon meetings during the winter
My religion says I should use my time wisely.  The Wednesday 2PM meeting is a waste of time, we never do anything productive, so therefore I can't come to it.

1.2 and 2.2 look basically the same to me.  Is there a difference between them?  Does 1.2 work?  (Apparently it does, because people use it.)  Does 2.2 work?  (That would be really useful!)


texts: Is asking users to waive GDPR compliance a legal way of escaping GDPR data handling requirements?

texts:
I have recently come across this part of an app from a well-known US company:

Is this a legal way of handling some of the technical obstacles GDPR introduced? Is this a "flexible" interpretation of the law or is it straight up illegal?

To give the whole picture - I was asked where I live and based on that I was presented with this consent sheet. If I don't check the box, I cannot move any further - I have to give consent if I want to use the app.

I was OK with giving that consent, but does that mean I also lose my rights that come with GDPR? The right to download my data, the right to be forgotten etc?

I'm not interested in shaming the company, but I am interested in knowing if the approach - "I'll ask if they are OK with losing those rights so that I can do whatever I want" - is a correct way of handling the law. I didn't assume GDPR is "optional". Kind of defeats the purpose of having it if companies can put this in the fine print or worse - disallow anybody to use their software unless they give their private data to them with no strings attached.

I saw and read a connected question here, but in my situation, I am actually unable to do anything unless I accept the terms.


texts: Want to know Permission Condition of a book

texts:
I bought a book from local vendor who buy books from foreign countries and then re-sell them. Book publisher name is Penguin

On the book, The following has been written:

  Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to
      the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be
      lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the
      publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than
      that in which it is published and without a similar condition
      including this condition being imposed upon the subsequent purchaser.

My query is, what does this mean actually ? Re-selling is not allowed over here ?


texts: U.S (mississippi?) illegal to write offensive erotic fiction

texts:
Is it true that it's illegal (in mississippi I think) in some states to write 'offensive' erotic fiction? Regardless of whether or not it's published or meant for public consumption.

I read something in a fact book that I interpreted as:

If someone finds erotic fiction in your house that they find offensive, then they can sue you.

If it's true then what exactly is the punishment/how much could someone sue you for?


texts: Covering a logo with your own and using the equipment in advertising

texts:
Can I purchase a branded digital screen and cover the manufacturer's logo with my own; and then use the screen for the purposes of advertising my products, creating my own digital look?

The company I work for wants to buy 50 6' digital screens that have the logo toward the bottom border. They want to cover the logo with a Cruise line logo. Then we are creating the digital loop that will be shown on the screen, advertising products for sale. Is this ok?


texts: Does cropping an image fall under modification?

texts:
I can search Google for images that I can commercially reuse without modification with the search tools. However, I don't know what "modification" counts as.

I want to display four images on one slide, meaning that one side of the image will be cropped. Is this modification (i.e. not showing the whole image).

No modification is shorthand for "no derivative works", as in the Creative commons "No derivatives" license I think.


texts: Can you revoke consent to record a conversation in Texas?

texts:
A person who was conversing with me in my house, revealed after the fact that they recorded a personal conversation. I became concerned where this was being stored (for later use) and if it was shared with anyone other than the person recording it.  I'm aware that in Texas, it is a one-party consent state.  I have a couple of questions I could not find in the law.

if you inform the person that you revoke consent or expicitly state you do not give permission to record, does that override the one-party rule?

I understand they may have the right to record without my consent, but if they choose to share that recording with another person (and not just keep for their own record), does a new consent rule come into play?

Can I have the person sign a document stating that they will not record any conversation shared in certain settings (e.g. anywhere on my property such as home or car)?  Will that override the one-party consent?

Is there any way to block consent to record legally, either in writing or verbally, in the State of Texas?

Thank you,
Chris


texts: Soliciting a bribe when both the parties are at the same "level"

texts:
Here is a scenario: You get punched by someone and he breaks your nose. You have the option of (a) going to the police and pressing charges (b) saying you won't press charges if he gives you x amount of money. Are you soliciting a bribe? Or are you merely mitigating potential lawyer fees and hassle that might result from going to court and obtaining a settlement? Neither person is in a position of power: e.g. public servant vs. person.

Now if the it is your duty to report and assault, can you still say to the person in the police station that you won't press charges if he gives you x? Same scenario, I'm just not sure if you have to report and assault.


texts: Is it legal or acceptable to use a photo of my ID, instead of my actual ID?

texts:
I'm in the process of trying to get rid of my wallet - all of my bank and reward cards are on my phone, so I can use Google Pay for my purchases and points.

I have two cards left, my bank card (which I need for purchases over £30) and my driving licence.

So, if I was pulled over or needed proof of ID (for alcohol, for example), would a photograph of my driving licence be legal or acceptable?

I've found a few questions and articles on this already, but they all seem to be US based and 3+ years old:

Quora - Is it legal to use a picture of your license instead of the actual license if you don’t have your wallet on you?
Quora - Is it legal drive with a photo of your driver’s license in lieu of the license?
Digital driver's license - The 2016-2018 US landscape


texts:
So got a simple question, however, doing some searches, my google-foo failed me. Hoping some here can help shed some light on this and point me in the right direction.

This is all future planning only, so no pending legal issues or such :)

My wife and I are Canadian, living in Toronto area. We have a house in both our names. She has a son from previous marriage. If she dies first, we'd like to put something in her will so that her son inherits her half of the house title. So essentially it would be in mine and her son's name.

Obviously the idea being to ensure he is legally entitled to half of the assets if she passes first.

In canadian law, can the will do this ? Is there other little caveats that need to be watched out for ?

Does anyone know of any links I could get some more reading on regarding this?

Thanks!

[edit]
clarification: step-son is currently over 18
[/edit]


texts: Is what constitutes outrageous conduct clearly defined in the statutes?

texts: Are there any objective rules or guidelines used to determine whether a police officer's conduct was outrageous?


texts: Awarding the Top Players of a Video Game

texts:
Hopefully someone on here can help settle an ongoing debate I've been having with a colleague. We've been discussing different techniques which could be used to entice players of our games to continue playing. At some point the idea of "Awarding" the top X players every month was suggested. A simple example would be "The top 10 players each receive $100".

To me this idea seems like it fits the definition of gambling play games of chance for money; bet. which would be illegal in my jurisdiction (unless you were a sanctioned body).

My colleague however insists that it is not gambling because the game requires a level of skill and that the payout would be based on the level of accomplishment that player had achieved. They go on to compare the scenario to when prize money is awarded at e-sports competitions.

I can understand how my colleague could come to this conclusion, but to me it still seems at best a grey area where the law would be concerned (if not full blown black area)

Obviously neither of us posses any real experience dealing with legal issues such as these, so we have pretty much come to a stale mate.

Can anyone here help shed some light onto this topic. Would the situation I have described be considered gambling?


texts: Is it legal to work without pay - Australia?

texts:
Inspired by Is it legal to work without pay - Canada?; I figured I would ask the same question for a different jurisdiction.

In what circumstances is it legal to work without pay in Australia?


texts: Driver's liability for friend passenger's losses in an accident

texts:
Alice and Bob are friends. One day they decide to go on a road trip in Bob's car.

It has started freezing and the road may be icy. Bob drives below the speed limit and applies some extra care that he thinks is adequate, but his experience in driving on icy roads is by no means broad/extensive. In particular, he does not know that bridges freeze first, and signs saying that are missing — they are just not common there.

The car enters a bridge, loses control and rolls over. Because the two wear seat belts, the car is rigid and they are very lucky they manage to escape the car — shaken but with only minor or no injures. However, Alice's jacket is damaged. Also she is concerned that she might have been injured, so she visits a doctor for checkup. The doctor finds nothing requiring medical care.

The police investigates the incident and issues Written Traffic Warning to Bob, alleging him of Careless Driving. No charges are laid.

Alice attempts to claim the costs of the doctor checkup and the jacket. Will she succeed?

Jurisdiction: New Zealand, but also interested in any others.


texts:
I have a software where we can show order invoice information by typing in the order number and buyer email. Now the thing is that I need to hide the sensitive order information like:

Name Surname
Address 11
Germany

as example I want to hide this data and show it as:

N*** S******
A****** **
G******

I think that showing the exact number of letters and numbers by just replacing them with asterisks is not quite safe, but I want to make sure if it's not breaking the laws of GDPR.


texts: Is the right to free travel somehow covered in the First Amendment?

texts: Could travel be a way to express oneself?


texts: Criminal penalties in portuguese law for rape?

texts: How long or short of a prison sentence can one get in portugal for rape or domestic abuse?


texts: How large is the difference in the amount of reading needed to become familiar with the law in common vs civil law countries?

texts:
Common law relies more on previous rulings while civil law relies more on written code. Therefore, one would expect it takes more work to become familiar with the law in the former case.
Please estimate: what is the difference in amount of work needed in these two systems to become familiar with an area of law? Please estimate for a well-educated person (with a college degree or higher) but is not a lawyer and does not plan to become one.
For instance, suppose a person needs to learn about a specific crime (e.g. robbery). If she needs to read for X hours in a common law system and Y hours in a civil law system, please report your judgment on what is the ratio of X/Y.
The answer clearly will depend on the specific area and the specific country. If possible, please compare countries with relatively well developed legal systems, such as U.S. vs France.


texts: Why don't lawyers keep a queue of contingency cases?

texts:
I frequently encounter situations in which there is likely civil liability between two parties but where the aggrieved party does not pursue legal action because they lack money and/or expertise.

Occasionally I have approached lawyers when I see such cases with apparently positive (risk-adjusted) expected return from at least threatening, if not actually carrying out, litigation.  And I usually get one of two answers:

We're too busy to do something like that on contingency right now.
We don't think the odds of prevailing and collecting merit the cost of pursuing that on contingency.

I'm not a lawyer, but I follow the industry well enough to know that there are a lot of lawyers lacking for work.  If you're an unemployed lawyer, or a solo practitioner without a full caseload, then isn't any non-frivolous case with a positive potential payout worth pursuing?  And if you're a firm with the sunk cost of offices, staff, subscriptions, etc., wouldn't you always want those assets working at 100% capacity?

Therefore, why doesn't every practice want a queue of potentially profitable contingency cases that they can chip away at when they don't have a 100% paid workload?  I can understand that if one took a contingency case into litigation, and then paid work came along, one wouldn't want the contingency case distracting from the paid work.  But can't one accept a case on contingency and "as time permits," so that in such an event one would simply drop the contingency case (or, if it looked promising, hand it off to some other lawyer in a slump)?

Are there practical or professional reasons this is not standard practice?

From an economic perspective this seems odd: As a client if I don't have the means to pursue a legitimate claim, then (on principle) I might be willing to give up to 100% of any winnings to a lawyer who does pursue it.  As a lawyer, if I have a positive expected return to a contingency case, I'd like to have the option of picking that up when I can't find other work (to within some error term – perhaps the alternative of running a coffee shop out of my office, or taking a minimum-wage writing job.)


texts: Where are North Carolina U-Turn and other traffic laws written when not found in the General Statute?

texts:
North Carolina General Statute Chapter 20 - Motor Vehicles mentions a U-Turn only once. In § 20-140.3 (page 401):

  On those sections of highways which are or become a part of the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways and other controlled-access highways, it shall be unlawful for any person:
  [...]
  (2) To make a left turn or a semicircular or U-turn except through an opening provided for that purpose in the dividing curb, separation section, or line on said highways

Obviously though there are other laws regarding U-Turns, I just don't know where they are written.

I have a few questions about general state roadway laws, all of which are asked in context of the United States.

Are state's General Statutes the only written text regarding roadway laws for that state?
Is there a written text of federal roadway laws which all states inherit?
If a topic is not mentioned in a state's General Statute, is it found somewhere else, such as another piece of state text, the aforementioned federal text, or is it then up to the counties, cities, and local lawmakers to create law for?

I may have to use these answers for a co-worker who is very picky and very much likes to say, "Okay that sounds logical, but where is it actually written as law", so any citation to the written laws are very much appreciated.


texts: Re-Release of MIT-licensed open-source app to the iOS App Store

texts:
TL:DR someone re-uploaded my MIT-licensed open-source app to the iOS App Store.

WHAT HAPPENED

I have created a small app for iPhone, which has been available on the App Store for over 2 years now.

It is licensed under MIT and I am the copyright owner. I accept contributions under the MIT-license. All information, including contributors and libraries are mentioned in the app's about page.

Recently I found that someone has compiled the app, removed the about section and changed the app icon, as well as the name. Then that person uploaded it to the iOS App Store, where it is now available alongside my own app.

QUESTION

I would like to know whether this is legal. While I am happy to share the code with others for educational purposes and for allowing others to improve their apps (in fact that's why I open-source it), I am not happy that an identical copy of my app exists on the App Store.

LICENSE FOR REFERENCE

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
SOFTWARE.


texts: Is an incentivized consent considered freely given in GDPR?

texts:
Let's say someone offers you 50 bucks if you opt-in to a consent; would that consent be still considered freely given in the eyes of GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)?

My understanding is that this would definitely not be okay, but it has reached my ears that someone with more legal education than me claims that this would be okay.

PS. For the record, I am not planning on doing this, just asking out of interest.


texts:
Gaming machine clearances at a licenced club require two employees to be present to count the monies from the machines. One employee only has done the clearance by himself ( employee A) then signed the official clearance document in his name and then falsely co-signed another persons signature (employee B) as if the other employee (B) was present at the clearance when he was not.
When questioned, employee (A) declared in writing that the second signature was indeed that of employee (B). Employee (B) has signed a stat. dec. that the second signature is not his.
Thus (A) has forged (B's) signature. Is this deliberate deceit fraud?


texts: Can I legally forward a work email to my personal email?

texts: In the EU, am I legally allowed to forward an email containing a conversation with my coworkers / bosses (no confidential information) to my private email address?


texts: Disappearing ink on receipts: do sellers have to make the receipt that is visible at least X number of days?

texts:
The issue with disappearing ink on receipts is notorious. Are sellers required to make the receipt visible at least X number of days?

I am mostly interested in the following locations:

California, United States
Massachusetts, United States
Paris, France
Seoul, South Korea


texts: Is it an offence if the target of racism only appears to be of/from a different race, colour or national or ethnic origin?

texts:
Background
This question was inspired by I was racially abused at a public park. What legal actions can I take?, although I am not asking specifically about that case. In that question someone, in Australia, was verbally abused in a seemingly racist manner. One of the answers quotes Australia's Federal Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (emphasis mine):

18C Offensive behaviour because of race, colour or national or ethnic origin
(1) It is unlawful for a person to do an act, otherwise than in private, if:
(a) the act is reasonably likely, in all the circumstances, to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate another person or a group of people; and
(b) the act is done because of the race, colour or national or ethnic origin of the other person or of some or all of the people in the group.

However, in an edit the OP states he is "not of middle eastern decent but I do have a beard. I was wearing a robe like garment for a cultural function I was attending". This suggests (to my not-legally-trained brain) that even if Section 18C were to apply1 when the target was someone with a different "race, colour or national or ethnic origin", it might not apply if the target only gave the appearance of having a different "race, colour or national or ethnic origin".
1 For the particular incident from the linked question, it is possible that Section 18 would not apply in any case. This Wikipedia page suggests that for 18C to apply, courts require speech to have "... profound and serious effects, not to be likened to mere slights.". I don't know Australian case-law to know whether the incident described would fall under this requirement: for my question, assume that the acts would meet such requirements.
Question
For brevity, I will use "target person" to mean someone "of/from a different race, colour or national or ethnic origin".
If someone carries out an alleged act of racial discrimination / intimidation / abuse (verbal or physical) against someone they believe to be a target person, would it be a defence (or would it not be an offence), if it turns out that the other party was not actually a target person, but just gave the appearance of being a target person?
Assumptions and Caveats

I do now want to debate about whether it is right or wrong to try to legislate in this way, whether it is "thought control taken too far", or whether other approaches, such as better education, may be better. If necessary, assume that appropriate legislators (parliament, congress, whatever) have decided through due democratic process that they want to punish the "appearance of being racist", whether the target actually is of a different ethnic group, or is mistaken for belonging to such a group by the perpetrator.

I assume that were the target(s) of the attack/abuse to actually be of/from a different race, colour or national or ethnic origin, there would be no question about guilt. The "doubt" is only whether legislation also applies when the perpetrator only believes their victim to be a target person.

Scope
As the original question was about Australia, an answer addressing Australian law would be welcome. As I'm from the UK, an answer from that perspective (specifically, English law) would also be welcome. However, providing it is not seen as being too broad, answers from other jurisdictions are also welcome.


texts: Is it legal for employer to require portions of an IRS form 1040 for verification of dependent eligibility?

texts:
Is it legal (California, USA) for an employer to require an employee provide a copy of the first two pages of their most recent form 1040 as part of demonstrating the eligibility of the dependents for medical, dental, vision, etc. insurance benefits?

This demand is being made in addition to a copy of the marriage certificate as well as birth certificates for dependent child(ren).

Specifically, they are demanding:

  the first page (both sides) of your most recent federal income tax return Form 1040 (either one joint return or the returns of both parties, if you are filing separately) showing filing status, the signatures and date signed of the employee and spouse (blacking out the financial information).

Additional (presumably equivalent) instructions are provided for those filing electronically. The requirement is waived for those who have been married for less than one year.


texts: Excluding all people from the EU from my blog - is this allowed?

texts:
There's a new law from the European Union I simply cannot comply with (GDPR).
Its way to complex, not even big companies can comply with it. I also don't know what google does with the data from my visitors.

If I let a checkbox pop up on every page that the users need to confirm they're not from the EU nor using the site from the EU, would it be fine?

Is it allowed to exclude people on that way?
Will I still be affected by the GDPR if I forbid all acces from people from the EU and acces from within the EU?


texts:
There's an SAT academy that's been in operation for the past 15 years whose sole proprietor holds himself out to be a graduate of a distinguished university. In the Korean-American community, where a tutor attended college is given the most weight in deciding which tutor to select.  However, upon research, it turns out that he has never attended the university. And when confronted, he threatened me, saying that "there will be consequences if his business reputation is harmed."  I am a former student of his.

Relevant facts include.

  Average tuition is 1,500-2,000 for a summer class (taught mostly by him).
  Average enrollment during the summer is 50 students.
  Average college consulting service is 4,000-10,000.

He does show results with some of his students. However, his business is all about farming the best students, not helping students get into reach schools.

My question is whether this is a case of fraud in the state of California or falls under some other legal category.


texts: Legality of Network companies scanning TCP ports - how has my consent been obtained?

texts:
In my firewall and IIS logs I constantly see entries for servers from companies like ZenLayer, Dedipath, DigitalOcean and other Network-related businesses that appear to ping/scan my systems to establish the presence of content, whether certain ports are open, and so on.
I have never asked for such services, nor am I interested in them being offered, and I certainly have no desire to be included on some list of any kind (whether "good" or "bad"). I have port 3389 (RDP) and 1433 (SQL) open but not used for their actual purpose, and a scan of either two will auto-ban the IP in question to all traffic. Some of these businesses use a whole /24 IP range to do the scanning, as I have noticed in the slowly accumulating list of IPs over the course of about 12 months now.
What right do these companies have to actually do such a scan? Just exactly how are they allowed to use that information (presumably they don't scan for the hell of it, so unless they like wasting resources on useless nonsense, something has to occur with those results. Consequently, they are a data processor as far as I can see. Seeing as an IP address is personally identifiable information how is this actually alright?
How is whatever ends up happening with those scan outcomes not a violation of the GDPR (I am in Europe) and if it's not, what recourse do I have?
The servers I am running are not hosting anything particularly known, definitely nothing controversial or even remotely suspect, them having been "reported" by some other third party to be scanned is extremely improbable. The scans being done are either for specific ports, or specific files (like the Word Press manifest, the latter also by a server belonging to Oracle, or so IP2Location tells me)
Any advice is greatly welcome. I imagine these pretend do-gooder pests eat their unfair share of network traffic for no cause, reason or purpose I am aware of or, given the way they go about it, will ever approve.


texts: India/Japan: Validity of Indian Notarised Agreement in Japan

texts:
An agreement between two parties (one from India and one from Japan) is notarised in India. As per the terms of the agreement the arbitration (if the need arise in future) venue would be Japan.

1- What is the validity of such an agreement which is stamped by a notary in India (but the arbitration venue will be Japan)?

2- Is there any need to get it notarised in Japan also?


texts: Data scraping with an App and copyright violations (India)

texts:
During my college days, I developed an Android App for my university. I used the university logo and data scraped from their website to show results of respective students. It's a government university.

Today I received a call from the university that they are going to register a police case against me. Did I do any thing wrong? Will I be prosecuted for this?

There was no financial benefit for me from this App.


texts: Is there a polite and thorough way to request disclosures from my dentist about who is profiting from certain products or services?

texts:
I had a dental appointment this morning, and the dentist (as per usual) insisted that I get an NTI night guard and a Philips Sonicare.   I politely said 'no' as I have the last 6 visits, but the insistence is starting to creep me out a bit.

I had a previous dentist who sold me a night guard for $500 that really messed up my jaw.  When I confronted him on why he was pushing something so hard that the insurance didn't cover (for good reason!), he flatly told me  "I don't make a dime selling night guards, this is just an option we provide to customers who would benefit."  I found this very hard to believe, - obviously there's some lack of specificity in the terms "I" and "make money" - so I let it go.

So what I want now is a polite way I can ask my current dentist (or possible future dentist) a question such that they can either 1) decline to answer or 2) answer it clearly and unequivocally.

EDIT: I'll try to be more specific: I want to ask my dentist : "Is Philips paying you to sell me their product?" in a way that will put them on the hook for fraud if they intentionally equivocate.   (They could say "Well, technically, I don't get paid directly by Philips, but this information is reported to the dental management company, which has a contract with Philips, and the management company gives me quarterly performance reviews which affect my salary")  If they lie, and I buy the product, and later discover that they lied, then they have committed fraud (this is my understanding.)    I'm not sure the exact form of the answer I'm looking for, but certainly reading the language of the standard conflict of interest forms is not something I'm about to do to a dentist.


texts: Can a U.S. business store mail on a server outside the U.S.?

texts: If you are a business incorporated/registered in the US, is it currently (Feb. 28 2018) legal to store emails on mail servers outside the US?


texts: Legal issues with selling goods in home country when not authorized to work in US?

texts: If someone is not authorized to work in the US and they are currently living there, are there any laws being broken if they ship goods back to their home country? For example, if we call the goods "gifts", but they are shipped to the home country, then sold and part of the profit is sent back to the person in the US. Is that legal?


texts: How can one validate an assertion that "X" is not legal?

texts:
How can one determine if an alleged legal requirements in the form of "this is not legal" or the "law requires this" is valid?  Is there a quick and effective spot-check similar to Google that would enable a non-lawyer to determine 'bluffing'?

Is the effective tactic to request citation from the originator?

CLARIFICATION: this is question is not intended to explore a particular legal scenario.  It is intended to learn / understand how to examine an alleged requirement and determine if it is indeed rooted in a state statute.  The challenge is that the individual is frequent bluffs their way through discussion


texts: What motions to file or action to take with an uncooperative court clerk?

texts:
I've filed pro se motions in traffic cases before, but this case has me stumped. I was stopped and ticketed for a minor traffic violation of texting while driving and received a court date. When I went in the clerk refused to let me (EDIT: have a hearing), and refused to give me any documentation proving I had been there. Same thing when I came back a month later. Now I'm getting written notices from a law firm to pay the fine.

My limited experience led me to think the court clerk can always be trusted. Should I try to file a motion to continuance, or maybe motion to appeal? Maybe by certified mail?

UPDATE: I called the court today (Nov 26) and was told there is no trial set so they will call or email me in January to set the date for a trial. This seems really weird for a months-old case but I guess you have no recourse if the court refuses to set a date for any hearing repeatedly? As far as I can tell the county courts have jurisdiction over the Justice of the Peace courts in texas, but if there's no final judgment then no appeal can be filed.


texts: Does the "Expired - Lifetime" status of US patents allow all types of future use of the IP?

texts:
I recently found a patent that has expired this month after almost 20 years. The original inventor still has not done anything substantial with his idea, and frankly, it is a really cool and doable project for me and my team.

So I wanted to know. Are there any limitations of what can be done with an IP that has an expired patent? Like can I sell a product based on that idea without paying any dividends back to the original inventor?

Note: Not a duplicate of the linked question as that one mainly asked about how to ask permission for using an active patent.


texts: Do I have to write the (R) and (TM) of e.g. "Intel Core i5" in an academic publication?

texts:
I'm finalising an academic publication (a written research paper that will be published at a conference and be available online), and I am mentioning the computer used to run the experiments:

  Intel Core i5-4460

Now I was wondering: Should I, or do I have to, put the trademark symbols in there as well? I.e.:

  Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4460

(of course with the appropriate latex-symbols instead, i.e. the circle and in superscript).

Is there any requirement by law to do it? What would you advise, or what's the "best practice", if there's any, for similar circumstances?

I thought this was the most appropriate place to ask this question.


texts:
This answer to the question Can numbers be illegal? makes a good argument, and AFAIK it comports with the law.  It follows other answers in observing that any piece of information can be encoded by numbers.  Yes, there are pieces of information that are illegal to possess – e.g., child pornography, stolen intellectual property, financial numbers intended to commit theft or fraud.  But it asserts, without reference to law, that if you don't know that application of the number your possession can't be illegal.  So it begs the following two interesting questions:

Do information possession crimes always require mens rea?

I can't think of a circumstance in which one could be charged for a crime for possession without knowledge of the significance of the number.  I know this is a "prove a negative" problem, but if anyone knows of a possession crime that does not require a guilty mind that would be noteworthy.

Is there a safe harbor for possession of an "illegal" number?

If you are found in possession of stolen property, even if you lack mens rea, you are not allowed to keep it.  If you are found in possession of stolen data can you keep it if it also represents something you can possess?

E.g., if an encrypted version of your password database also happens to produce a JPEG-encoded image of child pornography, can you keep it if you show that you have a code that transforms it into information that is not child pornography?


texts: Does fraudulent conveyance only apply to bankruptcy?

texts: Say creditor has a judgement and before the judgment I transferred assets to someone else. Can the creditor go after the fraudulently conveyed assets? Or is that only for bankruptcy?


texts: Cell phone with zero usage sent to collections agency

texts:
A year ago I briefly had a phone plan in Alberta, Canada where I used absolutely zero data and no calling minutes.

I called the phone company in order to cancel the plan on a Saturday, when they responded by saying that I should call them back on a weekday; however, by that point I had left the country to reside in the UK.

I asked for two close family members to handle cancelling the plan, which they agreed to. Needless to say, they did nothing about it, and now a year later I receive an email notice that a collections agency wants over $300.

So here are my questions:

1) Do I have any recourse, prior to the point where I might be sued, that can get me out of paying this amount, or reducing the amount owed?

2) If I were sued, what would being a Canadian citizen living in the United Kingdom change about the suit?

3) As a follow on to number 2, am I less likely to be sued for $300 than if I were still living in Canada?

Thank you very much for you help.


texts:
A tenant provides an N9 form to a landlord (http://www.sjto.gov.on.ca/documents/ltb/Notices%20of%20Termination%20&%20Instructions/N9.pdf), a tenant's notice to end the tenancy, on November 5, 2019 stating that they would like to move out of the rental unit on December 4, 2019.

Let's say the original (1 year) lease was supposed to end on August 31, 2020.

I was under the impression that the tenant's termination date must be 60 days after the giving of this notice.

Would this mean that the tenant would still be responsible for providing the rent for December, as 60 days would not be until Jan 4?

Additionally, would the tenant be responsible for payment of the 4 days in January (4/31 of the rent)?


texts: Is intentionally advertizing and billing for more service than provided legal if the contract mentions that the quality of service is variable?

texts:
Here's the situation. A certain telecom company is advertising a "7 Mb/s" internet connection plan, and the monthly bill shows "7.1 Mb/s" internet service. When measured, connection speed is 3 Mb/s. Called customer service and found out that the contract for the "7 Mb/s" plan specifies that connection speed may vary between 3 and 7 Mb/s, and, what surprised me most, I was told that customers in my area are "allocated 3.3 Mb/s". That is, the allocated bandwidth is fixed at 3.3 Mb/s and doesn't really vary between 3 and 7, and most certainly can never reach the advertised 7 Mb/s.

I wonder whether this practice is legal. Can a baker advertise a 7 lbs cake, bill for 7.1 lbs cake, mention in the contract that the actual weight of the cake may vary between 3 and 7 lbs, and fine tune its machinery to always produce 3.3 lbs cakes to be sold as the 7.1 lbs ones?

EDIT: After quick googling I found that the same telecom company has been accused of all kinds of deceptive practices and fraud: medium, consumeraffairs, bayleyglasser, dorothyayer.