texts: Google Map image use in public presentation

texts:
The IP statement supplied by Google Maps outlining permissible use of images of their maps is rather vague (to me at least) see link (https://www.google.com/permissions/geoguidelines.html).
They give clear permission for "non-commercial use" in internal reports, presentations, etc., and suggest that one should reference "fair use", but I have difficulty understanding these terms as applied to their permissions. Consider this link:
http://cogentlegal.com/blog/2011/10/tips-and-tricks-for-attorneys-to-use-google-maps-and-google-earth/
where two attorneys discuss using Google map presentations in litigation, clearly a "commercial use" in one sense, but is it "commercial use" as Google would define it? I am asking because I wish to use google map images in a presentation at a scientific conference, but am presenting research completed at a for-profit company at a meeting one must pay the organizing scientific society to attend (speakers are not paid). I am quite sure Google would be "cool" with this (their word), but I cannot find explicit permission for this use in their statement (linked above). I would note that if one contacts them with an inquire they reply "Due to limited resources and high demand, we're unable to sign any letter or contract specifying that your project or use has our explicit permission. As long as you follow the guidance on this link, and attribute the Content correctly, feel free to move forward with your project". Ok, but without some specific reference demonstrating their permission or that my use is not what they consider"commercial" I am prohibited by my company form using their material ... and that I cannot find. I would be grateful for any help in the reading of their permissions to bring light on this.


texts: If a US citizen in the US voluntarily works for free for Sci-Hub, is she in any trouble?

texts:
Sci-Hub gives free access to gated journal articles. In the US, Sci-Hub is in a legal grey area (if not outright illegal).

Let's say for example that a US citizen based in the US volunteers to spruce up their website. She does this completely voluntarily and receives no payment. Is she at any trouble with the law?


texts: I've read that a Federal law prohibits non-citizens from voting in Federal elections. I'm not a lawyer, but from reading the original Constitution and all the amendments, I don't see anything that empowers Congress to enact such a law. I would have thought that allowing resident aliens to vote would be up to the individual states. What is the Constitutional basis for this law?


texts: Is it against the law to takes photographs inside of ballot papers in the UK?

texts:
It being election day in the UK, there's plenty of memes doing the rounds about various aspects (and myths and misinformation) about voting on social media.

One that has raised its head again is the question of photography while voting, specifically of one's own ballot paper.

Is it against the law to take photos of ballot papers?

I did find an article from the Mirror from 2017, which references a Tweet by the Electoral Commission claiming that it could be a violation of the Representation of the People Act 1983 Section 66. I can see some points about it being illegal to communicate information on the polling card, which a photograph shared on social media would seem to fall under.

Does this mean that anyone sharing a photo of their ballot paper on social media is breaking the law?


texts: Can lawful permanent residents be deported from the US for arriving at a port of entry without a green card?

texts:
Suppose a green card holder arrived on a flight to the US, but at some point during the flight, lost their green card and therefore could not present it to CBP. It seems that this person would be an inadmissible alien since they fail to meet the documentary requirements under INA 212(a)(7).

There are some ways out of this situation: the inspecting officer could waive the documentary requirement (INA 211(b)), grant deferred inspection (8 CFR 235.2), or permit the alien to withdraw their application for admission (INA 235(a)(4)). However, all of those require an exercise of discretion.

Therefore, it appears that if DHS is really determined to deport the arriving alien in this situation, they can refuse to grant a waiver, refuse to grant deferred inspection, refuse to grant withdrawal, and place the alien in removal proceedings. In removal proceedings, the immigration judge could similarly deny all forms of relief and issue an order of removal. The alien would then lose their LPR status and be banned from the US for 5 years.

Legally speaking, are there a way for such an arriving alien (a returning LPR, who has previously complied with all immigration laws, has not abandoned their residence, and has merely lost their green card on the way to the port of entry) to avoid deportation that does not require a favourable exercise of discretion?


texts: Does a German visitor implicitly agree to a website’s Terms of Service when reading a page?

texts:
When Bob visits a website and reads a page, does he implicitly agree to the website’s Terms of Service?

The ToS are linked from each page (e.g., in the footer), and they say something like "By using or accessing the Service, you agree to …".
Bob has no user account on this site.
Bob just reads (no content submission, no product ordering, no file download).
Bob is from Germany.

What I found

From my understanding, that would be a browse wrap, but the Wikipedia articles makes no statement about the German jurisdiction.

The question What are the legal requirements for displaying a Terms & Conditions link on a website? is about Australia, and seems to focus on how the link must be presented.

The questions Website Registration Terms Agreement - Implicit With a Blurb or Need Checkbox? and How prominent must terms of service be? do not mention a jurisdiction.

One answer to the question What if the user disagreed with the Terms of Service, but still registered on a website? says that one usually agrees implicitly, another answer says that it might be unenforceable if it’s just a link among others, but the question does not seem to be specific to a jurisdiction.


texts: Can you sued for libel for telling the truth in negative advertisement?

texts: In the event of a lawsuit against a previous employer for non payment. And the evidence against them includes notarized statements from previous employees with statements towards the owner refusal to pay them. If you took them to court, and they were found guilty. Can you be sued for libel, if you put out advertisements that portray the owner/company in a negative view even though you weren't lying?


texts: Can a person plead the fifth to refuse to acknowledge his identity?

texts:
The answer to my earlier question here: Can you plead the fifth to avoid revealing the identity of someone you were accused of being? ended up with a side debate I wanted to determine the answer to.

Say that The Green Goblin has been terrorizing Gotham and is accused of many crimes, but no one knows his real identity and thus they do not know who to prosecute.  Eventually Harry Osborn is accused of being the Green Goblin and put on trial.

Can Harry plead the fifth to refuse to admit that he is, in fact, the Goblin?  If "the green goblin" is accused of a crime which was not yet proven can Harry still refuse to admit his identity as the alter ego to avoid being able to be prosecuted for the crime at all?

I had assumed the answer was yes he could, but the above answer seems to imply otherwise...


texts: What is proof of income for someone who still lives off an allowance? (Indigent defense application)

texts:
I have gotten a shoplifting charge (<$200) in the state of NM and am trying to fill out the "ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION FOR INDIGENT DEFENSE SERVICES" application for a court appointed attorney. I am required to provide proof of Income, Indigency Affidavit Form (Notarized) and copies of most recent Income Tax Returns. I dont know how to provide proof of income (or what that looks like for me), what exactly I'm supposed to bring and show the notary, what I am supposed to do about the tax return forms, and whether or not ill even qualify.
I am an 18 year old who's "job" it is to be going to university and completing career certifications. Therefore my dad pays me an allowance of no more than $50 a week to cover meals and gas. Beyond that I haven't had much need for, nor have ever had a paying job. Because of this I've never filled a tax form or had an employer for an income letter or pay stubs. So how can I provide proof of income compliant with the expectations of the court?
All google has done for me is tell me I need a lawyer, tell me the options (that I dont have) to provide proof of income, and freak me out with big scary legal words that I dont know.


texts: Using hash functions to bypass Cold War-era crypto export restrictions

texts:
During the Cold War and up until late 1992, export restrictions prevented the distribution of strong cryptographically secure ciphers. These export restrictions required that all symmetric ciphers be capped at a small enough key size that they could be feasibly cracked by US intelligence agencies. In order to avoid running afoul of these regulations, the Linux kernel used cryptographic hashes for generating random data. Since it seems there were no restrictions on the security of hash algorithms, and as it is technically possible to create a symmetric cipher using a hash algorithm, would it have been legal to export such a system without it being classified as munitions?

Given that I'm asking on Law.SE rather than Crypto.SE, a few notes on terminology:

A hash function is an algorithm which takes an arbitrarily-sized input and generates an output digest of a fixed size, such as 160 bits. They are designed such that any small change in the input creates a wildly different output. A secure hash function is designed so knowledge of the output digest is not sufficient to deduce what the input was. Secure hashes of the time, such as MD5, had this property.

A pseudorandom number generator, or PRNG is an algorithm that takes a small random seed, and deterministically expands it into an endless stream of pseudorandom data. The same seed will always result in the same psueodrandom output, and small changes to the seed result in completely different output. A cryptographically-secure PRNG is designed such that the seed cannot be determined based on knowledge of the output, and future output cannot be predicted without access to the seed.

A symmetric cipher is an algorithm which takes a key of a given size, and uses that key to scramble input data. The output of the cipher is unreadable unless the same exact key is used to decrypt it. A stream cipher is a type of symmetric cipher based on a secure PRNG, using the seed as the key and combining the output (keystream) with the data to be encrypted using an invertible operation such as XOR. The data can then be decrypted by repeating the process on the encrypted data, with the key.


texts: Is it legal to write a program using a DB scheme deliberately compatible to an existing software?

texts:
Ok, so there is this commercial software X that uses an SQLite DB (or rather multiple SQLite DBs that can be added/removed) for storage, so anyone can look at the scheme by just opening it.

We want to write and distribute (open source) a software Y to perform a similar task in another environment. It would be convenient to use a DB scheme that is close enough to software X format such that software X will be able to read it (and we know this would work).

Is that generally permitted? Since we do not only want to read/extend the files written by the software X, but also generate new files from scratch. So I am worried that typing out a SQLite schema suspiciously similar to the one used in X datafiles might be copyright infringement - what is your opinion?

Would this change if the format was incompatible with the original format, just laid out in a rather similar way such that someone who knew how to do it could easily convert it?

Does it matter whether I do this in the US or in the EU, and does it matter for where the users are?


texts:
We visited a property to rent, we made an offer which was accepted, paid deposit + admin fees, received the tenancy agreement with a special clause which says that we can't use the balcony!!! (they ask us to pay before sending the agreement... But it is apparently common practice in the UK).
The private balcony appears on the online advert and we didn't specifically ask if we could use it during the visit (because it seemed obvious to us... as in, I didn't ask if I could use the shower).

And now they are literally lying to our face... They sent me an email saying:

  At the time of the viewing there was a second party at the property; they enquired as to the availability of the balcony. [Letting agent] at this point mentioned that it was not included as part of any tenancy. At this point, [Me] asked [Letting agent] ‘why the balcony was not included’ – [Letting agent] advised that he was not sure of the reasoning but he would find out why.

The conversation above never happened!

And now I don't want to sign the agreement and they're trying to steal from us

  In line with the above I must inform you that as per your signed reservation fee letter (attached) that should you wish to withdraw from this administration at any stage within the process, £700 will be retained from the funds paid.

Do we have any grounds for getting our money back??? I cannot prove that they lied during the viewing...


texts: Is it legal to ask users to pay for exporting their data?

texts:
I have a RescueTime account (rescuetime.com) and I want to export all of my data with its API. However based on my experimentation the API can access data of only three most recent months.

If I want to access reports of last year on the website, I need to pay for a subscription. I believe the API for raw data export has similar restrictions. Is it legal to charge me for my own data?


texts: Could libel have legal action taken if the would be defendent was using a VPN that goes to another country?

texts: Normally, if someone writes libelous material about somebody online, they are traced by name and/or IP address. But, let’s say there are neither. So, someone wants to accuse someone of using meth on Reddit. This user has been active for quite some time and never revealed his or her IP. Then, this user says that the actor, politician, or whoever it may be is using meth. Reddit removes the content but it keeps spreading. Could the original uploader be sued if the VPN refuses to listen?


texts: Do I have to allow users to delete their acounts?

texts:
On my web app, the only personal information that I ask users for when they sign in is their e-mail address.

The e-mail address is not shown to any other users, but one can check if a user exists with a given e-mail address (by trying to create a new account with the same address, since only one account per address is allowed).

Am I legally required to allow users to delete their account?
I am especially interested in European law.

Thank you very much in advance.


texts: Can alcohol affect my car insurance policy if I am under the legal limit?

texts:
Can an insurance company legally deny claims in a no-fault accident because of a blood alcohol content that's under the legal limit but is not 0? I'm in Wisconsin but references to any national rulings/regulations are welcome.

I just bought a new car and was wondering if running to the store after a beer would jeopardize my insurance. (I'm a 200+ lb male so impairment is not a concern)


texts:
I am going to use made up names.. John was born in Belarus (not actually, but country close in culture and economic development) and moved to the US 20 years ago. John went back to Belarus and met Oxana. They married in Belarus after spending a summer together (John did know Oxana during his school days). John brough Oxana to Ohio, US and she got a greencard.

Oxana asked John to send her 37 year old son money every month before she even moved to the US. John did this because he believed in true love and because Oxana promised to get a job and eventually pay him back for supporting her adult son. John was nothing but kind to Oxana, but he did occassionally ask Oxana to get a job like she promised. One time John said he won't send Oxana'a son money this month (because her son stole from John's family).

Oxana said she wants a divorce, and that she will sue him for all he's got, and she will tell the court that he beats her and engages in intercourse with his daughter in front of her and is therefore emotionally abusive.

John has never hit anyone in his life and his daughter is a virgin that hugged her dad maybe once in the past year. His daughter does live with them, but they barely see her (she studies in her room and buys her own groceries, pays rent, etc).

John and Oxana have been married 2 years and lived together in the US for 9 months.

I have several questions:

How does John protect himself from false claims (e.g. if the woman decides to roll down the stairs and blame him)? Is there any downside to basically putting a camera in every room of the house except hers?
How do you find a good divorce lawyer? Is it reasonable to ask for some sort of record of past outcomes (are there standards to provide full and complete records like for financial companies)? Is it reasonable to ask to pay way less if the lawyer fails to get certain terms? Do the lawyers even do anything other than fill out paperwork?
What can one expect to pay a divorce lawyer?


texts: Company limited by guarantee - can minors be guarantors?

texts:
In the case of companies described as a "Private company limited by guarantee without share capital", I understand that all Members of the company act as guarantors.  In the case of it winding up, their liability is limited by the articles to a nominal fee (£1).
I understand that in a company limited by shares, there is no automatic prohibition on minors being shareholders, but they may not be bound contractually in some ways.
What happens in the case of a company limited by guarantee?  Can a minor enter into a contract of guarantee in this case, and be held to paying £1 on the dissolution of the company?  If not, does that mean minors cannot be Members of the company?
I can't seem to find anything relevant in the Companies Act 2006 - any sources for relevant information would be appreciated.


texts: Can we have an accessory while a principal is acquitted?

texts: Can someone be convicted of being an accessory to a crime while a principal is acquitted? By definition an accessory helps conceal evidence or persons involved in a felony. If a principal is not charged as a felon, but the crime is still a felony, then doesn't that require there being another principal who is the felon, or can we have a felony without a felon?


texts: What plaintiff Pro -se can do if a Federal judge in civil personal injury case denied all her requests for subpoenas?

texts: I am a Pro-Se Plaintiff in civil personal injury case against Walmart where I was badly injured. Since beginning of 2018 I am not able to receive subpoenas and Open Records from Atlanta Federal Court. Clerks by direction of the Judge counted my Requests for Public Open Records as a Motion and Judge Denied my requests. Also all my requests for subpoenas also were denied by the Judge. Judge also denied my Motion to Compel and Motion to extend the discovery period, but I need to gather information for the Trial. What I can do?


texts: In Germany, is there a reward for reporting possible tax fraudsters or money launderers to the authorities?

texts:
I could well be wrong and I don't want to go into specifics here, but...
Let's assume I know of a business that in reality generates a few hundred thousand euros in revenue and yet shows a P+L with revenue far in excess of those numbers. This could imply they are laundering money — paying some tax just to get the money into circulation.

Who would I report this suspicion to?

If I were proven right, would there be a reward?


texts: Using online posts as evidence of defamation

texts: Can untrue online posts and comments be used as evidence to substantiate a claim of libel?


texts: How is internet archiving legal, when it appears to violate many websites terms of use?

texts:
Internet archiving services like the internet wayback machine work by rehosting content from other website. However, many websites in their term explicitly disallow people to frame their website or rehost their content. So my question is, how are internet archive websites allowed to work?

As a cursory search, I've found that a lot of websites have the phrase (or variants):

  Under no circumstances may you “frame” the websites or any of their content or copy portions of the websites to a server, except as part of an Internet service provider’s incidental caching of pages.

Yet, many of the sites that have this phrase are archived on archive.org

My initial thoughts are that these websites don't have a problem with what archive.org is doing, so they don't pursue any legal action. However, it seems that archive.org is blatantly violating a huge number of websites terms. Although I have not legal experience, it seems that this could easily open themselves up to a class action lawsuit. Does anybody have any thoughts on this?

Relevant Questions

Rehosting website - This question mentions that rehosting websites violates copyright unless explicitly allowed.


texts: Could I build an island in the Pacific ocean and claim the throne?

texts: If I construct an island in the middle of the Pacific ocean (not within any country's water territories) could I claim sovereignty?


texts:
Is embedding YouTube music videos on a webpage using the native iframe player illegal?

Are there issues (for instance, copyright) to be wary of?


texts: How Honest Should One Be With Their Lawyer?

texts: Question: Should one be unconditionally honest with their lawyer whenever one is being charged with a crime ? In particular what is the correct response when  the lawyer asks "Did you do it ?"


texts:
I have done legal research before, but mostly on criminal law and civil claims/torts.

Tax law is a whole nother beast. First of all, most of it is not actually laws at all, but regulations. And it is a ginormous mass of stuff which is particularly technical and hard to parse.

If I wanted to research particular topics in tax law, what would be the right approach. Are there specific types of official guides that can make the problem easier, sort of a Cliff Notes of tax law?


texts: Michelle Carter the person who urged a man to commit suicide sentenced to 2.5 years in prison. Is this constitutional?

texts:
Earlier this year Michelle Carter was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter because she urged her a guy to commit suicide. The guy was already suicidal but actually told Michelle that he was not going to do it. She responded to this by urging him to do it anyway.

Later she was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison with a bunch of clauses including a suspended amount of time and probation.

Is it constitutional to sentence a person to imprisonment for involuntary manslaughter who did not physically aid a person's suicide? Would these text messages not be protected under the first amendment and if not what are these messages classified as?


texts: What rights do I have if my apartment neighbor is smoking marijuana and the smell is entering my apartment?

texts:
To preface this, I'm looking specifically for California Law. I'm aware that medical marijuana is legal in the state of California, and am wondering if any other laws apply, similarly to tobacco laws.

One of my neighbors, although I don't know which one, smokes marijuana on a regular basis. Almost every night, I can smell it. I've identified that the smell appears to be coming down through my kitchen vent, as the smell always originates from the kitchen area, and is strongest near the vent. There does not appear to be any smell in the hallway, so my guess is that a downstairs neighbor is smoking and attempting to ventilate their apartment via their kitchen vent.

I've contacted my landlord already, who has informed me that there is not much he can do aside from sending out a notice to everyone "reminding everyone that smoking of any kind is a violation of the lease agreement," and that he cannot identify who is smoking, or where the smoke is coming from. He told me that he especially cannot do anything because medical marijuana is legal.

So, my question is: is there anything I can do short of moving out (I don't really want to move out)? I've read a little on tobacco laws, and, although tobacco is legal, allowing tobacco smoke to travel between apartment units may  breach the habitability requirements. Is there any such precedent for marijuana cases?


texts:
My grandfather passed away last year. His will was recently filed, and his sister is about to be named executor.

His sister took a $100,000, 5-year, 5% interest loan from him before he died. She claims this loan was forgiven before his death, and provided a copy of a letter, a typed letter, clearly typed by herself, but which contains his signature at the bottom. I asked if she has an original (with a "wet" signature), and she claims she cannot find it. All that exists is a photocopied letter with his signature at the bottom. It is not notarized.

Given that (1) it is not notarized and (2) there is no original, are there any concrete rules which would render this document invalid (forcing her to report it as an account receivable to the estate)?


texts: Why are residents of particular states barred from being Amazon affiliates?

texts:
Amazon's affiliate operating agreement contains the following clause:

  In addition, if at any time following your enrollment in the Program
  you become a resident of Arkansas, Louisiana, Maine, Missouri, Rhode
  Island, or Vermont, you will become ineligible to participate in the
  Program, and this Operating Agreement will automatically terminate, on
  the date you establish residency in that state.

Why would they be excluding these particular states from participation?


texts: Can terms of service override any written laws?

texts:
Can ToS override some/any aspects of written laws, or rights granted by written law?
I know that ToS cannot compel one to commit murder, theft etc, and that most human rights are off limits. I've seen examples of the right to sue able to be waived via agreeing to a ToS.

As I understand it, there are also some consumer rights that can be surrendered (but others that can't).
Are there any specific examples of rights that can be surrendered via ToS, especially where a court has upheld that capability?

Generally I'm talking about the Common Law systems in the major regions (UK, North America and Oceania). Anything that applies to (majority of) Europe would be fine too.


texts: Street cleaning in France led to broken leg - Can City be sued?

texts:
My brother is Irish (thus EU citizen) he moved to Nice, France earlier this year to work in a bar restaurant. He finished work at 530am, street cleaners were out (Nice City power wash/clean many streets). Slippy cobblestones led to a slip and he broke his leg and ankle (twice in tibia, twice in fibia?).

His alcohol level was tested and not considered a contributing factor to the accident (the doctors said his alcohol count measured below the drink driving limit).

There were witnesses to his fall.

He has been told his work health insurance will cover the medical bills and salary for up to three months. He will spend about a month in a wheelchair before (hopefully) moving to crutches for a couple of months.

He is uncomfortable/unwilling to seek recourse in the courts. I'm suggesting otherwise. Is it worth exploring or would French law just deem it bad luck?


texts:
The definition of an exploit:

  A software tool designed to take advantage of a flaw in a computer system, typically for malicious purposes such as installing malware.

The definition of a zero-day vulnerability:

  A zero-day (also known as zero-hour or 0-day) vulnerability is an undisclosed computer-software vulnerability that hackers can exploit to adversely affect computer programs, data, additional computers or a network.

Is it illegal to create and sell a exploit of a zero-day vulnerability?


texts: Can I make a privacy policy on my own for free?

texts:
I have the Problem that I want to start a web application which has access to the users files on dropbox and co. This involves saving some of the data local, e.g. the directory structure, access token, email addresses...

I know that I have to provide detailed information which data I save and how I use it. But I am a poor student who don't want invest money into a lawyer to write me a privacy policy (this is just a simple project which I want to share, I do not plan to get paid for it)

Is there any way I can do this privacy policy on my own?

Is it possible to just create some “I save all your data“ policy which would of course be to much but it would include all data I save and so I would not miss anything in my policy?

Does such a policy have to be in a specific form?


texts: When does a boyfriend or girlfriend become a tenant?

texts:
My roommate's boyfriend spends more nights here at our shared apartment than I do. His dog is here full time in violation of the lease that says no pets. He has the key code and comes and goes as he pleases to my dismay even when she is not home. Our lease states that the premises are to be used as a private residence for Tenant(s) listed in Clause 1. He is obviously not on that list.

When does he need to be on the lease?
When should he start paying rent?
Is there anything I can do to prevent him from living here?
Should he be able to come and go as he pleases without her?
Is there anything that I can add to a lease to avoid this in the future?


texts: Canceling a contract without a cancelation clause

texts:
Can a contract between a customer and vender without a cancelation clause be canceled without cause by the customer?

In other words... is an unmentioned clause open to do whatever anyone wants to do with it?


texts: Are banks in the US allow to publicly disclose the amount of the checks a bank customer is trying to cash in at the bank along with the customer name?

texts:
I read on https://abcnews.go.com/amp/US/black-man-sues-detroit-bank-alleging-racial-discrimination/story?id=68484056:

  Gordon said a confidentially clause in his settlement with his former employer, Enterprise Leasing Co. of Detroit, prevented her from disclosing the amount of the checks. But TCF Bank told the Detroit Free Press that Thomas presented three checks written from Enterprise that day: one for $59,000, one for $27,000 and one for $13,000.

Are banks in the United States allow to publicly disclose the amount of the checks a bank customer is trying to cash in at the bank along with the customer name?


texts: How does changing a name protect against a libel suit when "everyone" knows who he is?

texts:
In the movie, "Moneyball," the name of Billy Beane's assistant was fictionalized to "Peter Brand." Yet anyone who has read Michael Lewis' book knows that his real name was Paul dePodesta.

Mr. dePodesta withheld permission to use his real name because of several "shortcuts" the movie played with the facts, like the part about dropping in on a newly eligible player on Christmas Day. By doing so, he apparently "disassociated" himself from the movie.

Given that the movie was "based on a true story," what does changing Paul dePodesta's name do? In the Sound of Music, which was "based on a true story," the Captain and Maria retained their real names and identities, but the seven children were fictionalized. Why might that be?


texts: Starting up an internet company that's legally based in Delaware, U.S.A - compliance with local and foreign laws

texts:
I am starting a company and looking to create a C Corporation incorporated in Delaware, where we will provide online services to an Australian market.

In Australia, the services we're providing are 100% legal, but in Delaware (and most of the U.S.A) these services are not permitted by law.

My question is this (and I will follow up with an attorney to confirm):

If we register as a C Corporation incorporated in Delaware but do not have a physical presence there, and do not provide services there, must the services we provide in Australia be compliant with state and federal law inside Delaware and the U.S.A?


texts:
I have security cameras all around the house and a few inside. The ones inside are able to record audio. If someone knows and is aware of the cameras when entering my home, am I able to use recorded conversations in a court of law?
The jurisdiction of interest is California, USA.
There is a posted notice outside my house, right next to the entrance door in plain sight. The cameras inside are also in plain sight. They are mounted in corner walls with no object obstructing them.


texts: Can I use the name Friedrich Nietzsche as commercial application title?

texts:
Can I use the name Friedrich Nietzsche as commercial application title that will be available globally?
I know that his books are in the public domain and I can use fragments in my app but I don't know anything about his name. Who holds the copyright for his name? Or can I use at least F. Nietzsche?


texts: Is there a law that forces an employee to pay into social security?

texts: When an employee receives a paycheck in the United States, one of the deductions from the check is social security. I once tried to get this removed from my paycheck and the payroll company told me that they can not do this. Due to this, I was wondering if there is some sort of law that requires employees to pay Social Security?


texts: Is it possible to be in violation of 18 USC 2339 accidentally?

texts:
During its military operation to reduce Hamas' military capabilities, Israeli airforce destroyed an office complex in Gaza.  Israel has claimed that it had absolutely certain information that Hamas' military targets were housed in that building.  The building was an office building with a number of tenants.  Among them were offices of the Associated Press news agency.
This has caused a controversy.  While AP acknowledges that they have been warned of the impending attack on the building and have been given time to evacuate, they maintain that they have had no knowledge of any Hamas properties or personal in the building.  Because Hamas is a designated terrorist organization, 18 USC 2339 may be applicable.
From my reading of 2339 (Harboring or concealing terrorists), AP may be exposed unless they have had firm knowledge that no part of the building was used by Hamas.  The problem is that, as a news agency reporting on military activities around the entire globe, it strains credulity to suggest that they would not be aware of Hamas operating in the same building with them.
If Israel can provide evidence, which can be certified as genuine by the FBI, that Hamas did operate out of that same building, would that lead to a criminal exposure for AP?  Would the issue of whether they actually knew have to be decided at trial or would it even matter?


texts:
Can a creditor double their money after a default by joint debtors?

In other words, lets say that two people jointly owe a bank $100,000 and both are fully responsible for the loan. The loan goes into default.

Now, obviously the bank (or other creditor) can sue both of the debtors separately if the bank wishes. This could potentially result in two judgements, each for $100,000 against both of the debtors. Thus, it would appear that the bank has doubled its money. Is there anything that can stop this from happening?


texts:
I am trying to wrap my head around when exactly music enters the public domain and how to work out whether a song is in the public domain.

I'm particularly interested in marching music. For American marches, as I understand it, before 1923 everything is public domain. Is there a similar provision in Britain?

I am particularly interested in the marches of Kenneth J Alford, as he died in 1945, which is 71 years ago. As I understand it in Britain copyright on all his music should have lapsed in 2015 (so this year all his works should be public domain).

Edit: I know that any recordings would be copyright at a later date, but my recordings are verified public domain.

Is this the case?


texts: Does nationality affect punishments under the Kuwait system of justice?

texts:
I saw another American steal some expensive items in Kuwait. He was dragged away by the hisbah and some Kuwaiti national guard.

I can understand some Arabic from being in Iraq and I'm pretty sure I heard someone say he was going to lose a hand for stealing. Does it matter if you are American in Kuwait when it comes to Sharia punishment?


texts: Who owns the rights of my bike ride track in an official race?

texts:
Say I participate in an organized cycling (or running) event and say the event organizer has not published the track anywhere online and say the event organizer does not want the track to be publicly accessible.

Then, can the event organizer prohibit me from publishing my ride publicly on Strava (Strava is a platform for uploading, sharing and investigating of sports activities such as cycling, running etc).

If I upload a GPX track to Strava, I accept the following conditions:

  “You grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any Content that you post on or in connection with the Services.”

Since the rights asserted by Strava are quite extensive, I wonder whether the organizer can interdict my upload to keep the precise routing under lock and key.  On the flipside, I feel this would strongly restrict my liberty rights.

If this is not the right place to ask, please point me to a better forum.


texts: What happens to my contract in the event of a death

texts:
I contracted a website development company (Company X) to design a brand new website for me from scratch. After an email conversation, we agreed on a price and that included a year's worth of free maintenance and support on demand. The website was created but within 2 weeks of creating the website, the owner of Company X and sole website designer suddenly died.
All the clients were migrated to a new company (Company Y) which is a company that Company X sometimes outsourced work to - their owner has said to continue providing the same website service, he will charge (an extortionate amount).
My questions are:

I don't have a formal contract with Company X, just agreements in writing on emails - does this count?
If so, does Company Y have to honour my agreement with Company X?
If we have to pay him and it is more viable to switch company rather than continue with Company Y, does he have any grounds to block the transfer?
Many thanks


texts: Is it Illegal for me to refuse to hire a white child actor because the already selected parent is black and the child isn't adopted?

texts:
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 reads:

"It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer—(1) to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin"

However, there is an exception made for BFOQs (Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications).  Specifically the law states

"It shall not be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to hire and employ employees . . . on the basis of his religion, sex, or national origin in those certain instances where religion, sex, or national origin is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to the normal operation of that particular business or enterprise."

Race and color are included in the first section, making it illegal to refuse to hire someone on those basis; However, the BFOQ exception does not apply to race or color.  Thus it would appear there is never a situation where one can choose an individual based off of their race.
So consider a situation where I'm casting for some play or movie and I've already picked the a black man and women for the main married couple.  I'm now trying to pick a child to play the biological son of these characters.  This would seem a clear case of a BFOQ if race were included in the exception, The audience is clearly going to notice if the child and parents were a different race and that is going to lead to either confusion or expectation that the child was adopted that could mess with the narrative, so the race of the child seems relevant.
However, as I said, BFOQ exception doesn't appear to apply to race or color.  Does that mean that it would be illegal in the USA to refuse to hire a white child in this situation?
Assuming that it would be how does the TV and Movie industry manage to keep race of family members consistent without constantly having to pay out settlements to people who were excluded due to their race?


texts: I can't read this cover of a precedent case

texts:
Embarrassing, I have a very simple question. I can't interprete this cover of a precedent case because I am an English learner. Please give me your help. In the middle of the image I attached below,

"Louis J. Hoffman, Hoffman Patent Firm of Scottsdale, Arizona, argued for plaintiff-appelle. On the brief was Lan B Crosby, Susman Godfrey LLP, of Seattle, Washington."

In this sentence, Is Louis the plaintiff-appelle? or... Louis is the lawyer??


texts:
I am trying to find the text or at least the proper citation for the mask laws in San Francisco and other cities in 1918. However my research only tells me that they existed, when they were enacted and paraphrasing of the contents, and that they resulted in an open-air court on the street, where fines were contested and upheld. Yet I could not find either the proper reference to them or the original text. I am not in the US, so digging through the papers in the archives of LA and SF is impossible for me.
How should one cite these repealed/annulled laws and where can one find the verbatim text of at least one of them, most favorably the San Francisco one?


texts: Will I have any responsibility for what happens in my house after I sell it?

texts:
I'm planning to sell my house.  I have a pool table that is too heavy and old . . . so I want to leave it as a bonus.

However, now that I think about it, I'm concerned. What if this table breaks, and somebody gets injured.  It never broke on me, but still this is not a part of the house.  So just in case , when i sell the house . . .what if this table falls apart and the new owners get injury , will that be my problem?

Should I ask the buyers sign a liability waiver? Do I have any responsibility for what happens after I sell the house.  I also have an outdoor shed.  Also a bonus . . .


texts: What is a 'creed' for purposes of New York City's public accommodation anti-discrimination code?

texts:
Aside from the federal anti-discrimination law, New York City has its own more restrictive anti-discrimination laws, which seem to include more protected classes and which also seems to have a much broader definition of "public accommodation."

§ 8-107. 4. a. 1. defines these protected classes:

  actual or perceived race, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, disability, marital status, partnership status, sexual orientation, uniformed service or alienage or citizenship status

whereas the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title II (42 USC 2000a) includes only these protected classes:

  race, color, religion, or national origin

While several categories are explicitly added to the New York City law that are absent from the federal Civil Rights Act, 'religion' is notably absent and apparently replaced with 'creed.'

My question, then, is how is 'creed' defined in practice for purposes of New York City's public accommodation anti-discrimination code?

Is 'creed' here intended to include religious beliefs, but to be more broad so as to also include beliefs and views that aren't necessarily of a religious nature? Would it include, for example, political views? Social views?


texts: How was The Pirate Bay able to get back online after being shut down?

texts: The Pirate Bay in the past year had its servers raided by Swedish Police and the site was shut down. On what grounds were Swedish police able to raid TPB servers and shut down the site, under Swedish Law? And how was TPB, under Swedish law, able to reclaim its servers and control of thepiratebay.se domain name?


texts: What would someone be charged with if they did this as the patient before surgery?

texts:
In 2000 I had surgery. I had three wisdom teeth out in hospital. Two weeks before it I saw the surgeon. He handed me a form to fill out. It had about 50 checkboxes. Did I have AIDS, hepatitis or heamophilia? Was I a drug user? Had I ever had cancer? Was I an alcoholic? I ticked all 50 as "no" and signed the form. It said above the signature:

"You are legally liable for your answers. Any false information by act or omission may result in criminal prosecution or other penalties".

So afterwards I wondered what if someone did lie? Suppose that you had HIV AIDS and you lied on the form. Then the surgeon who did your procedure got AIDS from you. I imagine that he or she would have a civil suit. But for being charged with something: attempted murder? I am in the Australian legal system. So I don't understand the American system with felonies. But it might be some type of felony.

Another aspect is say you lie on the form and then you wake from the surgery paralysed permanently. You go to a lawyer and say "I'd like a civil suit against the surgeon". I imagine that if you have lied the lawyer might say "sorry, you have no rights to a civil suit or compensation; you forfeited such rights when you lied".

It's pretty disconcerting how much trouble you could get into. It's a big deal to sign a pre-surgery form.


texts:
Is a person from Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India allowed to play an online lottery? I know playing the lottery is banned in Uttar Pradesh, India, but what about playing the online lottery of other states or playing the international lottery.
For example Powerball, Mega million from lotto247.com
I have read many answers online but none of them had a source. Some say no and some say yes it is allowed. Please help me read trustworthy, legitimate material that can certify whether it is really allowed or not.


texts:
I order  vehicle  registration information for a vehicle I don't own, get the address, then mail the title to myself to register  it as my own.

What crime have I committed? Is it grand theft auto even though I never possessed the car, just forged  a signature on the title? It is obviously fraud but is that all? Even with fraud, I can't find a specific NRS statute where this is covered.


texts: Contacted about Copyright infringement but no contact information provided?

texts: What can you do if someone e-mails you claiming copyright infringement (i.e. that I have used some property of theirs without permission), but provide no information other than a person's name (meaning no phone, e-mail, address, nothing). How do I respond without said contact information when you know the content is yours?


texts: Example of True Lease v. Lease intended as Security

texts:
In Chapter 11, in the case of True Lease, lessee can assume the lease and continue to make payments or reject the lease and return the asset.

In the case of Lease intended as security, lease is re-characterized as secured credit and asset is subject to automatic stay, which prohibits recovery of or foreclosure on collateral.

What are the examples of True Lease and Lease intended as security, specifically related to the bankruptcy situations? Equipment or trucks? Real estate?


texts: Is there a legal duty to inform a caller claiming official business that they have the wrong number?

texts:
I recently changed my phone number. Today, I received a number of phone calls from an unknown entity claiming they had to make contact with the individual who last had the number, pertaining to legal documents or some other official purpose.

Some of the message is unclear, but I originally assumed the caller was an attorney, because the voicemail included the name, last four digits of the SSN, case number, two last known addresses, and a number at which the call could be returned.

Since that time, I've come to believe it is a phishing scam due to the repetitive nature of the calls as well as a family member telling me they received a similar, yet unrelated call, not too long ago.

In the event the call is legitimate, do I have a legal duty to inform the caller that they have the wrong number?


texts:
Elementor Pro (WordPress pagebuilder plugin) uses local storage which cannot be disabled. Something like this:
elementor:"{"__expiration":{},"pageViews":5,"sessions":1}" (this tracks the user across sessions)
To my understanding if the local storage is nessacary to make the site run, you're good to go.
However, if you edit the code that makes up Elementor Pro, you can block local storage and the site just keeps chugging along; nothing breaks. https://github.com/elementor/elementor/issues/7151
Therefore, to comply with GDPR, you'd need a way for Visitors to opt out of this local storage, right? Or would a simple disclaimer suffice?


texts:
Can fully-clothed dry-humping someone without consent count as rape?

And if not, what sort of offense is it? If found guilty, what would a typical punishment be in the US?

Does it matter whether they are under-aged?

Does it matter if the perpetrator is in a position of authority? (Say he's a high school teacher and the victim is a high-school student.)


texts: Bought a book that is in the public domain ... but the T&A of company says I can't redistribute it

texts:
I purchased an ebook that I'm 100% sure is in the public domain (published in 70's, no copyright notice or copyright reg with us office).

However, the company I bought the ebook from has this in their terms and agreements that I had to agree to before checking out:

"all content included on this site, such as ... digital downloads ... is the property of [company]".

To clarify the website that I purchased the book from is the same company that originally published/ wrote the book.

So, my question: While this document is in the public domain, can I legally redistribute it, or due to the terms and agreements can I not?


texts:
Note: I'm making this company as if it were located in Ontario, Canada. So all the proper rules and regulations of that region would apply to this company.

I'm currently using the software Quickbooks to set up a mock company and figure out how to pay employees that are commission only. When I create a new employee in the company I select the commission-only option for payment which is what I want. But after selecting this option the employee's vacation pay policy becomes this:

  As a commission-only employee, John does not accrue vacation or sick time. Any vacation or sick time policies you've set up do not apply to John.

I was under the impression that ALL employees have to be paid a minimum of 4% vacation pay. After looking on some of the government's website regarding vacation pay and commissions, I can't seem to find any mention of an exemption for commission only employees. Thus contradicting what the Quickbooks software is telling me.

Therefore my question is:

Do commission only employees need to be paid vacation pay?


texts: What is the "penalty" for placing fake orders of Treasury bonds?

texts:
I did ask this question to TreasuryDirect, but received no answer.

Most weeks the U.S. Government issues Treasury bond products, for terms as short as four weeks. You receive the face value but pay less than the face value. The price is determined though auctions.

You can bid competitively (I will lend you $998 if you pay me $1000 in a month) or non-competitively (I want $1000 in a month and I will pay you whatever the prevailing rate is, which will always be lower than the face value).

The auction happens several days before the bonds are actually issued.

The Treasury has confirmed to me that if one doesn't have the money in the account linked to the website, one simply does not receive the bonds.

The bids, however, have already affected the prevailing price.

What happens when some patriot, wanting to improve the terms on which the Government borrows money, bids billions of dollars in both non-competitive and low price competitive orders, lowering the margin for everyone else?


texts: Employer very sporadic with paydays, not sure what to do

texts:
My girlfriend works for a large chain restaurant, of which I believe she works for a franchise location.

I found it very weird that they down right refused her request to set up direct deposit, but that alone was fine.

The problem comes from the fact that she does not have a regular payday, and in fact we won't know when she is getting paid until just a few days before they have the checks. It is never the same day of the week, and sometimes it seems like it's even 3 weeks before she gets paid, which is the current case. Going by my pay schedule, her pay periods should line up close to mine, as we should be getting paid on the same week.

Is this something that an employer can just do? It just doesn't seem right to make something like a paycheck seem so unstable.


texts: Is it legal to covertly record (CCTV) a credit card pin number?

texts:
My local Supermarket (one of the top 3 in the UK) has modified its self-service checkout tills to include a CCTV camera about 1.5 meters vertically above the credit card reader pointing straight downwards at the keypad.
I'm sure there are legitimate reasons for doing this, and the camera can record any potential theft, but at the same time I really can't believe this can be legal? The camera is fixed, the credit card reader is also fixed (it can be angled downwards a bit, but not removed from camera sight). This has got to be a major security breach, I'm sure the images aren't publicly published online, but I'm also pretty sure that the security personal that can view it are underpaid and subjected to only basic background checks.
I know that fixing a camera to record pin-numbers at a bank ATM machine is illegal - this features in occasional news stories, so how can it be legal for a supermarket to do the same thing?


texts: Leaving a rental house, and would like to know if I am losing any privileges upon moving out

texts:
I would like to start with saying that nothing has been said on the part of my landlord yet.
I am not in any kind of urgency with the issue, I am simply trying to get informed.

I've been living in a rental house for the last 5 years.
And there has been a few cases of damages that were not repaired, for which the landlord took responsibility.

The handrail has broken off, as part of the wall became brittle.
The landlord was due to replace it, but 3 years later and several mails / phone-calls and visits later, has not done so.
A case of bad piping caused sewage to come out of the downstairs toilets, and flood the whole downstairs during a bad storm.
The doors to the downstairs toilet have warped edges at the bottom.
Related to (2) the walls became damp, and mold and water marks appeared on the walls.

A year will have  passed in January since the storm, and some of the street piping has been redone by the city (after some lengthy mail and phone conversations). However the bad piping in the house is still present, and during bad storms we can smell the sewage.

I am due to leave the house in December, and the landlord has told me that they will not repair anything as of yet, and are looking for new tenants.

Is there some hidden danger for me in relation to the damages and the search for new tenants?
I know that you have more rights as an inhabitant of a house, that is legally domiciled there, however I'm unsure if these rights are in any way relevant here.

Possible relevant information:
We live in Belgium.
I plan to seek legal aid if the situation worsens, however I'd first like to know if I am making a mistake upon moving out without some written assurances of some sort.


texts: If I want to work in UK, do I need a Visa?

texts: Now that Brexit happened, if someone from the EU wants to work in UK, do they need a Visa, Permit, or anything similar?


texts: Why did Microsoft not have to publish the protocol for Skype?

texts:
Microsoft was forced to publish its protocols in 2007 as a result of the competition case brought by the European Commission.  These are available at Microsoft's Open Specifications page including, for example, "Kerberos Protocol Extensions" and "Excel Binary File Format".

In 2011 Microsoft bought Skype, which they used to replace Messenger and Lync.

Why did they not have to publish the Skype protocol?


texts: What type of legally binding document do I need to offer my own services and make a client responsible for their use of my own deliverables?

texts:
Lengthy question. I offer software analysis services. I can tell a business what technology they need, how to put it together, and give them the materials to start hiring developers with. I don't want to be held liable for their misinterpretations of my information or incompetence if their software fails as part of a business model.

TL;DR: I want to provide services to a client that gives them valuable information and I don't want them to take me to court for any reason.

It seems like a variation of Terms of Service that I would have them sign.


texts: Problem About GPL Licence And WordPress Products

texts:
I copied following answer from this question.

  Since WordPress is GPL code, all code publicly distributed must also
  be licensed either as GPL, or GPL compatible.

  The GPL states you cannot charge for code, but you can charge for
  distribution. So when you buy gravity forms, you're not paying for the
  plugin, you're playing for the downloading and acquisition of the
  plugin.

  Once you have the plugin it is perfectly legal to burn it to a CD and
  mail it to 20,000 people free of charge. You won't get the support or
  updates ( unless you pay them again, or you have a support contract ),
  and it'd be a pretty nasty thing to do ( they have a business! ), but
  it's perfectly legal.

If above is true, why many plugin authors sell plugin via "1 site Licence", "2 Site Licence", "Unlimited site Licence".

According to above answer even though I buy "1 site Licence", I should able to use it on unlimited sites as well as my clients sites legally? Is it correct?


texts: Copying an existing HTML page and use it, is that against any copyright law?

texts:
I found an online calculator that determines certain parameters I need. However, that calculator can be improved and more information added. I have improved it and now I want to make it public on my new website, however, I don't know anything about online copyright as this is my first attempt to do something similar.
I have copied the HTML page and javascript and customized it to make it better. On the original online calculator and downloaded files, there isn't any copyright claim. Does it mean I have the right to use these newly modified files and publish the improved calculator on my website?


texts: Business income - Prepayment of services

texts:
I'm putting together a business idea.

In the payment model, customers would pre-pay for service, having funds "on deposit" for services.

From a business income / sales tax perspective, would the transaction occur when the funds are deposited, or when the service is performed and the costs of service are deducted from their deposited balance?


texts: Available structure for a parent to buy a property on behalf of their children?

texts:
In the UK....

If an elderly parent wanted to buy a property to live in, and have the property owned by their children so that it passes to them when she passes, what structures are available and what are pros and cons.

I can imagine 2 options:

She could buy the property and put it in the names of the children.
She could create a trust or some legal entity to own the property,
    and put that in the names of children.

The relevant goals here are:

The ownership is given to the children at the time
of purchase and cannot be reversed.
The parent cannot be forced to move out of the property.
This arrangement is not related to her last will and testament.

Are there any established structures to make this work?
Are there other details that would depend on the structure, for example tax?


texts: Is the detainment and deportation of an established illegal alien in Canada lawful?

texts:
By what authority do the Canadian Border Services retain the right to detain and remove an illegal alien?

If no crime is committed but dumb-luck leads to the identification of said alien, how is that loss of life and liberty without due process lawful?

If such standard procedure can be challenged in a civil case, how to initiate a strong lawsuit against Border Services, their private contractors, and/or the Queen in right of Canada?


texts: Landlord promised partial refund of apartment rent - how can I enforce this?

texts:
I currently live in Germany and I have rented an apartment for three months with monthly cost 450 euros. The deposit/caution was 1,200 euros.

My problem is that my landlord (let's call him Bob) is not the actual landlord of the house, he has rented it from the original landlord (let's call him Peter). Currently we are on the last days of the 3rd and final month. So for the first two months all the economical business is ok. For the third month I had paid Bob the 450 euros but he never gave the money to the landlord. For a specific reason, Peter has accepted that he won't be paid the rent for the last month.

So Bob told me that I will get the last month's rent back (because he didn't pay it). Until now he never gave it back.

So my actual question is what can I do by German law if he doesn't return the 3rd month rent and the deposit?

I have a contract for all what I am saying and on which all facts about the house are stated. Also he told me that I will get my deposit back on the 1st of July (so one day after our contract finishes).


texts: CCP Section 209 (b) Ordered to Appear in Court, however, employer has declined to allow me to appear

texts: My employer has declined to allow me to appear in court today. I missed two jury summonses and have been issued an order to appear to explain. I am due to show today, however, my employer has a lot to get done today (big client deadlines, etc.), and has declined me request to leave. Is this legal? He mentioned a 48-hour notice requirement. What should I do? Is there an application for excusal? I do not want to be imposed monetary sanctions.


texts:
Are there clear rules on when to use subpoenas for discovery as opposed to requests?  E.g., is it correct that subpoenas are supposed to be served for discovery from third parties to a legal action, whereas discovery on a counterparty is supposed to be through requests?

My current understanding of custom is that a plaintiff should use requests to begin discovery – Requests for Production (RFPs), written interrogatories (IROGs), etc.  When the counterparty objects to these the parties are supposed to "meet and confer" to try to agree on discovery.  Only then is it considered proper for the plaintiff to file a Motion to Compel.  Is my understanding so far correct?

If a Motion to Compel a response is granted then isn't it legally equivalent to a subpoena?  If not what are the differences?

And if everything so far is correct then isn't it weird that the more "compelling" process is used immediately on third parties and not on the direct adversary?


texts: How likely am I to receive compensation? (UK)

texts:
I recently bought my first property which is meant to be an exciting time until I realised the property has a broken boiler meaning I have no hot water or central heating. Now prior to exchange of contracts I was given a document titled 'Law Society Property Information Form' which was filled in by the seller. Under the section 'Instructions to the seller' it reads:

  'It is very important that your answers are accurate. If you give incorrect or incomplete information to the buyer, the buyer may make a claim for compensation from you or refuse to complete the purchase'

Under section 12.3 Central Heating the seller has supplied the following answers (in bold):

12.3 Does the property have a central heating system? Yes

If Yes:

(a) What type of system is it? Mains Gas

(b) When was the heating system installed? Not known

(c) Is the heating system in good working order? Yes

(d) In what year was the heating system last serviced/maintained? Not known

My solicitor is telling me I have to go through the small claims court which will come at a cost. What chance do I have at getting compensation?


texts: If you sign a signature pad, without seeing what it's for, is it binding?

texts:
You sign something on a signature pad, and only after you've signed it, receive the printed statement with the full statement which you've supposedly acknowledged prior to signing, but have never actually been shown prior to being asked to "please sign here", only having been provided with an incomplete explanation of what the signature is for...

Would a signature in such circumstances be binding?  If you've never seen or heard the full statement beneath which your preceding one-time signature is immediately placed, and not even explicitly given any extra time to examine the statement afterwards, either?


texts: Is there any specific IPC section for torture/torture before crime

texts:
This question is specifically related to the Indian Constitution
So, I have been wondering if a criminal tortures the victim before committing a crime like rape or murder. Would it include additional charges to be pressed on the accused or just he will be convicted for rape or murder related IPC sections?


texts: Does a vendor need to research trademarks of material a client wants to use?

texts:
Suppose I operate a T-Shirt print shop at a mall. Customers can come in and buy one of the displayed T-Shirts or they can go to my website, upload a photo and come to the store to pick up a T-Shirt with the photo printed on.

Am I required to ensure that the photo they uploaded does not contain copyrighted or trademarked material or is that responsibility left up to the client?

For example, if the client uploads a football team logo, can I print it onto a T-Shirt or do I need to first research the logo and ensure the client has rights to it?

(For the sake of this case, we are talking about small numbers of T-Shirts. Most orders are for 1-5 shirts.)


texts: How to properly maintain website footer copyright notice?

texts:
There are often 3 copyright notice formats one might come across in the footer of website:

Copyright © [Year the site or page was published]-[Year always kept current]
Copyright © [Year this page on site was published]
Copyright © [Year always kept current]

Acknowledging there could be quite a many more possibilities, I hope to just focus on these formats at the moment.
Are any of these more preferable in the eyes of the law, or are there situations where one of these may be more preferable? Possibly a need to use a combination of techniques?


texts: Is it legal to distribute any version of a public domain film?

texts:
There's an extensive selection of public domain feature films available, but video quality is universally extremely poor as users generally prefer low filesize over high bitrate. Some of the films ("Night of the Living Dead", Charlie Chaplin catalogue and Christopher Lee's "Horror Express" as notable examples) have been released on Blu-ray. Is it allowed to create a lossless copy of a Blu-ray disc and spread the film all over the Internet as a video file? I won't share "extras" (commentary tracks, making of documentaries) which may have been created and owned by the publisher, subtitles, menus and foreign or alternative audio tracks to avoid legal issues.

I don't know if all Blu-ray discs and DVDs have DRM (circumventing may be allowed under some jurisdictions) — DRM is out of the scope of the question as it is uncertain if restricting material free of intellectual property rights is in turn legal.


texts: Is it illegal to create a computer virus?

texts:
I've seen videos of "hackers" on YouTube infecting computers of tech support scammers. If the tech support scammer were to take a program from the person's computer, without their consent or knowledge, but the program turns out to be a virus and once they run it, it destroys the computer of the tech support scammer, is that considered distributing a virus?

And if so, is it a crime if that person's virus destroys a whole system of computers that the tech support scammer works on, even though the virus was taken off the person's computer without their knowledge/consent?


texts: Researching of decades old oil well deed?

texts:
In 1981 my father purchased interest in an oil well, for which I have the paperwork.  I am attempting to do some research on behalf of my mother to see if, after all this time, there was/is any value in this ownership.

I have determined that the oil company operated from 1981 until 1993, and it is now dissolved.  The original owners were a husband and wife team, husband now deceased.  I have the location of the wife who now lives with her son, and possibly also have their current phone numbers.

The question is, what should I expect from this 'assignment of oil and gas lease'?  Should there be a bank account somewhere with interest collecting for the past 30 plus years?  Should I call them up and ask questions?

Added the following:
The property is located in Indiana, USA.  The document is titled 'assignment of oil and gas lease'.  The verbiage is 'Assignor does hereby sell, assign, transfer and set of unto Assignee x/xth in and to the oil and gas lease dated xx/xx/1981 from Lessor (name of oil company) to Lessee (same as Assignor) insofar as said lease covers the following described land etc.

Thank you!


texts:
In this answer on another SE, it is suggested that the anonymous authors of a piece of software might use a "poor man's copyright" technique to establish that they possessed the work before it was published, in case they ever want to assert their copyright. This could consist of an unopened letter with a date stamp, a notarized copy, or some other scheme involving a third party. According to the wikipedia entry there is no specific provision for this in US copyright law.

Is there any legal reason to use a "poor man's copyright"? Have these techniques been used successfully in court, or are they mostly useless? And if one wanted to use such a technique, what is the best way to go about it?

I am looking for an answer for US law, but would appreciate other countries' perspectives too.


texts: What can person A not authorize person B to do which A can do on their own?

texts:
In the US, there are many things a person has the right to do.  Regarding these things, what actions are legal for person A to do but which would be illegal for person B to do even if formally authorized by A?  Only one comes to mind:

(How) Can Person A grant immunity to Person B for ending Person A's life?

Are there others? If specifics are needed, suppose the state is Oregon.


texts:
The official UK government site
https://www.gov.uk/
does not always explain how particular laws and regulations came to be. In particular, it says:

In England, you must by law wear a face covering in the following
settings:

(...)
-Shops and Supermarkets as of 24 July 2020

My question is: what is the nature of the law which is referred to in the citation above, i.e. how this law came to be? Presumably via some sort of executive power of the UK government as there hasn't been a vote specifically on this in the parliament as far as I'm aware.


texts:
This recent Article Here raises the question of what happens after a US border conviction.

  On Monday, (6-18-18) agents brought a Honduran man, Mariano Torres-Perdomo, into court to face a misdemeanor charge of entering the country illegally. Border agents had caught him two days earlier crossing into Texas with his 6-year-old son. He quickly pleaded guilty...(he) was sentenced to time served and a $10 fee.

Presumably, he was turned over for deportation processing. So, after pleading guilty, would Torres-Perdomo have further judicial or administrative hearings before being physically removed to his home country?

The reason I wonder, is because the BCP and DHS seem to be suggesting that detentions prior to removal may take weeks or months.

The article actually raises a lot of other questions, but I'd like to focus on this first.

I'm not sure that this should be in Law SE or Politics SE, as it might have a home in either or both- feel free to migrate to Politics


texts: Photograph of side entry french door used in commercial, compensation?

texts:
I was recently watching TV, when lo and behold, I saw a picture of my side entry french door in a commercial. The company airing the commercial did install windows in my home 7 years ago, but never asked permission to take a picture of said door or air it in a commercial. Do I have any basis for compensation concerning this?

I am sorry if this is not the proper place for this type of question. I just needed to start somewhere. I read over every inch of the contract and nothing in it mentions permission to take photos. I had to reinstall the french door that was improperly put in by a family member and the stucco job that I did around the door served its purpose but is unsightly. The commercial is stating that structural improvements have to be done when using windows or doors that are pre-fabricated rather than ones that are measured for the specific opening. The picture is not close up and because of the stucco job I did it is completely identifiable as my property. I feel that if the company is making money off of the image shown in a bad way, and it is my residence which they had no written permission to photograph, then yes, why wouldn't I want compensation?


texts:
This question asks for a Roberts Rules analogue for, specifically, courtroom proceedings.  However, other non-governmental organizations often need to decide someone's fate within the organization based on evidence and witness testimony, etc.  For example, a union employee may be disciplined for some action, and there are typically some kind of rules laid out for conducting the proceedings against said employee as negotiated between the union and the employer.

I am curious if there exist any Roberts Rules analogues that might be applicable to this sort of generic NGO judicial proceedings?

Note that I am not interested in, e.g., federal rules etc. but only in "generic" rules that can be adopted by arbitrary organizations.


texts:
Copyright law works, differently in different, countries. For example in my locale, Finland,  small code snippets do not qualify as works and thus do not get copyright. Same applies to architectural drawings of mundane nature and same applies to several forms of technical drawings. These are then covered by different laws.

First: Even if i do not get copyright over these entities in my locale am I entitled to copyright in those locales that allow such things? For example in the US many of these entities are possible to put under the umbrella copyright.

Second: If an external entity owns the copyright of something that does not fall under copyright in my region does that mean that copyright does not apply to me? With the understanding that i do not use it outside my area.


texts: Are there any international laws or rules for returning a dead body after a cross-border killing?

texts:
International law never allows such killing of unarmed people trying to cross a country's border.
Are there any international laws, processes or rules to return dead body in these circumstances?
From wikipedia:

Felani Khatun a 15-year-old Bangladeshi girl, was shot and killed by India's Border Security Force (BSF) on 7 January 2011, at the India-Bangladesh border. A photograph showing Felani Khatun's dead body hanging on a border fence made of barbed wire was picked up by international media...


texts: a license agreement that is automatically terminated in practice

texts:
When I read the license agreement of my samsung cell phone, I noticed that lending the phone's software (its OS) is prohibited. Also according to the license agreement, it is automatically terminated if any term of it is violated. But in practice one may lend the phone temporarily to let someone watch a video, play a game or have an emergency call. According to the agreement after such lending, it is illegal to use the phone because the software is lent and the agreement is violated and the phone cannot be used without using its software.

How can one deal with such easily terminating license agreement?


texts: How to interpret a Labor Condition Application (LCA) Posting Notice during the stay-at-home quarantine?

texts:
My colleague is now, like many of us, working from home due to the coronavirus. We're in NYC.

She's also been applying for an H-1B though and received the following letter, which seems to say that she must post her employment details in a public area of her apartment building. But her building has somewhere between 50-100 residents. Understandably she's not comfortable exposing her apartment number plus name and employer and other details to all these strangers.

Are we misunderstanding the notice? Is there an alternative, especially since we normally work from an office? If no alternative, would it be acceptable to post at two locations on her floor rather than the apartment's lobby?


texts: Legal remedies if an employee forges my name

texts:
I am considering putting a boat out for charter and this may require employing a master to run the boat. Typically a ship master will enter their days underway in a nautical log. These logs are important because they are required for certifications. The higher the certification, the more days required. For a hired master, the log must be signed by the owner of the vessel (me), vouching that the master did operate the vessel on the days in question.

One concern I have is that a master might forge my name in the log. They would do this for various reasons. I might not be around when they are filling out their log. They don't want to go to the hassle of bringing their log to me. They might want to exaggerate their days to qualify for certification faster. They might not want me to see the log for some reason. So, there are whole host of reasons why a master might be tempted to forge my name in his log.

In a situation like this, what are my legal remedies in case a master I hire forges my name?


texts: Legal benefit for empty security deposit letter?

texts:
I had to suddenly move out of my apartment due to a mold issue. Instead of continuing trying to fix it the property manager asked if I would like to break lease, and I gave thirty-days notice and had him sign and date my lease to prove it.
Now, I'm trying to get my security deposit back, and despite the property manager having a copy of my thirty-days notice with my forwarding address that he signed, he texted me to ask for my new address. When I received the letter it was sent from the landlord and not the property manager, the name on the letter was not my name but rather a completely different name that I have heard them call me, my last name was misspelled, and there was absolutely nothing in the letter. You could hold it up to the sunlight and see that it was empty.
At this point I really don't trust them to be either organized or honest. The property manager said it must have been a mistake, but is there any legal reason that sending me an empty letter would benefit them? Could they possible use it to say they sent it and blame me in any way? It's just too weird to ignore.


texts:
Case:

X is the leader of a spiritual cult. X believes that X can heal the sick by killing them with a knife and then bringing them back to life as a “new human being.”  X has never actually performed “spiritual healing” although “healing by death” is a central part of the cult. Y is a long-time member of the cult and has a fatal disease and the doctors give Y a month to live. Cult members live in a common compound and live all aspects of life  within the compound. Many have been raised from an early age in the cult.  X and the cult gather for the ritual killing of Y. X stabs and kills Y and then finds that Y cannot be brought back to life. Is X guilty of reckless or negligent homicide?

Interpretation:

The way I see it, X is guilty of negligent homicide. Reckless homicide is a reckless disregard for the safety/lives of others. However, X thought this would work. I think it would be reckless homicide if X had done it before and had been unsuccessful, but this is his first killing.

Is this the right way to think about it? Is there a law or case that applies to this to strengthen my reasoning?


texts: What kinds payments/accounts are reported under the automated exchange of tax information between countries?

texts:
I'm trying to understand how the automated exchange of tax information works between countries. I'm vaguely aware  of the OECD's Common Reporting Standard "activating" this year and introducing some additional reporting responsibilities of customer's accounts for financial institutions, but I don't understand the details or know to what extent the automated exchange has been working already and what the CRS changes in terms of that.

What I'm mostly interested about is, what kinds of institutions are required to report information about their customers and to what extent? I understand that things like banks or brokerages have to share account information. But what about all the other various kinds of companies that in some way process payments/hold some funds of their customers?

For example, what about "online wallets" like Paypal/Neteller/Skrill? Do those share their customers' account information? What about all the sports betting sites, do they have to report? How about online marketplaces, where for example people sell/buy games, virtual items and so on among each other? The list could go on, but I think you understand my point - are only the "traditional" forms of financial insitutions required to report all this information, or do all these businesses that in some way process payments, participate in the automatic exchange of information?


texts: I have settled the claim. To what extent can I recover the settlement costs based on an indemnity clause?

texts: In Canada, to what extent can I recover the settlement costs from a third party, based on that third party's indemnity clause that indemnifies me. For instance, would a court say that I can settle but only recover a certain amount of the settlement based on whether the settlement is reasonable?


texts: The legal value of oral claims in the US

texts: I went to the physician in California, United States. The secretary orally told me that the appointment was covered by my US health insurance, but it was not. Can I refuse to pay on the grounds that the secretary told me I wouldn't have to pay anything?


texts: Is it normal that a patent stipulate that an author must help with future patent development and establishment?

texts:
I am a first time patent co-author.

The patent assignment contains the following:

"the assignors hereby covenant with the Assignee that they shall, at the cost of the Assignee, execute all further documents and do all such things that may be requested by the Assignee and as are necessary for the purpose of enabling the Assignee to make application in its own name in any country of the world for letters patent, design registration and/or similar protection in respect of the said Invention."

Two things make me uncomfortable, firstly I seem to be committing to an unlimited obligation to assist the company.

Secondly, "do all such things" seems crazy.  Am I supposed to assist with bribery in a country where such a practice is common or worse assassination?

Does the above stipulation seem normal?


texts: How do I find out the text of a law for a particular year in the US?

texts:
I'm trying to figure out what 8 U.S. Code § 1401 said in 1961 in order to resolve an argument on the Internet.

I've found changes to the law like Public Law No: 103-416 but not the full text at a particular time.


texts: Can an employer apply one-off pay cuts via forced contributions?

texts:
Are US employers allowed to unilaterally cut the pay for an employee, specific team or all employees through a one-off measure? Are forced contributions to charity, pay reductions during an economic crisis, fines for not meeting performance goals, and others legally above board?

From my limited understanding of US labor law, an employer is free to reduce pay going forward for any reason that isn't covered by specific anti-discrimination laws. And as a company-wide measure applied to future pay this also doesn't seem like it could be construed as an illegal deduction. But I'm not finding a straight answer.

This question was inspired by this question about an employer reducing pay to buy the CEO's book and this off-site article about an employer fining people for being late.

Can an employer apply what are effectively one-off pay cuts through enforced contributions, fines or other measures?


texts:
This is for Ontario Canada, post-2019.

I want to know exactly what the law is for breaks in Ontario. I understand that you are entitled to a half hour break for every 5 hours of work. (or two breaks that equal 30 minutes if agreed by the worker and employer)

The Ministry of Labour of Ontario's website sates
"Employees are entitled to an uninterrupted 30-minute eating period after no more than five consecutive hours of work."
So if the employee has an 8-hour shift, they can't work more than 5 hours without a break.

Ontario.ca states
"An employee must not work for more than five hours in a row without getting a 30-minute eating period (meal break) free from work."

What I want to know exactly is the "more than" part.
So, I can agree that everyone who works more than 5 hours is entitled to a break. What about employees who work exactly 5 hours? If their shift ends after the fifth hour, are they still entitled to a break?

Is there also a section in the little green book that specifies this? Like the actual clause / legislation / law?


texts: Co-tenant entered my bedroom; how can I prove someone else unlocked my door?

texts:
I'm not looking for legal advice!

I live in a shared house. There are 4 other people. We each have our own lease. Tonight I came home and noticed my bedroom door had been opened, even though I'm sure I closed and locked it. Also my coat had been taken out of the living room and placed inside the door.

I'm suspicious the landlord of the house gave another tenant the key to my bedroom door. I share the kitchen and living room with the other tenants, but the bedroom is mine privately.

Is there anything I can do about this? Worst case scenario would this be breaking and entering? I know I need the landlords premission to change a lock but I'm thinking of going ahead and doing it. How can I prove that someone else unlocked my door?


texts: What does the US Constitution's Eighth Amendment mean by "punishment?"

texts:
Historically, the word "punishment" in the Eighth Amendment refers to sentences imposed by a court after a defendant has been found guilty of a crime.
However, it seems to me that actions taken by government actors could be considered de facto punishments. For example, if a police officer shoots and kills a person while they are in the process of committing a crime, this could be interpreted as a "punishment."
Assuming the prior (that police actions done in the course of duty might be "punishments"), then it stands to reason that such punishments could be cruel and unusual. So, under this interpretation, a police officer shooting and killing a person for a petty crime could be ruled unconstitutional, if it was cruel or unusual.
Does this interpretation have any legal basis? Has anyone attempted a legal argument as such?


texts: When selling my own cover version of a song, is it legal to mention its appearance in a film for promotion?

texts:
Let's say I wish to record my own version of the song Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon.

It is obvious that I'm required to pay royalties to the original owner of the song.

But while promoting my song, am I allowed to mention the fact that the original version was used in Pulp Fiction?

For example, can I write on my online shop "Buy my version of the tune from Pulp Fiction"?


texts: (Cryptography) - Sending Encrypted Messages Online

texts:
Is it legal to send encrypted messages (specifically using RSA key-pairs and AES 256) online in Canada and the USA?

Also, can law enforcement request it to be decrypted without probable cause?

PS. The messages being sent are generally not confidential (eg. chat messages). This is a measure so that if a confidential message is sent, it would be between a mass of non-confidential messages (therefore harder to find the confidential messages, if any).

This may also extend as a second layer of security (eg. if an unauthorized user has gained access to one of my accounts, they would not be able to read the messages sent / received)


texts: Can a civilian legally take any action against a police officer if they witness the officer violating traffic laws?

texts:
I saw this video where a civilian manages to pull over a police officer for speeding. I doubt pulling someone over as a civilian is legal, strictly speaking, especially since the guy had to speed himself to keep up with the speeding officer. I know there are some situations where officers speed within their right, even without emergency lights, under certain circumstances.

But I was interested, for technicality sake, in learning what legal rights civilians have if they wish to take action against an officer they believe to be needlessly violating traffic laws for personal benefit. Lets say someone witnesses an officer turn on their lights and speed to pass traffic, then sees them pull into a doughnut shop a few blocks later and want to report that kind of misuse of power.

I know one can "make a complaint" but I'm wondering if there's generally any legal obligation for these complaints to be taken seriously, and if there's any feasible way a driver could validate the encounter. If a civilian takes a video of the officer speeding he'd probably be admitting to distracted driving, a crime in itself. If he looks at an ID number on the car and claims that was the car, it seems like it would be the civilian's word against the officer's. Wouldn't that just go the officer's way?

Legally speaking, do civilians have any right to apprehend an officer for a traffic violation? I've heard of civilian arrest but I know little about it. I'm curious to know if what this civilian in the video did (asked the officer to slow down) is even legal if he managed to stop the officer without speeding to do so.

Furthermore, even with evidence, is there any way a citizen could ensure that legal action be taken against the officer for a proven traffic violation? Beyond reporting it to the department and hoping for the best?


texts: Who is responsible for comments on YouTube?

texts:
Who is responsible for comments which are posted on YouTube?  The channel, YouTube or the poster?  I am refering to defamation and copyright suits in India.  As both YouTube and the video uploader have powers to delete comments, does this mean they have to search for infringing or defamatory comments and delete them?
Also, if a notice is sent under s.79 of the Information Technology Act 2000 is it to be sent to YouTube or the video uploader?


texts: Can someone be fired for working less than 42.5 hours

texts: In Colorado is it legal to fire an employee only on the basis that they have put in fewer than 42.5 hours weekly?


texts: Are the husbands HST arrears for his business considered part of the marital assets etc.?

texts:
In Canada are the Husbands business HST arrears considered part of marital property?

Is the wife expected to take on half of this?


texts: Recording a video of a crime without criminal's knowledge and consent; is it considered evidence in Greece?

texts:
According to Article 370A of the Greek penal code:

  Παραβίαση του απορρήτου της τηλεφωνικής επικοινωνίας και της προφορικής συνομιλίας
  Όποιος αθέμιτα παρακολουθεί με ειδικά τεχνικά μέσα ή αποτυπώνει σε υλικό φορέα προφορική συνομιλία μεταξύ τρίτων ή αποτυπώνει σε υλικό φορέα μη δημόσια πράξη άλλου, τιμωρείται με κάθειρξη μέχρι δέκα ετών.

Translation by me*:

  Breach of confidentiality of telephone communication and oral conversation
  Anyone who unlawfully monitors with special technical means or stores in a medium an oral conversation of third parties or stores in a medium someone else's non public act, may be imprisoned for up to ten years.

"Imprisonment for up to ten year" in Greek law means that the offender will get a minimum of 5 years in prison, without parole.

According to many Greek newspapers and lawyer websites such recordings can't be used as evidence. This includes even cases where the unlawfully recorded act is an act of treason, murder or of similar severity.

Is the above claim true?
If it is true, are there any cases in which this would benefit society?

*(I'm not a lawyer so feel free to fix terminology issues)


texts: On the federal level, does the Constitution actually mandate that "no one above the law"?

texts:
Background

In the United States, there is a principle that was popular amongst the founding fathers called "no one is above the law" according to Thomas Paine, and described in the Massachusetts constitution as "a government of laws and not of men".

However, in all my readings of this principle, it does not seem to be outright spelled out in the Constitution which lead me to this question...

Question

On he federal level, is the principle of "no one is above the law" a norm or an actual mandate with the force of law from the constitution?


texts: Taking action against telemarketing calls in the USA

texts:
I live in the USA and I assume my phone number can be found online (probably because I didn't pay an extra fee when registering domain names to have my info concealed).

Often, I will get a call coming either from an unknown number in a distant state, or even country, or a "No caller ID" (hidden number). These calls happen at any time of day or night. I usually pick up (unless if I'm sleeping or my phone is off, obviously), but after a few seconds I realize that these calls are from companies trying to sell me a service or product I didn't request or don't care about.

This brings up a few questions for me:

(a) is it legal for them to call me at any time of the day or night and propose a service or product during a call I didn't request if my phone number is available online? (the fact that my nb is public doesn't mean that I am open/willing to receive calls)

(b) are there risks to have one's info exposed in such a way (in which case the extra fee from domain name registrars to have one's info hidden would make sense, although since I own over 10 domain names that would end up being slightly expensive)

(c) are there things I can tell the caller to make them stop calling... forever? Or is that naive to think? (like threatening to sue them for invasion of privacy, or for collecting personal data which belongs to me... or asking them what company they work for/who their manager is/etc/ then contacting them directly), or are they totally in their own right? If these calls are unlawful, would suing be a proper approach?

(d) What would be the risks of acting in a hostile manner to the callers? (either by threatening or trying to take legal action).

(e) if I take action to block all unknown numbers with my service provider, am I liable for not being reachable?

This situation is kind of a grey zone for me and I'm a bit confused as to how to get any kind of advice. I'm not interested in suing people, obviously, but I feel that people or companies have collected my data and usually I don't even know why they are or what their number is...


texts:
As a service provider, we have been providing services to a particular business for almost a year now. No contract or framework has been signed for the services provided. A contract negotiation has been going on for a year but the services still provided by us. This business has made some payments in the past but not in full and has refused to make payments for the whole of last year indicating since there was no contract during that period they cannot make the payments. We have been sending them invoices during those periods. Right now we want to stop providing them services and make sure we get payments for the services provided. My questions are;

Since there was no contract signed can we still recover our invoices legally speaking?
Can they send us to court if the services are stopped?
Considering there is no contract signed between us, can they be considered as our client?

Please note that this business is a JV between us and another company. We need them to pay our invoices. Is there any legal advice we can use to get them to pay us.

Thank you