texts: What makes a document translation "court certified" in Massachusetts?

texts:
I have an agreement document which I need to translate into English, to be accepted as an exhibit in Massachusetts court. Looking around for certified translation services, there seem to be many that provide the translation service. Most of them also promise the doc to be accepted by the court.

But, from what I saw so far, none is registered in some way with the legal system in the state. Therefore, my question is - what do I need in order to get the court recognize and accept a translation I present?


texts: Subpoena Duces Tecum - who to contact regarding disclosure of company records

texts:
Mostly hypothetical subpoena duces tecum.
How would I ask a company for the contact information and whatever else that I would need in order to prepare for a subpoena for data, documents, & records related to my account/interactions with that company?

Would I need to talk to someone in the legals dept? Some executive officer? who has the authority to divulge company information and records?

What is the extent of the information that I would be able to obtain? I assume this would be just the documents related to the court case at hand?
I reside in California.


texts: Is a system that stores credentials required to meet the cyber security requirements of the systems it could give access to?

texts:
IT companies often use access keys, credentials, and remote management software to maintain their client's infrastructure.  These access methods are then saved in some form of database so that the IT technicians can look up how to log into  each client's system when it needs work.  These IT companies themselves are not storing their client's data, but their database contains information that could be used to grant full access to a client's data.

Do these databases need to meet the legal security requirements of the systems that they could be used to gain access to such as a server containing medical records (HIPPA) or financial information (PCI)?


texts: Any extreme circumstance when a substantially probably prevailing party can ask for some immediate injunction that they be provided attorney's fees?

texts:
Let's say, in California, a Forbes 500 multi-billionaire wrongdoer has engaged and continues to engage in such fraudulent and/or malicious and oppressive conduct that has made plaintiff and continues to make plaintiff entirely disabled from, impossible or extremely difficult to (i) earn as it is sufficient for the basic necessaries of life and (ii) to afford even housing let alone an attorney, if for the purposes of pre-trial discovery or otherwise, the plaintiff shows that it is substantially probable that they will prevail in a certain cause of action, can that be used enjoined with a Four-Teenth Amendment argument to request reasonable attorney's fees to be provided for such cause of action to be brought before the court or be amended properly as otherwise it is impossible for plaintiff and plaintiff is disable to present his case in equity under Amendment Four-Teen?
If so, is there any close or remotely close authority?


texts: Indian father, Bangladeshi mother, a baby expect to be born in Ireland

texts:
This is my first post in this community.
I am an ordinary Indian passport holder, I am in Dublin, doing full-time Ph.D. studies since October 2018 on a stamp 2 student visa. http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/inis/pages/registration-stamps
My wife joined me in Dublin last year January, as an immediate dependent family-member with me and she has given me a stamp 2A visa. She holds a Bangladeshi passport.
A baby is expected to be born in September in Dublin. What passport we should apply for, for the baby? Indian/Bangladeshi/Irish?
Thanks.


texts: Legally displaying another programs icon

texts:
I'm making an app which controls other applications. I am displaying different program icons to identify which application the user is controlling.

I never save the icons or distribute them. The app finds the image from the users computer only when the program is running.

Are there any legal implications here? If I were to advertise my app by posting screenshots which display another programs icon, does that infringe upon any copyrights?

I was looking at this question but I wasn't really sure if that answers my question or not. I know next to nothing about legal matters.


texts: Avoiding law suits with product comparisons

texts:
Upstate NY here, although this is more an internet-level question w.r.t. law.

Also, an initial disclaimer: Although my particular use case does not involve Pepsi in any way/shape/form, I'm going to use Pepsi here simply to serve as a perfect example. For the record, I love and drink Pepsi every day :-).

Say I decide to start manufacturing my own soda and then I start selling it (I'm not; this is hypothetical and should apply to any industry). On my soda brand's website, I'd like to compare my homegrown soda with Pepsi. Everything that I state will be 100% factual, so we can take false advertising or subjectivity out of the equation here.

What laws/international copyrights/statues/etc. control what I can/can't say about Pepsi on my brand's website? On TV, you see product comparisons all the time (laundry detergents and paper towel products seem to be the fiercest competitors in this arena for some strange reason). So I know it is legal to mention competition in your own advertising, but am assuming there are certain claims that may make you more liable for law suit than others.

Specifically:

I'd like to mention Pepsi (again, not really Pepsi, just 'the competition')
I'd like to include Pepsi's logo/trademark for a side-by-side comparison
I'd like to make 100% factual claims about Pepsi w.r.t. my product

Thoughts?


texts: If a company notifies you that calls may be recorded, can you record the call?

texts:
Assuming a two-party consent state.

If a company notifies you that all calls are (or may be) being recorded, can you then record your conversation with the customer service representative without notification?

Rationale: notification has already been served and there can be no assumption of privacy on the CSR's part.


texts: Are loose in-box licensing agreements binding?

texts:
I just purchased a vacuum cleaner and upon opening the box, there was a loose sheet of paper with a licensing agreement. The agreement said that using the product constituted acceptance of the agreement and that if I did not accept the agreement, I had to return or destroy the product. No explicit, active action was required to accept the agreement in order to use the product. My primary question is whether an agreement presented in this format is binding in the United States.

I have a secondary question regarding this agreement. It placed restrictions on how the product could be used and on transferring the product to another party. Does the United States allow such restrictions on physical products such as vacuum cleaners or do purchasers automatically have the right to freely use and transfer products in accordance with the law?


texts: What does "No additional restrictions" of the CC-BY license mean when selling a product

texts:
I'm struggling with this part of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license:

  No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

Example:

A storyteller (Mr. S) is recording his own narratives / stories. He adds sound effects (like footsteps, wind, rain) to the recorded audio files. These sound effects are licensed under the CC BY license. The original sound effects are modified by Mr. S to fit to his recording.

Mr. S has a website where registered, paying users can listen online to his stories. So he is selling the access to the audio stream of his stories - he gives all the required attribution of the CC BY license to the creators of the sound effects.

But, his own legal terms do not grant any rights to the listeners (the paying users) to share or sell his audio files, nor adopt or remix them or use in any other way exept to listen to them.

Is that allowed by the CC BY license?

I think it is, but what does the quoted part of the license mean?

All I found in the FAQ's about that part is about sharing a CC licensed work. But in Mr. S's case he is not sharing, but selling his own work (which uses modified parts of CC BY licensed work).


texts: Can a landlord be charged with trespass for entering a property without permission?

texts:
In Australia if a landlord enters a rental property without permission can they be charged with Trespass under australian law?

This would be excluding the time where they have assumed permission such as a property inspection after giving notice but not getting a response.


texts: At what point does refusal to report a crime make one an accomplice to a crime?

texts:
This is a question out of curiosity only, indirectly inspired by my last question post. I'm wondering at what point not reporting a crime is itself a crime.

I know that if someone happens to witness a bar fight and doesn't immediately call the cops they are not guilty of a crime (or I assume they aren't, unless they're technically guilty and simply never prosecuted for it).  This implies that the refusal to report a crime is not, by itself, a crime.

However, I'm also pretty sure if, for example, a women knows her boyfriend is sexually assaulting their child and turns a blind eye to it she can be convicted as an accomplice to the crime.  Likewise, I think if you're riding in the car with someone who does a hit and run you are required to report it or be an accomplice.

So I'm wondering where this line is drawn.  At what point does one's involvement become such that they are guilty simply for failing to report another individual, assuming they have not actively done anything to directly support the crime otherwise?

Furthermore, if someone is indirectly benefiting from a crime they do not encourage or facilitate – for instance a wife getting a new fur coat after her husband robs a bank despite her not approving of the husband's actions – does this make her an accomplice?  Is there a line here to draw, presumably a bar serving a drink to someone they know is a bookie doesn't make them guilty, even if the bookie presumably earned the money he is using to buy the drink via an illegal job?


texts: Can a US state pass/enforce a law stating that a group of people owe money to the state government?

texts:
What restrictions or prohibitions does the US Constitution or federal law set in place for states requiring citizens to pay money to the government?

If my understanding is correct, there are several "categories" of debts a state could enforce on citizens:

Fines for criminal convictions or civil infractions, provided the defendant's right to a fair trial was not infringed, and a proper sentence was issued by a judge, and/or the defendant plead guilty, etc.
Taxes, which I presume must be authorized and regulated by the US Constitution, but I don't know the details
Fees for specialized government services, e.g. business licensing fees, court fees, etc.

My questions mostly surround the fees category.
Namely, how are fees for government services justified under the US Constitution?

Does the US Constitution guarantee all citizens have the natural right to conduct their own business affairs?
If so, does a citizen lose the right to legally own and operate a business if they cannot afford requisite state or local business license fees?
Likewise, does a citizen lose the right to utilize the court system to petition for a redress of grievances, if they cannot afford the requisite court fees?
And lastly, if a citizen is convicted of a crime or infraction, and the sentence
requires the convict to utilize government services (e.g. prison services, probation services, registration services, etc.); under the US Constitution, can state government agencies providing these services legally require the convict to pay fees for these services (e.g. prison service fees, probation service fees, registration service fees), if these fees were not explicitly included in the sentence as fines?
(Side question: even if a fine is included in the sentence, is it unconstitutional for the convict to be sentenced to pay an indefinitely recurring fine, e.g. annually or quarterly?)

If a state attempts to pass or enforce state legislation dictating such fees, should this legislation generally be struck down as unconstitutional?

It seems unreasonable to me that the government could legally compel a citizen to do something or follow some legal process, but then slap a fee on that service after-the-fact (without a court order), and deny the citizen certain rights if they do not pay the fee.


texts: Historical examples of retrial for longer prison sentences?

texts:
I've asked this question on the History SE, which resulted in some members commenting it might be better suited on the Law SE.

Today I've read in 'Journey into the Whirlwind' by Eugenia Ginzburg, that prisoners in the USSR could be re-sentenced. They had been accused and found guilty of a crime (usually counter-revolutionary behavior), and already received a certain prison sentence (let's say five years). Later, when the Soviet government deemed these crimes worthy of a stricter punishment, they re-tried the prisoners to give them a longer sentence (let's say ten years).

Sometimes I find modern day examples of people having been found guilty being exonerated, since the law has become less strict on a certain issue (possession of marijuana for example). They're still guilty of whatever they did, but the sentence is less harsh. However, this is the first time I've read of a law becoming more harsh, and people being punished harder for the same crime they were already (being) sentenced for. Are there more historical examples of this?

Short disclaimer: I am not looking for people being retried because of new evidence or witnesses, or receiving a different sentence after an appeal. It's the exact same crime, the same ruling (guilty), only the punishment is harsher. Not bound to a certain location or time.


texts: Any laws governing the mode of recieving of information about changes in EULA or terms of services?

texts:
Is there any legal obligation to inform the users about any changes in the privacy or terms of service or EULA?
For example, I add a clause that decompiling is not permitted in the EULA is just updating it on the official page of EULA enough or do I have to email the user unless explicitly stated in the agreement? Is there any law governing this?
Can anyone just make a change and not publish the new EULA at all?


texts: Legality of reading unpaid e-book/research paper (ex. from genlib/sci-hub)

texts:
What is the legality of reading unpaid e-book/research paper (ex. from site like genlib/sci-hub) (In my case, in Indonesia). is someone eligible to be charged because they downloaded the e-book/research paper from that site? or is it just permissible as long as they keep it themself (They dont sell it & They dont share it to many people)?

Edit:

Add "research paper from sci-hub"
Add country of origin: Indonesia


texts: Which countries' judgments do Indian courts recognize?

texts:
Which countries' judgements are recognized in India ? Will they still be enforced by Indian courts if defendant is able to prove that it is unreasonable or economically infeasible to follow these judgements?
I mean which countries court orders are given legal significance in India .
I am asking about data privacy laws . For example if a country whose  makes a law that users may request their data be delivered to them in any quantity on pages made of gold overnight and them try to enforce it on a corporation in India   which was doing business there by punishing its CEO with imprisonment being is it going to be " recognized " and enforced in India?


texts:
The sections below are verbatim from the lease.

Paragraph 3.
Lease Term. The initial term of the Lease Contract begins on the 17th day of August, 2015, and ends on the 16th day of November, 2016. This Lease Contract will automatically renew month-to-month unless either party gives at least 60 days written notice to vacate or intent to move out as required by paragraph 37.

Paragraph 37.
Move-Out Notice. Before moving out, you must give our representative advanced notice to vacate as provided below. Your written notice to vacate will not release you from liability for the full term of the Lease Contract. You will still be liable for the entire Lease Contract if you move out early (paragraph 22) except under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (paragraph 23) or the Landlord and Tenant Relationship Act (paragraph 11). Your written notice to vacate must comply with each of the following:
We must receive advanced written notice to vacate. Your written notice to vacate should comply with the terms provided in paragraph 3 of this Lease Contract. Oral move out notice will not be accepted and will not terminate your Lease Contract.
Your written notice to vacate must not terminate the Lease Contract sooner than the end of the Lease Contract term or renew period.
Your notice to vacate is not acceptable if it does not comply with all of the above. You must obtain from our representative written acknowledgement that we received your written notice to vacate.

Paragraph 15.
Rent Increases and Lease Contract Changes. No rent increases or Lease Contract changes are allowed before the initial Lease Contract term ends, except for changes allowed by special provisions in paragraph 10 (Note p. 10 did not pertain to this I can add it if you like) , by a written addendum or amendment signed by you and us, or by reasonable changes of apartment rules allowed under paragraph 18 (community policies and rules, unrelated). If, at least 5 days before the advance notice deadling (they had a typo here -> deadline) referred to in paragraph 3, we give you written notice of rent increases or lease changes effective when the lease term or renew period ends, this Lease Contract will automatically continue month-to-month with the increased rent or lease changes. The new modified Lease Contract will begin on the date stated in the notice without necessity of your signature unless you give us written move out notice under paragraph 37.

My landlord failed to meet the 5 days in advance of the 60 day notice of intent to move out required to increase the rent. More plainly the lease ends on Nov/16/2016, so if I want to move out on that day then I needed to give a notice by Sept/17/2016, which means my landlord needed to give me a notice of increase by Sept 12. I tried in late August to get the rent increase information but they told me it was not available yet. They said typically the don't have it until < 60 days before the lease ends. They also said that in the lease they were not required to give notice > 60 days out. Anyway they notified me of the changes to rent on Sept 14.

My question is this since I have already failed to give a 60 day notice to move out can they charge me month-to-month after November 16 (for the first month) any more than the are currently charging me?

If they had given me the notice 2 days earlier they could have modified the Contract to reflect the monthly charges vs 15 mo. starting Nov 16-Dec 16 but they failed to notify me in time. Also after one month of extension their notice will have been within the 65 days they stipulated so they could increase rent in Dec 16 and on.

Sidebar: they are not required to give a rent increase notice < 60 days out, but in my opinion that means they lose the right to increase they rent for the first month.

Are my thoughts correct here?


texts: What are the limits on the president's power to remove nonimmigrants using INA 221(i) and INA 237(a)(1)(B)?

texts:
According to INA 221(i) (8 USC 1201(i)):

  After the issuance of a visa or other documentation to any alien, the consular officer or the Secretary of State may at any time, in his discretion, revoke such visa or other documentation. ...

In addition, INA 237(a)(1)(B) (8 USC 1227(a)(1)(B)) provides that:

  Any alien who is present in the United States in violation of this chapter or any other law of the United States, or whose nonimmigrant visa (or other documentation authorizing admission into the United States as a nonimmigrant) has been revoked under section 1201(i) of this title, is deportable.

Read together, these two provisions of law seem to suggest that most nonimmigrants can be deported for almost any reason:

the President can identify some class of nonimmigrants and order the Secretary of State to revoke the visas of all such nonimmigrants based on almost any justification;
all such individuals can then be placed in removal proceedings;
and almost all of them would be ordered removed (the main options that I'm aware of to avoid removal are to make an asylum claim or to marry a US citizen and apply to the immigration judge for adjustment of status).

It seems hard to believe that Congress intended to grant the executive branch such expansive powers. What, if any, are the limits on this scheme?


texts: Laws regarding fictitious public figures or celebrities/likenesses/etc.?

texts:
We can already make simple the laws regarding the common scapegoating or scandalous nature of living, human public figures and/or celebrities.

What exactly do laws state about public figures/celebrities that have no immediate, human likeness associated with them? For example, think the muppets, a famous set of characters which are famous, representative of personalities, but are not real living human beings.

If a muppet were to be subjected to scrutiny, is the muppet responsible? Is the ventriloquist responsible? Who answers to a muppet if a muppet may not be the work or being of one person?

Alas, what are laws that subject famous characters/personalities/etc. which are not immediate, living humans? Some people run super famous Twitter/social media accounts that represent some visage, likeness or purported being, that of which may not actually be subjected to a real, specific human. As an example, think of a social media account of someone like Elmo, The Annoying Orange, or etc.

Many people can run the account and as such their image or likeness can vary to the public.

Who is responsible though? Assuming we already established that a non-human can still be a public figure or celebrity, who is ultimately responsible for the actions of a fictional or semi-fictional person?

Also, what about a smart agent or robot that does machine learning and threatens to kill a major figure, like an official? The programmer didn't do this -- the program "learned" words and made that threat via social media/etc. In short, the program COULD in theory be wholly responsible.

This same analogy can apply to a semi-fictional figure that may not be wholly dictated by the control or means of a human being, or the likeness of one human being either.

By "semi" I mean someone who can partially represent themselves in the form of another likeness/entity they may have made up, but do not fully represent their real personality to such likeness? For example, I could pretend to be "Joe Shaqqa" and use part of my personality to do so, but do not consider myself to be "Joe Shaqqa" and do not associate my real image with this fictional, famous character. Am I fully responsible for "Joe Shaqqa" if I do not consider myself to be Joe Shaqqa, and do not use my complete likeness to represent them, nor only do so myself?

How does the law work with legal issues directed toward fictional or semi-fictional figures?


texts: Can accessory buildings under 108 square feet have a basement in Ontario?

texts:
I'm looking to build a small bunkie in the forest behind my cottage. I've been reading the bylaws, and it looks like I can come up with a pretty usable space by including a loft with a less than 6 foot height above it, etc.
I came up with the idea of potentially pouring a foundation for these, and having a second story below for potentially the washroom or something. I've been looking around and I can't seem to find any bylaws on basements inside permitless 108 square foot or less accessory buildings.
Is this allowed?


texts:
I joined a new job at a Bank, and when filling out the forms, one of the policy documents stated that I had to open an account with them and have my pay paid into that.

I told this to a friend when a legal background, and they said:

  They can't do that, that's Third line forcing.

By Third Line Forcing, she meant an anti-competitive practice where the supply of goods and services is conditional on the purchase of good from a third party.

Australian Law calls this Exclusive Dealing. Acts of this nature are prohibited under s47 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.

(I can't find a reference for the equivalent UK or US statutes).

My question is: If a Bank Employer directs me to have my salary paid only into one of their accounts, is that Third Line Forcing?


texts: Can I use the same EIN before and after forming a LLC?

texts: I've been using the same EIN for freelancing as a contractor for a couple years as a sole proprietorship. Business is picking up so now I'm forming an LLC. I can keep the same EIN right? Or should I apply for a new one?


texts: If a person buys an island in a different country then will he/she has to take Visa for entering his/her island via waterways?

texts:
If a HNI (High net worth individual) buys an island on a different country for which the individual doesn't has a nationality/citizenship , then does the individual has to take a separate visa for entering his/her own island via waterways (reaching to the nearest point by cruise & then taking a boat ⛵ to reach the island ) , without actually entering the mainland ?

Note :- This isn't a country specific question , so any examples & counter-examples would do the job.


texts: What is a legal response if police illegally try to enter your home?

texts:
Say the police turn up at your house with a search warrant. They show it to you, and it is more than 3 months old and so invalid, and therefore does not give them the right to enter your house.  You tell them, but they still try to force entry in a way that makes you fear for your life.
If this was not police, then you would be legally able to respond with force, including lethal force if required.  This is the police, but they are engaged in illegal activity.  What actions are you allowed to take to protect yourself in this situation?


texts: When do I have to register my copyright if I want to file an infringement suit?

texts:
I read in a blog post that to file an infringement suit, I need to have registered my work registered with the US copyright office before the infringement took place. However, I can't find anything about this on the website of the US copyright office, just that it needs to be filed before the suit is filed.

When do I have to register my work with the copyright office to file an infringement suit?


texts: Is the weight of the container included in the weight of drugs?

texts: In this video a suspect has a can of soda with a bag of cocaine inside. While trying to get the guy to admit to possession, a police officer tells the suspect that the weight of the entire package would be what he's charged with possession, saying it weighs about a pound (implying that the soda can's weight is included). I know that police officers in the United States are allowed to lie. Is this an example of the officer lying to the suspect to get him to admit to a smaller amount of cocaine, or is it true that for some reason the weight of the container is included when charging people for possession?


texts: Are Dodd Frank rules applicable to all loan types?

texts:
My student loan was transferred to a new servicer several months ago, and I never received notice, neither from the previous or the new servicer, of the assignment of my loan.  I thought that Dodd Frank required notification, but perhaps that only applies to mortgages?  I'm in Ch13 BK, and I only learned of the assignment after speaking with my previous servicer because my most recent payment was declines due to the account being closed.

I spoke with the new servicer over the phone, and they confirm that they have the account.  I requested that they send me written proof of the assignment, which they said they would do.  That was a week ago, and still nothing.  My guess is that they do not want me to make any payments during the Bk period, so that interest will accrue of the next 5 years.   #sofrustrating


texts: What if a guilty person is later found innocent?

texts: Suppose someone was found guilty according to evidence, jailed, then more evidence finds him/her innocent way later (like the incriminating evidence was later found to be fabricated). Would this mean that the innocent person would recieve compensation or something else?


texts: Can trademark attorneys advertise in UK?

texts:
In some countries, it's illegal for trademark and patent attorneys to advertise.
Is it also the case in the UK?


texts: What rights do children under the age of 18 have while living with their parents?

texts: Do children have basic rights to Wi-Fi, food, and a bed?


texts: We purchased a home in May of 2019 (in Colorado).  One side of our property is enclosed by a fence belonging to the neighbor.  Therefore, there is equipment on one side of our house that we cannot access.  We had a contractor out to do work for our cable in which case, they needed to access this equipment and our neighbor refused even when the police were called.  Our HOA told us that all we can do is call the police or mediator.  Are there laws to help us?


texts: Help to understand AST notice period (Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement)

texts:
Here is the thing. I moved into the property on 25th August 2016.
I was told that after the first six months, if I do not give notice, it is assumed that I can continue to live (rent).

Now I'd like to move out and terminate the tenancy. Do I still have to give TWO months notice? How do I interpret

  This
  Notice can only expire after the first six months of the Tenancy. (The Tenant agrees not to serve
  such notice to fall due between 1st December and 15th January in any year)

Also, for 19.4

  To pay to the Agent £195+vat towards check-out administration costs at the end or sooner termination of the Tenancy.(This administration charge is reduced to £145+vat where total
  duration of stay is 12 months or more

Can I agree to pay £145+vat to get a shorter notice? Say to terminate next week?

Thanks.


texts: Legally speaking are individuals allowed to sell branded name products online, if not what are the consequences?


texts: When a PI is conducting surveillance, why is audio enhancement considered wiretapping

texts:
Most Texas PIs seem to consider the use of audio enhancement technology to be wiretapping. But they do not seem to consider video or photography enhancement technology to be the same.

A Texas PI will use an optical zoom on a camera or video recorder, and consider it to be legal. The same for applying photo filtering (glare reducers, specific color filters).

Most will not consider the use audio filters, like electronic processing to remove extra sounds, amplification of the sounds, boom microphones, parabolic microphones or receivers, etc. to be legal. They claim they run afoul of wiretap laws.

Assuming the subject is in a public place without reasonable expectations of privacy, wouldn't the use of either audio or video enhancement technology be the same?

Audio is waves of air and light/video/photo are electromagnetic waves, so the physical manifestation of the information is the same physically.

Why is the difference legally?


texts: How much ocean does a person with a beachhouse own and what can he do with it?

texts:
Assume a person owns a beach house in California.

How far into the ocean does this person own as a landowner?
Does the person own all coral reef, rocks and other things in the ocean in his owner portion of the ocean?
How far are ships allowed to sail in proximity of his shoreline?
Can this person pile up rocks on his portion of his owned ocean and build a structure such as a guesthouse on it?
Do these laws, permits and restrictions of building and ocean ownership change depending on the county of California or are they all the same? Do they change based on state or are they the same anywhere in the USA?


texts: What would happen if copyright were extended (almost) indefinitely?

texts:
In the past, copyright terms have been repeatedly extended, and some people have called for extensions that would effectively make copyright eternal, such as terms of 10.000 years or "forever minus one day".

If a law were passed today in the United States extending copyright from its current term of "life of the author + 70 years" to "life of the author + 10.000 years", what exactly would happen? In particular:

Would, say, Shakespeare's works (published before the introduction of copyright) leave the public domain?
Would works previously under copyright whose original copyright term had already expired gain renewed copyright?
If the answer to the second question is yes, what would happen to derivative works of those works?


texts: Is 5% the maximum income tax for an individual in Alabama?

texts:
Not talking about for businesses or fancy legal setups or anything - just someone who's working for somebody and needs to pay income tax, whether any has been withheld through the year or not.  Is 5% the maximum they would have to pay?  This seems to indicate that, but I wanted to make sure there wasn't something that was being missed:

  •  What are Alabama's individual income tax rates?
  For single persons, heads of families, and married persons filing separate returns:
  2%    First $500 of taxable income  4%    Next $2,500 of taxable income  5% All taxable income over $3,000
  For married persons filing a joint return:
  2%    First $1,000 of taxable income  4%    Next $5,000 of taxable income  5% All taxable income over $6,000

src: https://revenue.alabama.gov/incometax/itfaq01.cfm


texts: Can a NDA be non-terminable for an indefinite period of time?

texts:
I have been given a NDA which say it is "unilaterally non-terminable for an indefinite period of time".

Is this legal? Can they enforce me to keep the NDA forever?

They also said that "The contractor take on no liability for the correctness, reliability and completeness of confidential information".

Does this means that if some information is leaked, I could be blamed for it, even after I quit the company?


texts: Should foreign visitors care about speeding tickets?

texts:
Driving Route 66 recently, I was pulled over by a state trooper in Arizona for speeding. He said I was doing 90 (25 over the limit) which is questionable.
He issued me a $299 ticket and when questioned said it must be paid within 30 days.

Only when I looked in detail when I got home did I notice that the offence is classed as criminal, not civil, so I was careful not to admit the offence.

I have a pre-trial date with court DA soon.
Any hints or suggestions and:
Does Arizona or U.S. law have any jurisdiction at all in the UK with respect to this type of offence?


texts: Using trademarked names as a reference in a commercial context

texts:
Is it possible to use a trademarked name as some sort of a reference for public available data (even when used in a commercial context)?

Non-Commercial example:
Let's say we have an app that displays the amount of twitter followers for each account. To do so you obviously have to display the names of the account which (some of them) might be trademarked names. This is a non-commercial use case and is just using publicly available information (through twitter api for example). As far as I researched this is fine as long as of course Twitter in this case allows it.

Commercial example:
Let's extend on previous example for easier explanation. We extend the app with actual in-app purchases. For example a user could place a bet on the amount of growth the account will have in the next x days.

Would this still fall into "fair use"? The trademarked name is only used to reference to the publicly available "follower count" and the app / product is in no other way connected to the twitter user / trademark. (Except of any special laws for gambling, that was just the easiest example I could imagine)


texts: GDPR concerning IP logging by hosting company inside EU

texts:
If I, located outside the EU, use a server of a hosting company, which is located in the EU (as well as their servers), for a simple website without any data collection, forms, cookies and the like, there are still the IP addresses of the visitors which are being processed (at least stored), e.g. for security and/or legal reasons.
Now to my understanding I am the data controller of my website, and the hosting company is the data processor of the IP data of the visitors (they store it on their servers and might do some statistics, but I never touch this data). An EU paper on GDPR states the following (page 11, 12 of
Guidelines 3/2018 on the territorial scope of the GDPR):

The separate question then arises of whether the processor is processing in the context of its
establishment in the Union. If so, the processor will be subject to GDPR processor obligations under
Article 3(1). However, this does not cause the non-EU controller to become subject to the GDPR
controller obligations. That is to say, a “non-EU” controller (as described above) will not become
subject to the GDPR simply because it chooses to use a processor in the Union.

Concerning the scenario above, is it sufficient to make sure that my hosting company in the EU fullfills GDPR, describe the setup (including a link to the hosting company's privacy policy) in my data policy, and point data requests to the hosting company?


texts:
My father passed away with no will. He had no property and a smattering of random stuff my sibling and I are sorting through.

The only thing of real value is a checking account of about $100k. No beneficiary was named on the account.

However, I have his online access to his bank account. In theory I could transfer the money out as per the agreement between my sibling and I, there is no disagreement between us.

As far as I can tell there is no inheritance tax on sums of this size, especially since it’s all cash.

Am I allowed to transfer the money out of his account using his online bank access?


texts: I am finding out that my ex-wife may have kept from me a genetic predisposition to Down syndrome and other abnormalities in the baby. The physician did not tell me about this either. I want to know what were my rights as the father. Did they have an obligation to disclose this information?


texts:
I live in the middle east and I have signed up for a developer's account with Microsoft to publish apps on windows store. In order to receive payments, I had to provide the financial details such as 'Tax Profile' and 'Payout Account'.

The latter is rather easy, however when I completed the Tax Profile's page form, I got a message afterwards as follows:

  The “Capacity” selected by the user during the tax form certification does not exhibit sufficient authority to sign a tax from. Documentation must be submitted to prove that the user is properly authorized to sign tax documents for the company. This may include an IRS Form 2848 or an internal power of attorney document indicating the signor's authority to sign tax documents.

I have got no clue what that is. What is an IRS FORM 2848 and what is a power of attorney?

Since I live in the middle east, in the Arabian world, can you please explain it in detail as who exactly can help me with that?


texts: Can defense request findings of fact before resting?

texts:
Hypothetical scenario: A victim is identified with documented injuries consistent with having been struck with a weapon.  The police find and charge a person (now "Defendant") that they claim perpetrated the act of striking the victim with a weapon.  This Defendant stands trial for the crime of "Assault."

Common Law provides a number of Criminal Defenses that could be raised in this scenario (e.g., Self Defense, Duress).  However, in order to raise such a defense the Defendant would have to effectively confess to the Assault (or at least some critical elements of it).  E.g., a Defendant can't argue, "I feared for my life" without, in effect, admitting that he was present and capable of striking the victim.

Can the Defense require that the fact-finder in a trial (typically a jury) rule on prefatory facts, before it finishes the defense?

In this hypothetical, it seems prejudicial (and something like a violation of a Defendant's fifth-amendment right to not witness against himself) to require that the Defendant admit that he was present at the scene of the crime in order to invoke a defense.

It seems more consistent with the principles of our legal system to allow the Defense to require the Prosecution to first prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the Defendant was at the scene of the crime.  Because if the Prosecution can't meet that hurdle, then that's the end of the trial.

In practice is it possible for the Defense to avoid presenting affirmative defenses (like Self Defense) before the Court has found beyond a reasonable doubt that the Defendant committed the crime?  If so: How?

If not: Is there some theory or principle that illuminates why this is not considered a violation of the Defendant's fifth-amendment rights?


texts: Can an employer force all employees to open bank accounts in the employees' names?

texts:
[asking regarding federal law in the U.S.A. only]

Recently I have noticed low wage employers such as fast food and retail requiring employees to open a bank account through the employer. Such employers insist that, by policy, they only pay through a company-issued debit card and will not pay using traditional methods such as a paycheck. Some also offer to arrange direct deposit with a bank, but will not offer any other form of pay.

Word of mouth seems to be that these policies are illegal, but I have had difficulty finding information on this topic that is not from the card-issuing entities.

Can a U.S.-based employer legally mandate their employees open a bank account upon hiring?
If employers can or cannot, what section of the law defines who can and cannot compel a citizen into banking against the citizen's will?


texts:
Someone dies and an indigent prison inmate is one of the heirs. The state has a statute that allows (or may even require) recovery of prison-related expenses (medical or otherwise) when the prisoner has access to assets.

What are the ways the inmate can legally prevent prison recovery of the inheritance while still incarcerated and after release?

Note: I realize the answer can vary by state, and at the moment am only trying to get a general idea of viable legal strategies. Simply disclaiming the inheritance seems too easy, For example, I think CA (not the state of interest), can pursue inmate assets up to two years after release.

What type of lawyer and legal specialty is required to competently handle this situation?


texts:
Why is Miller's case titled R (Miller)?

R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union

The meaning of R is Regina (Queen). This is confusing me. Wasn't the case brought by 'an individual(s) v the government'? Why is the title 'government (individual) v government'?


texts: Can I (proactively) prevent someone from leaving me something in a will?

texts:
What can I do to prevent someone from leaving me something in their will?

Generally speaking, in North America:
Do I have to take responsibility for things left to me in a will or are their other options?


texts: Amazon have charged me for Prime membership without my knowledge

texts:
I recently discovered that Amazon have charged me for Prime Membership around 10 months ago. Unfortunately I have ordered a number of things from their website which were shipped using prime shipping, I just assumed next day delivery was part of their service and not an extra that I had paid for. Because of this they are refusing to refund my membership.
Do I have any grounds to take this further?


texts: Where do I put an Impressum on my client's website

texts:
We are busy building one of our first websites for a client in the European market. My client has asked that we add an Impressum to their site. I have been reading about these, and it seems pretty straight forward. I would however like to make sure that I am doing everything correctly, as this appears to be a legal requirement, meaning any miss-step on my end could prove detrimental to my client.
I had initially thought that this information would be something akin to the metadata for the author of a website, but I am coming to understand that it is actually content that should be displayed on the website. I am thus thinking of placing this on the contact page of the site.
My questions are thus this... Do I understand correctly that:
this is the basic information of the owner of the site (name, address, tax info, etc)
that this information needs to be visible to the end-user
that there is no particular place that this needs to be visible (like on every page in the footer for example)
and, that placing it on the contact page would suffice
I would greatly appreciate any advice that anyone would be able to offer in this regard. Many thanks in advance!


texts: Can you get a restraining order without cause?

texts: Do you have to have some type of justified reason to get a restraining order? Or can you issue without reason, on whim, or for fun?


texts: Is there a constitutional reason why there can be no legislation requiring commercial VPN operators to register veneer IPs?

texts:
For the purposes of this question, let's simplify what VPN operators do as "they allow their customers' internet protocol (aka IP) addresses to appear as other (veneer) IPs to the counter-parties to which those customers connect."
I am fully aware that there are private IPs that are mapped to public IPs for the purposes of routing connections.  This is not what's at question here. At question here is the arrangement in which public IPs are masked by presenting traffic to site operators as appearing to originate from the veneer IPs of the VPN operators.
This allows (for example) users in a country A to route their traffic through a commercial VPN operator in a country B and access services in country B which are restricted to users from country A.  This can be used to subvert both intellectual property restrictions on traffic and legal restrictions that site operators attempt to enforce by geography-based restrictions.
At first glance, it may seem that it would not be impossible to track all veneer IPs and identify them as such publicly.  So a knee-jerk response to this question might be "there is no need for such a law."  However, while it may be possible to track all IPs used by a commercial operator of a VPN which engages exclusively in VPN business, it is not possible to track all IPs dedicated to VPN business by an operator which has many other forms of business.
So, for example, NordVPN's IPs can be identified as belonging to NordVPN, but IBM's or Google's IPs cannot be identified as used exclusively in their VPN business.
Since there is a public policy interest (mentioned in the 3rd paragraph of this question) in knowing which IPs are VPN veneer IPs, Congress may decide to require commercial VPN operators to register those veneer IPs in a way which would make them clearly distinguishable from non-veneer IPs used by the same entities.
Would that be constitutional?  More specifically, is there any case law which may be relevant to deciding whether this would be constitutional?


texts: How to interpret the logical structure of a US legal statute's sub clauses

texts:
I am confused as to how to interpret the logical structure of US Statutes.

The particulars don't interest me but the general question of whether the subsequent paragraph (starting with "in any grant") applies to both (1) & (2) or only to (2)


texts: To what extent is this false advertising/deception?

texts:
If a certain company sells a product to customer A for $10, could the company legally tell customer B (during a private negotiation) that customer A paid more than they actually did in an attempt to have customer B pay more?

When does this become some sort of false advertising, or what laws are there in place to prevent these deceptive sales tactics?


texts: Is there any option other then impeachment to address a situation where a president abuses his power for financial gain?

texts:
Some have claimed that trump is in a position where he could or has exploited his presidency to support his businesses/finances.  Without addressing the validity of those claims, I'm wondering what recourse there would be if the such an action occurred?

Lets say that a president clearly and blatantly abused his position for financial gain, in violation of the constitution.  Other then impeachment, which has never-before lead to a successful conviction, is there any other check in place to prevent or penalize a president for violating this?

Is there some way that the supreme court could rule the president's actions in financial system unconstitutional, and even if they did what would that mean?


texts: Can a homeowner's association take disciplinary action against traffic violations that occur on a city road that is the main artery?

texts:
There is a road that goes through my community and is the only way for non-emergency motorized vehicles to enter. This road is owned by the city.
Assuming the HOA's regulations allow enforcement of traffic safety on this road, does state law allow the HOA to do so?


texts:
Scenario:

I work at company A and write some code for them which is something trivial but used in a product that is proprietary and hence the code is company property.

Then I leave the company A and join company B.

Company B needs something that can use the code and logic I learned in company A. There is very little I can change in code I learned at company A to get the similar functionality.

Question:

Am I infringing on the copyrights of company A because the code is similar?
Is it possible to copyright ideas and logic such that if you designed something in company A you may never design it, even from scratch, in company B?

Are there any workarounds? Otherwise you'd run out of your skills due to all your work being copyrighted somewhere or other.


texts: What damages could one claim in a data breach, if the data was not subsequently used fraudulently?

texts:
Equifax recently announced they suffered a very large data breach, allegedly affecting almost half of all people in the United States. It's expected that  lawsuits against Equifax will be popping up in the next weeks and months.

For someone whose data was leaked, but the leaked information was not subsequently used with criminal intent (identity theft, in this example), what damages would a plaintiff typically claim? Or could they seek damages at all?

Obviously if the leak resulted in someone's identity being stolen, or used in some other fraudulent way, there are tangible damages. But what if the data was never used that way?

This isn't the first data breech to be met with litigation, so in previous scenarios, what do plaintiffs typically claim as damages?


texts: Can someone get a spouse off a deed that never lived together and was incarcerated?

texts: If someone bought a property before marriage (premarital),  got married, refinanced the property while spouse was incarcerated which added spouse to quit claim deed, then got divorced months after the spouse was released, they never lived together, never consummated the marriage, and the spouse never contributed to the mortgage or repairs, can the person who refinanced the property get the divorced spouse's name off the deed?


texts: What form of privacy do doctors and call centers follow around suicide?

texts:
Purely out of curiosity, what practices do doctors and call centers have to follow for patients considering or with intent of ending their own lives?

Does it remain confidential? Or do they have to report it somehow?


texts: Why is a jury trial more often used in criminal, rather than civil trails, in many countries?

texts:
This is the case in most common law countries.
What is the commonly cited justification for this?  Are jury trials shown to be more accurate than bench trials (particularly for criminal cases)?


texts: How did the US enforce citizenship-based taxation before FATCA?

texts:
In 2010, Barack Obama signed "FATCA" (which has since been widely derided as a disaster) into law. FATCA essentially forces all banks in the world to help the US identify Americans who have money outside the US. It works to some degree, but it also is easy to circumvent (i.e. not using US identification when opening the account, etc)

Nonetheless FATCA still provides some level of information about Americans whose finances are outside the country.

So my question is, how was this done historically - not only before FATCA per se, but before computers, rapid communication, and technology ? How did the US government in the 1950s ensure Americans living in Australia were properly reporting their income and paying their taxes?


texts: Defining a term within a US bill that does not match definition within US Code

texts:
I am currently attempting to draft a bill for an amendment I am trying to have introduced. Within the Definitions section, I am defining a "US Person". Within the USC (26 USC § 7701(a)(30)(A)) a US Person is defined as:

a citizen or resident of the United State;
a domestic partnership;
a domestic corporation;
any estate; or
or any trust.

For my purpose, I want to defined a "US Person" only as a citizen or resident of the United States, and exclude the rest. So my questions are:

Can I redefine a definition within the bill that is already defined within the USC, or do I need to create a new term and define that?
If I am able to redefine "US Person", should I also include an exclusion for partnerships, corporations, estates and trusts to ensure there is no conflict with USC?


texts: How can I sell my business idea in exchange for a job at the company that might be interested in it?

texts: We have an idea of the brand new product that would solve one widespread problem among the smartphone users. But due to the fact that we don’t have required resources and opportunities to make that idea come to life, I’ve contacted the company that might be interested in my idea and would be able to realize that project. I described to them the problem and explained how my product would be able to solve it and have provided its advantages over devices that perform the same function. The COO of the company has replied and wants to discuss that idea together and assured me that it would be under NDA. Since I don’t have any prototype of my device but only the pictures of its appearance and full explanation of the mechanism, what can I ask in exchange of my idea to them? I don’t have experience in such things. As a graduate I want to offer them my idea in exchange for a chance for to work for their company and some percentage from the sales in case they decide to produce it. Does it sound possible? Should I include my conditions in the NDA? And what type of NDA should I use then? I don’t know what steps should I make now? I can’t afford attorney to help me with this.


texts: Is the press allowed to make initial contact with jurors after a trial?

texts: In the United States, jurors sometimes speak to the press after a trial, sometimes many years later. Does the press have a legal way to make initial contact with jurors directly, or indirectly such as through the court, or does the press just have to hope that jurors will come forward and speak?


texts: Redistribution of system similar to the one commissioned (privately) by a client

texts:
The short: my company have been paid to develop a software system for a client. There are (sort of) similar systems on the market already, there is currently a lot of demand for it, I want to redistribute something similar if I am within my rights to do so.

I am not employed by the client, nor has anything formal been agreed (in terms of ownership) - but I have developed a system for them according to their design and requirements. I have not sold them this product as an off-the-shelf option, it is entirely bespoke.

There are some features of this system that are arguably too bespoke, and technical approaches I have taken due to their own constraints, so if I were to aim to package it up for redistribution/sale to other customers, it would most definitely be different enough to the original, in many ways.

My questions (with regard to my rights to sell it elsewhere as a product):

Does 'different enough' matter? I am assuming it does, but I do not know the law as to whether the intellectual property is theirs until the product varies from what they paid for? Am I concerned with the right thing here? How different must my product be? Is this quantified anywhere in law?

Should I be concerned at all since nothing was in writing? Or are legal implications already made as a result of them paying the invoices I send them?

What else am I not considering here? I have no clue about the legals with regards to this, but I am sure it must be well covered. I've signed contracts in the past (with other clients, in totally different industries) stating that I may not work for a competitor etc. within 6 months after project completion, but nothing has been formalised here.

EDIT: Apologies, I should clarify - I am based in the UK, so UK law is what I'm concerned with.


texts:
It is frequently said that the current term limit for a US President is 10 years, consisting of inheriting the presidency for a 2 year caretaker term, then elected twice for 8 years, not necessarily consecutive.
Here's a hypothetical question.  I do not expect it to happen ever, but would it be legal under current US laws?
The President dies, and the VP takes over for slightly less than 2 years. In the next election,  he does not want to run again for President, but stands again for VP. He and his partner are elected. Then two years later the President resigns, and the VP is again elevated to nearly 2 years as  caretaker President. Repeat for a third term, nearly 2 years  as caretaker President. Then he decides to run for President himself, and gets elected twice. Thus he gets 14 years as President, total.
This is extremely unlikely to happen, but is it possible?


texts:
Suppose you are employed as a software developer. You work in a business where you code a lot of components. During this period, you also work as a freelancer to earn extra cash.

These freelance jobs may require some of the same code as you write for your day job.

The question: When are you allowed to reuse code that you wrote for (and is therefore owned by) your employer?

I think the Ship of Theseus paradox has some relation to this.

  The ship of Theseus, also known as Theseus' paradox, is a thought experiment that raises the question of whether an object that has had all of its components replaced remains fundamentally the same object. The paradox is most notably recorded by Plutarch in Life of Theseus from the late first century. Plutarch asked whether a ship that had been restored by replacing every single wooden part remained the same ship.


texts: What happens to an individual who is deported to a country of which they are not a citizen?

texts:
It seems that a person who is deported will normally be deported to the country of their citizenship, but this is not a requirement, particularly if the person is stateless. In such cases the person may be deported to a country of which they used to be a citizen. For example, according to http://travel.state.gov/content/travel/english/legal-considerations/us-citizenship-laws-policies/renunciation-of-citizenship.html

  Persons intending to renounce U.S. citizenship should be aware that, unless they already possess a foreign nationality, they may be rendered stateless and, thus, lack the protection of any government. They may also have difficulty traveling as they may not be entitled to a passport from any country. Even if not stateless, former U.S. citizens would still be required to obtain a visa to travel to the United States, or show that they are eligible for admission pursuant to the terms of the Visa Waiver Pilot Program (VWPP).  Renunciation of U.S. citizenship may not prevent a foreign country from deporting that individual  to the United States in some non-citizen status.

What happens to such people after being deported, if their country of former citizenship does not automatically reinstate citizenship upon request? Are they typically admitted as temporary visitors or as permanent residents? Or, perhaps, in a legal status similar to that of an illegal immigrant, possibly unable to work or apply for most public assistance?


texts:
Let's say someone is in a car accident, and it's determined that both drivers bear some fault in the accident.

The car is declared a total loss by the driver's insurance company. Also, in the accident, a cell phone that was very expensive, say 1000 dollars is damaged beyond repair.

The insured's insurance company is only willing to pay for the car, minus the deductible. They tell the insured that the phone is not their problem.

Is that legal? The car carried complete coverage including comprehensive, collision, etc. but the phone was damaged by the collision.


texts: Tenant refused to move out even I told him no more renewal lease. New York, Queens

texts:
I've rented out my apartment in Queens, New York to a family since 08/01/2019. My early intention was to allow them to continue the rental but something comes up - my inlaw was diagnosed as a cancer patient and she needs a place to stay so that she can go to a nearby hospital in Flushing, Queens.
I texted the tenant on 06/20/20 telling him the situation and informed that I won't renew the lease. His main complains was that 1) earlier I verbally agreed to allow him to stay so he already purchased the insurance; 2) given the current pandemic situation and his job status (he was in Hotel business which was heavily hit but he also said he was protected by unions), he had difficulty to find another place; 3) he had a newborn baby.
Now my questions:

While I understand his hardship but my inlaw's situation of being a
cancer patient is worse than his. What I heard is that most state laws
dictate that a landlord cannot evict a tenant even they intend not
to renew the lease, however there are criteria based on which the
landlord can. Does anyone know how pertinent laws in NY can work in my favor?

What's the proper way of serving my notice to the tenant? I texted
him on 06/20 of my intention. On 06/29 when I asked my agent to check
with him, the tenant refused to talk to the agent, claiming that I
already renewed the contract with him, which was of course nonsense.

If I take this to court (which is not likely given the pandemic, the
earliest possible reopening would be 08/20.), anyone know what would
happen and what I need to do in terms of collecting evidence?

If the tenant continue to live after the current lease expires and
pays the rent, should I take it or just decline it.


texts:
Let’s take the following example: Alice is a web developer and she is in her 20s. She owns a business and some properties, bank accounts, Cryptocurrency wallets etc.

She wants to write her will so, in case of an eventual death, she makes the things clear and eventually share the PIN numbers, passwords etc to her will executor(s).

Would it be possible to write and authorize the will at a lawyer office but to not writing in the will the steps to follow regarding her properties but, instead writing them down in a easily-changeable format/annex?

That would easily allow Alice to change the percent of money she wants to donate to charity after her death etc, without modifying the actual will document but simply editing a file on her computer and reprint it and sign it eventually.

Does this concept exist? And would it work?

The idea is to allow a young person, who doesn’t expect to die yet, to decide easily what should happen with their stuff after an unexpected death, but these changes being made easily, not through a lawyer.

I am imagining something like this: the will mention the document printed and signed by Alice:

  In addition to what was mentioned above, the executor will follow the
  steps mentioned in the signed document kept securely in the secure
  box.

When Alice will make any changes in this document, she probably wants to notify her executors, but not needing to notify her lawyer, since the actual will document is not changing.

Another example would be that at 20 years of age, she will write in that document that she wants to be cremated and her ash to be put in the ground, but at 23 years of age she adds that the ash should be put in the ground and also plant a tree. Maybe at 26 she updates the piece of paper and says: part of the ash should be put in the ground and plant a fig tree, and the other part in a river.

At 30 she may want to add that 10% of her money should go to a charity helping kids with some kind of heart disease that she would have had and was cured. At 31 she buys a small land and decides that after her death that small land should be donated to the church she was part of.

Now, for all these little or bigger changes, she won’t have to notify the lawyer but because the will was already written mentioning this signed document kept securely, she would just have to change this printed document every time and sign it.


texts:
Does the government control what time it is?

Recently, I read that the west coast states are considering dropping Daylight Savings Time. Apparently, the process is first for the states to agree, and then they have ask for permission from the federal government. I believe it was also the federal government who made the decision to adjust the dates for DST a few years ago.

So that got me thinking, does the federal government have authority over what time it is? Could the federal government theoretically decide to just cancel 7:39 AM for one week and order everyone to go directly from 7:38 to 7:40? Would there be a legal issue if someone founded a cult that believes that it is just always 6:27 PM?

This also seems like it could be a problem for elections either way. If the federal government can decide what time it is, could it just decide that November will never come and there will never be an election? On the other hand, if the federal government can’t decide what time it is, could a state just declare “In our state, it is 2026, and Trump is no longer president”?


texts: How to prove parents without a birth certificate

texts:
I have to prove to a government office that my parents are in fact my parents. A birth certificate would work, but that is not an option as of now.

Are there any other ways for me to affirm who my parents are without using a birth certificate?


texts: Is it possible to use creatures from an RPG (like Dungeons and Dragons) in writing a book without infringing on copyrights?

texts:
I am planning on writing a book that happens in a universe separate from Dungeons and Dragons universe but I want to have a character be a Kenku.

I know that they are copyrighted for use in other RPGs. But what about in books? Would I just have to change the race name, but can I keep all the attributes? The Kenku is going to be cursed to look like a human. They talk by mimicking things they hear. The main character is trying to fix the curse but doesn't know that the Kenku is a Kenku. The main character thinks the Kenku is a human cursed with some type of impaired speech which makes it hard to understand him.

How do I find what I am able to use and what I can't use? Would the be in the Open Gaming License? Or somewhere else?


texts:
I met someone on a dating website, things were going great and we ended up getting frisky on camera together.
It turns out that they were a catfish.
Would section 4 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 cover this as they ‘deceived’ me?


texts: Does a black belt have to tell the police that he/she is a black belt

texts:
Someone I knew told me that if a black belt in martial arts is pulled over, he/she has to tell the police that he/she is a black belt because he/she is a deadly weapon.

I told him that I didn't believe him because that sounds way too much like a threat, but he seemed really convinced that it was true.

Is it true?


texts: What are "system design specifications" as the California labor code refers to them?

texts:
In California employment law, there is a term called "system design specifications." Attorneys have told me to ask technical I.T. people what this means as there is no legal definition for it.

An excerpt of the law (CA Labor Code Section 515.5) says this: "The design, development, documentation, analysis, creation, testing, or modification of computer systems or programs, including prototypes, based on and related to user or system design specifications."

I understand what it says except for "system design specifications." What are "system design specifications"?


texts: Binding precedent based on reasoning or conclusion

texts:
Suppose a circuit panel publishes the following decision:

Statute A applies to individuals in situation B, because X implies Y.

Are the trial judges within this circuit bound to the statement that Statute A applies to individuals in situation B? Or are they bound to the reasoning that X implies Y? Or both?


texts:
What distinguishes a civilian charge of treason versus being an enemy combatant?  Richard J. Leon ruled:

"Enemy combatant" shall mean an individual who was part of or supporting Taliban or al Qaeda forces, or associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners. This includes any person who has committed belligerent act or has directly supported hostilities in aid of enemy armed forces.

So:

What's a belligerent act?
What distinguishes directly supporting hostilities vs indirectly supporting hostilities?
Is merely indirectly supporting hostilities excluded from the things that makes one an enemy combatant?


texts: Ideologically motivated jury nullification

texts:
I was thinking about the idea of jury nullification.
Let's say somebody does not believe in drug laws and knows about jury nullification. They get selected onto a jury. They are selected without them knowing that they are anti anti-drug-laws. Then, that juror refuses to convict that person and instead chooses to nullify the person based on that juror's political views.
Is such ideologically motivated activist judicial behavior legal?


texts:
I founded my own software development company a couple of months ago. I was able to find a customer now (a smaller football club) that needs a custom software for tracking the staff, players, etc. Before I start working, I need my customer to sign my software contract which I got from my lawyer. The contract is basically ok, but one thing makes me think:
The contract stipulates that the copyright of the software remains with my company and that the customer is not allowed to sub-licence it to other potential customers. However, I can sell the software to other potential customers if I want.
But isn't that unfair to my customer? The customer needs to buy the software for a lot of money and in the end, is not able to make money with it. My lawyer said that this is ok and normal. Do you know if this is common practice? I don't want that my company gets a shady reputation over time.


texts: In relation to the definition of ‘sexual activity’ I am wondering if explicit/nude photos would be classed as "sexual activity" under S4 SOA 2003?


texts: Can a company make an ethical commitment to customers that survives even when it's sold?

texts:
TL;DR: Suppose a company has made a specific ethical commitment to its customers. When selling that company, is it possible for the seller to prevent the buyer from reneging on or dropping that commitment?

Details:

I got to thinking about this the other day in relation to ethical promises from companies. Suppose Company A sells a service customers pay for monthly/annually/whatever. As part of its business model, Company A promises not to do X, and writes that promise into its customer contract. It doesn't matter what X is, but let's assume

it's legal
it's something other companies do
it's something some consider to be unethical
it's something that can be clearly defined

...like selling the customers' email addresses, or sending them advertisements in the post; something like that.

Megacorp B comes along and wants to buy Company A (in its entirety, not allowing the current owners to retain a controlling interest). Is it possible to sell it in such a way, or structure the customer contracts in such a way, that Megacorp B can't change the customer contract to drop the guarantee about X once the sale is complete? (Obviously they may lose customers doing that, ones who reject the new contract, but assume Megacorp B is okay with losing those customers.)

I tend to think it's not possible, that there would be some way for Megacorp B to get around it (perhaps by setting up a new company doing an identical service, telling the customers they're winding up Company A, and offering to migrate customers to the new service), but IANAL.


texts: Where to pay state tax when I rent apartment in two states?

texts: If I work in Georgia but spend most of my time in California (working remotely). Officially I am located in Georgia. I rent an apartment at both the places - in Georgia and in California. Do I have to pay state taxes on my income tax in both the states?


texts: Could you briefly tell me the difference between strict liability and negligence?

texts:
there:
I have three questions about strict liability, if you can give me some brief and plain explanations.

What is the difference between strict liability and negligent liability? i.e. strict liability basis vs. negligence basis.

What is the difference in burden of proof between the two bases? I am wondering whether the rule of res ipsa loquitur is only applicable to strict liability cases.

What is the difference between the final compensation based on the two bases? For example, a claimant under strict liability will pay the full amount of damages rather than have the right to limit his liability and therefor pay less?

I am not a legal student. My textbook mentions the burden of proof and compensation based on the two bases, but it doesn’t interpret them clearly. I am confused why the two bases are different, and what impact they give to us in today's claim handling.
Thank you. Any help is welcome.


texts: What are the real reasons for having oral arguments?

texts: I assume certain arguments sound great on paper but fail miserably when spoken aloud.  I assume that's why the courts do oral arguments.  Can you list some famous arguments that sound good on paper but which are lousy when spoken aloud, along with your answer?


texts: Where is the threshold line between legitimate living trusts and ones purported to defeat creditors?

texts:
Bob wants to setup a living trust where he is the settlor and the beneficiary at the same time. The trustee may or may not be him.

Bob does not owe money to anyone yet, however, he would like to manage the risk of incurring a large debt and loosing his assets to the creditors.

Provided that the trust is set up before the debt gets incurred, will it protect his assets? Will it not be seen fraudulent?

Will the situation change if the trust is set up when, although no debt is incurred yet, nevertheless Bob sees the risk somewhat possible? For example, if Bob is involved in litigation (regarding a matter not related to Bob's assets) and would owe lots of money in legal costs to the other party if he loses?

Answers re any English-language-centric jurisdiction are welcome, though mostly interested in New Zealand.


texts: Liability for neighbor injured on my property

texts:
My neighbor does odd jobs for me such as taking out the trash, cleaning out the gutters, etc. They fell off a ladder and required medical attention. Recently, they received a letter from their insurance provider that states:

  If another person or entity caused or may be responsible for the
  injury/illness treated, we have processed the claim in accordance with
  your contract benefits. However, we may be able to recover the expense
  of these services from the party causing the injury. Before we can
  close this matter, we require additional information from you.

Are they obligated to respond? If so, how should they respond?


texts:
My brother in law died recently, we had very little interaction with him in the past 4 year. He himself was a guy from countryside Lithuania and not a very technology educated. He lived for past four years (and died) in Britain and had no spouse. His closest relatives are parents who live in the countryside Lithuania and do not speak any English nor has any knowledge how to deal with this sort of stuff. He didn't leave a will. My wife (his sister) does speak English, but not the type of person that deals with legal matters - which leaves this whole thing to me.

I have contacted bank that he was using (Card one banking) and have sent them copy of his passport, death certificate and other documents we could find at his place. However it now been 3 weeks and they are not responding to my emails. I am assuming because my surname is different to that of the deceased and they think this is a scam or simply do not care. How would I go around getting a proof that I am the person that is dealing with legal stuff after his death? I have paid for his burial could this serve as a proof of me dealing with this.


texts: What citations of the Fair Labor Standards Act Federal Law made 4 million employees eligible for overtime?

texts:
I was reading a Pittsburgh Post Gazette article entitled "Time Change" in the "Businesses and Jobs" section of the newspaper from Sunday November 6, 2016.

The article states that a federal law has been modified called the "Fair Labor Standards Act" by the U.S. Department of Labor that requires non-profits organizations to:

More than double the salary threshold at which employees are exempt from overtime protections.

Under the existing rule from 2004, employers must pay overtime to
full-time employees who earn $23,660 or less annually if they work
more than 40 hours a week.

Any non-profit with annual gross revenues over $500,000 is subject to the rules and the DOL plans to raise the overtime threshold every three years beginning in 2020.
Under the revised regulation, the salary level under which employees qualify for overtime pay will jump to $47,476 a year.

So which citations of that law have been modified, added or removed to specify this in legal citation?


texts: Howey Test for Real Estate Business vs. Farm Land?

texts:
I have no education in legal matters and was only thinking about some investments.  I stumbled on something called the Howey Test and tried to read a little about it.  I still don't understand it, and will demonstrate my confusion with a scenario.
Scenario
Renzo owns a house.  Renzo sells the house to Samir.  Samir wants to generate rental income with the house. Samir has no experience in the rental business.  Samir pays Renzo $2k per month to perform the following services:

find suitable tenants for the house by performing marketing services, background checks of tenants etc...
maintain the property (eg. cut the grass, fix toilet, re-shingle root etc...)
manage any financial issues such as paying taxes, etc...

Based on the above points, does this scenario pass the Howey Test?  Do any of the following points (or combination of points) affect the scenario's ability to pass the Howey Test?

Samir and Renzo are siblings
Samir and Renzo agree to split any profit/loss generated from the rental income
Samir owns all the profit/loss generated from rental income.  Renzo does not make any other income beyond his $2k per month.
The value of the house at time of transaction was under $100k USD
The value of the house at time of transaction was over $100k USD

Note
I don't fully understand the term common enterprise.  I was hoping someone can give an example of common enterprise based on the points I mentioned in the scenario.
When trying to read wikipedia's article on SEC v. W. J. Howey Co., I couldn't confirm why anyone would want to buy land from W. J. Howey if both of these conditions are true:

they have no agricultural experience
they have  "no right of entry and no right to any produce harvested" (is this the same as saying you own nothing but the land? If you don't own the produce harvested, then how do you sell it for money/profit? What use is the land then?  Buyer's of the land only opportunity to profit is based on capital gains appreciation?)


texts: Is sex for rent considered prostitution in Australia

texts:
There have been a number of articles about people who have been exchanging sex for rent or accommodation.

Assuming that at some interval a person provides sexual services to another and in for this they are given some where to live (could be with them or at another location) could this be considered a form of prostitution? Or does money have to be exchanged to be considered prostitution.

What test apply?


texts: Are there any lawyers who will do a civil case on a contingent fee?

texts:
My car was stolen and the title was forged. Police said I need to file a lawsuit.
Is there any lawyer who will do this on a contingent fee? Do all of them want money up front? Car is a 2018 mercdes in good condition and this seems like a trivial case.


texts: What is the legal basis for Washington State's ban on private indoor gatherings?

texts: Washington State's governor announced indoor gatherings are prohibited. On what legal basis could they be enforced in private settings (such as people in their own homes)?


texts: Pokémon Go hot spots and private property

texts:
As we all know Pokémon Go is all the rage.
There have been reports that police stations are common hot spots for gyms and collections.  Churches have also been a common hot spot.  I think there is also a story where a man bought an old church and now that is his residence.  Regardless of whether that story is true it made me think:

What is the legality of someone putting a virtual hot spot on your property without permission?  I know we are in uncharted territory, but how would this compare to setting up a contest that would require going on your property without permission? Is it currently legal to say, "Go to person X's house and touch a tree"? If not, does the current law extend to augmented reality?

To me both are attractions which cause a gathering of people.


texts: Can I trademark a slogan that uses the word "JPEG"?

texts: I'm planning on using a slogan that I could trademark and was wondering if using the acronym "JPEG" is possible? I want to reference the fileformat .jpeg not the joint comittee it's short for. I'm thinking that the fileformat is a universally known thing but is it possible still land in hot water? I'm thinking about using ".jpeg" including the dot and in lower case.


texts: Could the participants in 'The Push' be charged with attempted murder?

texts:
The Push is a TV show where participants are coerced into committing an intentional act of murder through psychological manipulation. Even though the setup was staged and nobody was in any actual danger, the participants still acted with the belief and intention that their act would cause their victim to die.
At least this is what they claim in the show.
If this claim is true, could the showmakers prevent them from being prosecuted for Attempted Murder by the Crown Prosecution Service?


texts: How can the date for the 2020 US census legally be changed?

texts: The next US census is scheduled for 2020-04-01. In light of the recent COVID-19 pandemic it might become necessary to delay this. How can this legally be done (since the census is required by the constitution)?


texts:
An agreement between two parties ( one Indian and another South Korean)  is to be Notarized in India.
The authorized signatory ( a foreign nation)  of the first party is in South Korea.  I suppose Notarization requires physical presence of both the parties in presence of a Notary. So in this case what should be done?
Can a PoA be sent by the first party to a friend here in India, who signs in front of Notary on the behalf of the first party?


texts: Can I be compelled by law to decrypt information in UK?

texts:
Is there any law currently in place within the UK that can force someone to decrypt information? Either by forcing them to supply the password/key or forcing them to provide the information in an unencrypted format.

For example I am communicating with a friend over What's app using end-to-end encryption. Can the police or a court force me to allow them access to the data.


texts: Do corporations have equal rights with natural persons to carpool on California freeways?

texts:
Articles on SFGATE from 2013 and Wikipedia: Jonathan Frieman describe the legal efforts of Johnathan Frieman of San Rafael, CA in creating an odd test case for corporate personhood.

Frieman argues that if corporate personhood is valid, and corporations have legal rights of people as evidenced by e.g., the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling that a corporation's constitutional rights as a person, specifically their rights under the First Amendment to the US Constitution, barred the government from limiting corporate donations to political campaigns, then corporations should have a right to join a carpool and thereby enable a vehicle to legally occupy the carpool lane.

This may also be some kind of test case / legal protest of corporate person as the article suggests he would also be OK with a ruling that corporations aren't really people after all.

  Ford Greene, Frieman's attorney, pointed to California vehicle code section 470, which says the definition of a person includes "natural persons and corporations." The signs on the freeways ask carpoolers to carry "2 or more persons" which, Greene said, "is constitutionally vague."

The CVC online shows:

  "Person" includes a natural person, firm, copartnership,
  association, limited liability company, or corporation.

but this is a general definition and I would expect the part of the CVC that discusses the HOV lanes to have its own definition or terminology for a person, or perhaps an occupant, etc...

The traffic court judge ruled against Frieman, citing the purpose of the carpool lane as defined in the code is to reduce traffic congestion:

  "Common sense says carrying a sheath of papers in the front seat does not relieve traffic congestion ... And so I'm finding you guilty."

But Frieman plans an appeal...

  Outside the courtroom, Frieman said he would appeal the ruling within 30 days.
  "I expected to lose," Frieman said. "And I expected the judge to cite the reasons he did."

Questions:

has there been an appeal of this case in California?
if not, does Frieman have a case or is this purely frivolous nonsense?

Information on similar cases is welcome.


texts: KYC (Know Your Customer) Verification Between Two Businesses

texts:
I want to add a payment service to an existing business which has already verified its customers (id, proof of address). The service is not like Stripe, because they only abstract the connection with the banks' APIs. It is a business on its own, a smart currency exchange system, so it is required to apply KYC. More on that here.

Basically, if business A has already verified its customers, can it pass data to business B to process the payment, with no additional KYC required for B? The user will be allowed to make a payment via B to only pay for A’s services, therefore the funds will only go to one of their bank accounts. Logically, money laundering is out of question here, as A is already regulated, but I’m not completely sure.

Of course, prior to confirm the payment, there will be a "Do you agree to share details with B to make the payment" type of question.


texts: Can an immigrant with an electronic tag (ankle monitor) be hired?

texts:
My parents own a small restaurant.
While they were looking for a full-time employee, Latino woman, a mother of one child, applied with all the qualifying documents like SSN, and etc. (according to my parents and their CPA).

The thing is she is wearing an electronic tag around her ankle. She explained that it was due to her status in US.

Is it okay to hire a person in her situation?

If so, how long can she stay in US?


texts: Are over-zealous indemnity clauses enforceable?

texts:
Given the indemnity clause of a website's ToS below, am I correct in my non-legal opinion that if someone hacks my account, even if due to the sites lack of security, and causes harm or loss, I'm financially on the hook for it?  Is that enforceable?

My location is Florida, but the company has offices at least five US states including California and North Carolina

{Emphasis mine}

INDEMNITY. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless , its owners, affiliates, officers, directors, employees, consultants, licensors, agents, and representatives from any and all third party claims, losses, liability, damages, and/or costs (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs) arising from your violation of these Terms, or your infringement, or infringement by any other user under your name or account (whether or not authorized or known to you), of any intellectual property or other right of any person or entity. We will notify you promptly of any such claim, loss, liability, or demand, and in addition to your foregoing obligations, you agree to provide us with reasonable assistance, at your expense, in defending any such claim, loss, liability, damage, or cost.


texts: What should I do if facebook ignore fake news?

texts:
Now, our state is in war zone and people are dying daily because of war. Government and Arakan Army are fighting with heavy weapons. No Journalist are allowed to enters, we have 17 divisions in our state and only 3 divisions access internet and telephone. Government cut off those. So, here is my question.

There are so many fake news on facebook about your state current situation. We reported facebook team and they reply "It doesn't go community standard".

So, Where should I report if we have prove? If facebook ignores "fake news".

Normally, in my point of views,  fake news on internet is usual but people are dying and world need to know truth.


texts: At what stage in an English registry office ceremony do two people become legally married?

texts: Is it after they've both said the vows and the registrar has pronounced them man and wife, or after the legal registry has been signed? Or some other time?


texts: In the event of conflicting instruction given by an agent of a company, whose authority is greater?

texts:
Consider the following situation: a Contractor is working at a Company on a job. Company Employee 1 requests that the Contractor attend a meeting. However, the Contractor is later requested to leave the meeting by a different Company Employee 2 (for example, to avoid the possibility of revealing confidential information to the Contractor). The Contractor states to Company Employee 2 that Company Employee 1 has requested their attendance of the meeting.

Does Company Employee 2 have legal authority to remove the Contractor from the premises (either by own force or by contacting the authorities) if Contractor refuses their request?

Assuming Company Employee 1 outranks Company Employee 2 within Company, would the Contractor be within their legal rights to remain on the premises and refuse Company Employee 2's request? (possibly even to avoid breach of contract if attending to the meeting was required and not merely requested)
Assuming Company Employee 2 outranks Company Employee 1 within Company, would the Contractor be legally required to leave the premises at Company Employee 2's request? (and would this result in breach of contract if attending the meeting was required?)
Assuming Company Employee 1 & 2 have the same authority within Company, whose instruction takes precedence? Is it whichever was given later?

The specific jurisdiction of interest is California. The Contractor was aware of Company Employee 1's position as a low level manager within the Company at the time of the request to join the meeting. The Contractor is not aware of Company Employee 2's position within Company at the time of the request to leave the premises.

In summary: whose authority (1 or 2) is Contractor bound to obey?


texts: Can I appeal the denial of NY Senator McGee's scholarship after being awarded?

texts:
I take online courses for a masters in nursing education with Aspen University. The university is headquartered in NY and is accredited by a regional accrediting agency of the US Dept of Ed. I live in NY. I was awarded the scholarship then subsequently denied eligibility because "the school is not a registered school with the NYS Board of Ed" (a rep stated).

Does my school satisfy the requirement and can I rightfully appeal their decision to overturn the denial of my award?

Can the denial be reversed?

Here is the source for the eligibility requirements:
https://www.hesc.ny.gov/pay-for-college/financial-aid/types-of-financial-aid/nys-grants-scholarships-awards/senator-patricia-k-mcgee-nursing-faculty-scholarship-program.html


texts: What assets can a creditor make you forfeit in the UK?

texts: If you owe a lot of money in the UK, what assets can the creditor legally force you to sell to pay off the debts? For example, can they make you sell (or remortgage) your family home?   What law is this covered by?


texts: Somebody tells me to not come on their property. When does the warning expire? The statute of limitations is about a year, is that enough?


texts:
Consider a hypothetical partnership agreement between 2 companies in 2 different countries (Australia & Saudi Arabia). On the last page of the agreement it requires signatures from Company 1 and Company 2.
Who should sign the agreement from each company? Can it be the account manager? General manager? CEO? The owner?
How can the other company know this person is really representing their company?
Do you need a witness for the agreement? If so, what does the witness witness?


texts: Is the act of receiving a 'happy ending' illegal in Canada?

texts:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/massage-therapist-s-happy-endings-incident-spurs-federation-to-take-action-1.4659016

In the recording of the interaction at the Kirkland police detachment,
the officer tells her that it is unlikely the man will be found, that
the punishment would be minimal if he were ever convicted and that the
expectation of "happy endings" comes along with the profession.

I was surprised to read this on a news article, because the law clearly states that it's illegal.

While happy endings are legal in Montreal, they are not provided by certified and licensed massage therapists who are closer to
physiotherapists in the services they provide and who usually work out
of athletic therapy clinics, gyms, and spas.

https://www.nationalobserver.com/2018/05/08/opinion/happy-endings-not-part-job
So there are two articles that seems to suggest it's legal, while the law states the opposite.
https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/other-autre/c36faq/

Purchasing sexual services and communicating in any place for that
purpose is now a criminal offence for the first time in Canadian
criminal law. A person convicted of this new offence may be sentenced
to up to 5 years imprisonment if prosecuted on indictment, and 18
months if prosecuted by summary conviction. Mandatory minimum fines
also apply, including higher mandatory minimum fines if the offence is
committed in a public place that is or is next to parks, schools,
religious institutions or places where children can reasonably be
expected to be present. A person convicted of purchasing sexual
services from a person under the age of 18 years may be sentenced to
up to 10 years imprisonment. Mandatory minimum penalties of 6 months
imprisonment for a first offence and one year for subsequent offences
also apply.
The new purchasing offence applies to transactions that take place
over the Internet, such as paying someone to provide a sexual service
in front of a webcam.
A “sexual service” is a service that is sexual in nature and whose
purpose is to sexually gratify the person who receives it. “Obtaining
a sexual service for consideration” involves an agreement for a
specific sexual service in return for payment or another kind of
consideration, including drugs or alcohol. It doesn’t matter whether
payment is made by the person who receives the sexual service or by
another person.
Activities that amount to “obtaining a sexual service for
consideration”, if a person pays for them, include: sexual
intercourse; masturbation; oral sex; lap-dancing, which involves
sitting in a person’s lap and simulating sexual intercourse; and,
sado-masochistic activities, provided that the acts can be considered
to be sexually stimulating or gratifying.

So which one is it?


texts: Who appointed the judge for Julian Assange's extradition hearing?

texts: That is, how are judges in the UK appointed to cases in general and to this case in particular?


texts: Am I forbidden from implementing a settings search?

texts: There is a patent for settings search. I wonder if there is any way I could be allowed to implement that legally. I've heard that abstract ideas cannot be patented, but I'm still not sure if I could legally provide a settings search in my own game engine or software to an end user by using such an excuse. Could anyone please explain?


texts: Do you need to get copyright separately from a creative commons license?

texts: I understand the types of creative commons licensing, but does a creative commons license replace copyright altogether?  If I file for a creative commons license for something that I want to make distributable but not alterable, do I need to copyright it in addition to the creative commons license, or does the license take care of all IP needs?