texts: Possibility of obtaining copies of court documents

texts:
I recently read about the court case Reed v. Cognitive Media Networks Inc., et al., Case No. 3:15-cv-05217, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. This case is referred to as Vizio Smart TV Tracking Software Class Action Lawsuit on this site.

In this lawsuit, plaintiff Palma Reed of California accuses Vizio and their partner Cognitive Media Networks Inc. of hiding tracking software inside Vizio TVs. This was done with the intent to monitor in real time what programs consumers are watching and then reporting this information to a server operated by Cognitive Media Networks Inc.

I would be interested of obtaining copies of the court records but I am not in any way related to this case.

Additionally this case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, but I live in Florida. So if there is a way to obtain the documents, it would have to be done either online or by postal mail.

Is it possible to obtain copies of these court documents, and if so, how can I do it?


texts: What did Learned Hand mean by 'whether the best mood or habit is not that' and 'all specific choices may be momentous'?

texts:
Source: The Betrayed Profession (1994), p. 238 Middle.

    Judge Learned Hand was certainly right when he evoked
  the commandment "Thou shalt not ration justice"; but it is not
  quite that easy. The relationship between law and justice is
  complex. Hand's contemporary Benjamin Cardozo noted:
  "[W]hen we use the word justice the quality we most frequently have in mind is charity." Hand himself, speculating on the
  lawyer's contribution, said, "I wonder whether the best mood
  or habit is not that, forgetting for the time our job as lawyers,
  we should think of human beings as a whole, we should look at
  life sub specie aeternitatis and yet believe that all specific
  choices may be momentous." Justice, moreover, is not immutable; it changes with time. "Laws and institutions," Thomas
  Jefferson wrote in a letter in 1816, "must go hand in hand with
  the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more devel-
  oped, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new
  truths disclosed, and manners and opinions change with the
  change of circumstances, institutions must advance also and
  keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to
  wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy, as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors." 10 Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., in one of his
  devil's advocate moments, said that law was the governance Of
  the living by the dead. 1

What's the emboldened quotation's source? Google yielded nothing.
What did Hand intend to say? What is meant by 'whether the best mood or habit is not that'? 'specific choices'? 'Momentous'?


texts: Which agency or government body should a tourist to Antarctica report to?

texts: When a tourist party goes to Antarctica whether part of a trip organized by a travel agency or a adventurous party going by themselves, who should them report to? Is there anything as immigration laws governing Antarctica? Does any country require that their own citizens or any person that will one day ever enter their territory as tourist or resident report any travel to Antarctica?


texts: Why can't a lawyer just blame a random witness for harming a plaintiff?

texts:
It seems generally uncontroversial that in examining a witness at trial, a lawyer may not ask questions implying that the witness has engaged in some wrongdoing unless the lawyer has some basis for asking those questions.
For instance, in the absence of any evidence indicating that alcohol was involved, I would imagine that a plaintiff's lawyer in an accident case could not cross-examine a defendant with leading questions suggesting that he had been drunk at the time of the crash.
Is this rule codified in a rule of evidence, or is it just rooted in the courts' ideas of decorum and propriety? I can see how it might implicate the Rules of Professional Conduct, but that wouldn't seem to provide a remedy to a party who was prejudiced by such behavior. I'm more interested here in civil cases than criminal, where a defendant's Sixth Amendment rights might complicate the question.


texts: GDPR Compliance - notification of data breach

texts:
In Art. 33, the GDPR specifies that a controller must notify a personal data breach to the supervisory authority after having become aware of it.

Case 1: A database dump with personal data is hosted for a period of time on a server that is accessible from the internet. The file can be downloaded without authentication from anyone knowing the url.
The controller has no evidence of someone downloading the file because the web server hosting the file keeps no logs, or not all logs for the full period of time that file was available for download are kept on the server because they get automatically rotated.

In this case, does the controller need to notify the supervisory authority? Even if there is no evidence of a breach?

Case 2: say a web application available from the internet grants access to some users to sensitive personal data. This is the primary use case for this web app. The website uses https to encrypt data in transit. For some configuration error on the web server, https gets disabled and all traffic to this website is in clear for a period of time.

In this second case, does the controller need to notify the supervisory authority? Even if there is no evidence of a breach because no man in the middle attack was detected?


texts: How would the actions of Hänsel and Gretel in the Grimm tale be interpreted in modern law?

texts:
This came up as a layman’s law question. I thought of this when reading the classic Grimm tale Hänsel and Gretel to my children.

The situation is as follows: The witch imprisons Hänsel with the stated intention to eat (and thus kill) him. Gretel is asked to light the fire in the oven with the stated intention by the witch to use the fire to cook Hänsel. Gretel pushes the witch into the burning oven and closes the door, knowing the witch will die in there. The witch is bigger and stronger than Gretel, so Gretel can’t really hope for a better chance to physically overwhelm her.

Question: How would this be treated according to modern law? Would this be a straight-up murder or can Gretel claim some sort of self-defense and go free?

If the answer depends on jurisdiction just make some reasonable choice.


texts: Is an artifact generated by a software under the same license if not explicitly stated?

texts:
The current example is to generate an audio file with spoken text using a speech synthesizer and a voice, which both are licensed under a proprietary or open source license.

Assuming the license does not explicitly state about the license of the generated artifacts, which legal status will the artifacts have?


texts: What is it called when a business causes damages or vandalizes to garner more business?

texts: I don't if it's racketeering exactly because I don't know what the stipulations are for how long term or consistent it is or what qualifies as "organized", but suppose a car wash hires someone to spray paint on cars around the neighboorhood in order to get people to go to their car wash. What kind of crime is that?


texts: How to provide probable cause to police to get a search warrant for a suspicious individual?

texts:
For the past two YEARS, there has been a van parked on my street that only moves twice a week: once for street sweeping on monday, again for street sweeping on thursday. In other words, it only moves to avoid a ticket.

The person who moves it wears a ballcap and sunglasses no matter what, even if it's 10pm and raining.

The van is blacked out with curtains, sun visors, and every other way to make sure no one can see in it.

The van was painted over, but I can make out the outline of the stenciling that used to be there. It seems that person who owns it used to have a sole proprietorship that screams "convicted felon that can't be employed anymore". Like car detailing. This adds to my suspicion.

After talking to my neighbors, they have conveyed that he has another habit
- lifting a heavy duffel bag into the van that is so heavy, he struggles with it. Every. Single. Day.

I'm convinced that this guy is exhibiting some behavior that is extremely regimented, albeit misguided. His life seems to revolve around moving this vehicle to avoid tickets and lifting god knows what into this vehicle.

If the readers want me to provide more details that are suspicious I can certainly do so, but I believe this guy may have a collection of human thumbs in his van. He's up to no good.

So my question: I live in a big city, and the cops basically are always playing catchup with limited resources. In fact, my stolen car was recovered and they didn't even call me to tell me that they found it. It's a cluster. If I set up a webcam and capture this disciplined behavior over two weeks, will that be enough to compel them to devote enough resources to get a court order and search this guy's house and car? What do I need to get for probable cause?


texts: Evicting My Domestic Partner from an Illegal Basement Apartment

texts:
I own a single family house in Queens, NY. I have an illegal basement apartment where my ex (legal domestic partner) has lived for 3 years to share care of our dogs. One of the dogs recently died and she has become increasingly verbally abusive. She has not paid rent consistently in several years; missing payments about every 3 months. Will I be penalized for allowing her to live in a basement apartment although a domestic partner is supposed to be viewed as a relative in the sight of the law? Can I just evict her as a non-paying tenant?
I found this on the NYC.gov site:

Can the basement of a one-family dwelling be lawfully rented?
Yes, but only if all of the following conditions are met:
  • Compliance with the requirements of the Housing Maintenance Code for rooms not located in the cellar or basement, e.g., minimum room size.
  • There is a minimum ceiling height of seven feet.
  • The walls, as high as ground level, must be damp- and water-proofed if HPD determines that subsoil conditions on the lot require such damp- and waterproofing.
  • The basement is occupied by one family and does NOT include boarders.
  • Every room must have at least one window complying with the requirements of Housing Maintenance Code § 27-2062.
  • The bottom of any yard or other required open space cannot be higher than six inches below the window sill of any required window in the room.

Thank you so much for your time and response.


texts: A work is under CC-by-ND but author permits fan fictions

texts: A person posts an e-book on some web site and attributes it as CC-by-ND. Then he creates a public discussion in Vkontakte with the subject ”Post fanfics of %e-book's name% here“. Nevertheless, is it legal to post fan fictions in that discussion (without asking the author first)? To post anywhere outside of that discussion?


texts: Can Cloudflare override ICANN's Registrar Accreditation Agreement through a user agreement?

texts:
I moved a domain name over Cloudflare's registrar recently, and when inquiring whether I could change the nameservers to point to a third-party host, I was pointed towards a specific part of their Domain Registration Agreement:

  6.1 Nameservers. Registrant agrees to use Cloudflare’s nameservers.
  REGISTRANT ACKNOWLEDGES AND AGREES THAT IT MAY NOT CHANGE THE
  NAMESERVERS ON THE REGISTRAR SERVICES, AND THAT IT MUST TRANSFER TO A
  THIRD PARTY REGISTRAR IF IT WISHES TO CHANGE NAMESERVERS.

A quick check tells me that Cloudflare is on ICANN's accredited registrar list and therefore subject to the following provisions of their Registrar Accreditation Agreement:

  3.2.1 As part of its registration of Registered Names in a gTLD, Registrar shall submit to, or shall place in the Registry Database
  operated by, the Registry Operator for the gTLD the following data
  elements:

3.2.1.1 The name of the Registered Name being registered;

3.2.1.2 The IP addresses of the primary nameserver and secondary nameserver(s) for the Registered Name;

3.2.1.3 The corresponding names of those nameservers;

3.2.1.4 Unless automatically generated by the registry system, the identity of the Registrar;

3.2.1.5 Unless automatically generated by the registry system, the expiration date of the registration; and

3.2.1.6 Any other data the Registry Operator requires be submitted to it.

  The agreement between the Registry Operator of a gTLD and Registrar
  may, if approved by ICANN in writing, state alternative required data
  elements applicable to that gTLD, in which event, the alternative
  required data elements shall replace and supersede Subsections 3.2.1.1
  through 3.2.1.6 stated above for all purposes under this Agreement but
  only with respect to that particular gTLD. When seeking approval for
  alternative required data elements, the data elements set forth in
  Subsections 3.2.1.1 through 3.2.1.6 should be considered suggested
  minimum requirements.

  3.2.2 Within seven (7) days after receiving any updates from the Registered Name Holder to the data elements listed in Subsections
  3.2.1.2, 3.1.2.3, and 3.2.1.6 for any Registered Name that Registrar sponsors, Registrar shall submit the updated data elements to, or
  shall place those elements in the Registry Database operated by, the
  relevant Registry Operator.

Cloudflare is clearly overriding section 3.2.2 of the latter, by making their users agree to 6.1 of the former. Can it do that?

EDIT: This question originally quoted an older version of the Registrar Accreditation Agreement. Cloudflare is a party to the 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement.


texts: What happens if an expert witness admits he lied in a case

texts:
This happened in in 2004, in Germany, in a very small town. I don’t speak the language and relied on my English speaking lawyer and my bilingual gf.

On the night before the court date, my lawyer told me he wouldn’t represent me anymore because the strategy i wanted to pursue would create damages and he didn’t want to be a part of it. To make a long story short, it would question the skills and reliability of two city workers.

I showed up in court, no lawyer, I explained what happened and asked for a continuation and the judge refused. So the whole proceedings happened without me having a lawyer present. There was a semi fluent translator present for me.
Then an expert witness was present and essentially delivered a testimony against me, which, in my eyes didn’t make sense.
The whole then happened very quickly and I lost the case.

As time passed and more people talked, it turns out that, in this small city, everyone knows everyone, went to school together, etc.
One policeman even told me that even though I’m right, I can’t win the case in that locality.

More than 10 years passed and the expert witness contacted me via a very long letter explaining me that he lied in the testimony because he was engaged in a relation with the plaintiff. He said he felt remorseful and manipulated.. in practice their relation fell apart and he decided it would be a good time to tell the truth.

This whole ordeal ended up with a bill of roughly €70k of court ordered payements. Since the judgement was obviously a joke, and I had gone back to California, I never paid anything.

This resulted in an arrest warrant in Germany; I eventually went back to another EU country where Germany tried to collect money, but failed, as in face of the new evidence, the local court didn’t want to apply the German judgement.

Now.. I will need soon to go to Germany, so I talked to a lawyer. I was told me that it’s too late to modify the judgement and the only thing I can do is negotiate a payment plan.
As the proof from the expert witness came a decade later, it can’t be used.

Obviously, I find the whole ordeal infuriating because I do not understand how evidence can be willfully ignored, but not the penalties.

Are there any precedents, in German law, where new evidence came very late and would invalidate a judgment?


texts: In English law, who or what body starts the process of creating a new statute?

texts:
Statutes are legislation from the UK Parliament and devolved parliaments. I believe they all start in the form of "bills" which are proposed statutes.

But who or what body is permitted to start the process of creating a new statute?

Is it only the government of the day? If so, is it only cabinet ministers?

If, on the other hand, it is anyone in Parliament; then is the principal advantage of winning  a general election not the ability to make law, but to have the maximum chance of getting it through parliament by virtue of number of MPs?


texts: Misleading sign on a bus claiming it is zero emissions when it is 100% diesel powered, what law?

texts:
A bus company in my town are misleadingly labelling their new hybrid buses as zero emission and electric when they are in fact 100% diesel powered and have normal levels of emissions.  As an asthmatic who suffers serious negative health effects from exposure to air pollution I feel the bus company has a duty to label them correctly.  I would like to force the bus company to change the signs, what law does this come under?  Also, I am not a customer of the bus company but someone who is affected negatively by the emissions.
(I contacted Advertising Standards but it is not relevent as the advertising is on the product itself)


texts: Can a political party in the U.S. (or in other countries) accept loans?

texts: There has been a political turmoil in Thailand where a political party was dissolved for taking a loan. This court ruling sparks controversies among Thai people, so I wonder if there is a similar law or court cases regarding income of political parties that cover loans in other countries.


texts: Attribution of a photo under the "GNU Free Documentation License 1.2"

texts:
What would be a way for attributing a photo using the GNU Free Documentation License 1.2 only?
Hypothetically, would this be one way? :
“Image by Jon Proctor. Retrieved June 24, 2020, from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boeing_727-251(Adv),_Northwest_Airlines_JP6401202.jpg. This file is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License, Version  1.2 or any later  version published by the Free Software Foundation http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:GNU_Free_Documentation_License; with no invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-CoverTexts.”


texts:
Does GDPR impose requirement for an EU based e-mail address? I mean, not directly but indirectly for all practical purposes.

Assume an EU based company having a public website.

GDPR requires a contact e-mail being mentioned in the website's privacy policy. Or let's say e-mail contact is a possibility for data subjects to demand the right to be forgotten from the data controller (website).

Is the e-mail provider and data storage location of the incoming e-mail by the data subject required to be inside EU?

Otherwise the argument could be made the data subject is forced to transmit its data outside of EU in order to submit requests to the data controller (website)?


texts: EXIF metadata for providing CC attribution

texts:
I want to use a CC-licenced image to produce a small banner for promoting an academic conference. The banner will be included in th Call for Papers which will be distributed by email.

The space on the banner is on a premium (size around 640x150), so adding attribution information on it is not possible. Appending the attribution as text to the email will probably be perceived as obtrusive by the recipients.

Is it acceptable to provide the required attribution in the EXIF metadata of the produced banner?

Are there any other unobtrusive options I should consider?


texts: Do Companies like Microsoft sue users for unpaid online services bills?

texts:
Let's say that I have subscribed for a monthly paid services using my credit card, and when the time of paying come the amount that I have as a credit doesn't cover that bill, and after months I couldn't cover the amount to pay for that subscription.

Do Companies like Microsoft or Google or other online services provider sue users for unpaid online services bills?

And what if that user was from another country, outside the US?


texts: Do I have to adhere to my own software licences for them to remain enforceable?

texts:
I have written a software application and an accompanying software library. When users use this application, they will write code externally to it which also makes use of the software library. The application will then use the code that they have written.

I have chosen to licence the library under the GNU GPL 3.0 licence. Please correct me if I am wrong, but my understanding is that the GPL 3.0 requires all derivative software to also be licenced under the GPL 3.0. This was a large reason for why I chose it. By releasing the library under GPL 3.0, so must all of the code written by users which makes use of it. This also means that my software application itself must be licenced under the GPL 3.0.
Am I able to break the rules of the GPL 3.0 and close-source/copyright the application while still having the library be GPL 3.0? If I do break the licence, can the licence remain enforceable for the software written by others?


texts: Is there a proper term for fraud by buying product from yourself to pad sales numbers?

texts:
Basically trying to make a business look larger or more lucrative by running the same money around in circles. Or something like that.
The context I'm dealing with is hypothetical/fictional and involves a few more parties than the simple case, so inexact or related terms would also be of interest. Also any (English speaking?) legal system's terminology would work.


texts: Does a hyperlink to a privacy policy have to be available after the user agrees?

texts:
A website that deals with personal user data is legally bound by CCPA Privacy Rights and GDPR Data Protection Rights. The user must agree to the privacy policy before the website has consent to share personal information with any third parties.

The user must have access to the privacy policy to agree to it. After that, I am not sure where on the website is legally required to provide a link to the privacy policy, if at all.

Question:

Is a website required to provide a link to the privacy policy after the user has agreed to it?


texts: Copyright violation: Can a producer/film-maker file a lawsuit if one download a pirated version of their movie?

texts:
Recently, a company in Denmark called "Njord Law Firm" sent out about 25,000 penalty letters to Swedish citizens regarding downloading pirate movies from Piratebay, Popcorn time, or as such. They got this information from ISPs with a permission from the court. They are asking for about 4,500 Swedish Krona (~514 USD) as a fine for downloading a copyrighted movie material (on behalf of a bunch of film makers/producers). They also mentioned that if subsciber don't pay this amount, they will increase the fine and/or they will file a lawsuit against them!

The surprising thing is that they are a 100% legal company and the letter seems legit! I can confirm this is not a scam, as we contacted police and our ISP.

Considering almost all internet subscribers today have wifi routers and open internet access, its too vague who had really download such copyrighted materials. If they really file a lawsuit against the subscribers (in case of no payment), can subscibers claim they had a wifi router and they provided the username/password to so many people and its not clear who is the "guilty person" ?


texts: File an injunction to stay a state law with doctor recommendation

texts:
If a doctor recommends medical marijuana to a patient who lives in a state without compassionate-care laws established, can that patient sue the state for access on the grounds that a doctor is an expert in health whereas legislatures are not?

Another way to think about this is how the Federal Marijuana program works and how it protects registered patients from State intervention. (Since 1977, well before prop 215 in California).


texts: Does Pennsylvania have a mature minor doctrine?

texts: I'm not trying to get medical care, I'm just curious. I was wondering if the state of Pennsylvania had what is known as a "Mature Minor Doctrine"  which, if I understand correctly, would allow minors, in a limited set of circumstances, to consent to medical treatment in lieu of their parents if said minor could demonstrate a level of knowledge and maturity necessary to make such decision. I know that some other states have this statute in their medical codes, and it varies from state to state what the implementation of this law. If PA does have such a doctrine, what are its specifics (age, how maturity is determined, etc.) And if it falls under PA emancipation law (which to my knowledge is horrendously complected.)


texts: How common are import bans of what is freely traded on national markets?

texts:
In this question I will give an example of a law that effectively bans the import of (and makes attempted import without prior approval a crime) certain goods that can be freely bought and sold on national market. The effect is that the goods are hard to find and cost 10 times more than in countries where such a ban does not exist.
The actual question is: how common is this scenario in free/democratic countries? Is it common, or is the below example just a legal anecdote that ideally needs to be fixed by lobbying/pushing the law makers in the right direction?

In New Zealand, people over 18 can freely buy and sell air pistols. No firearms license is required (unless you are younger than 18).
However, if Bob wants to buy an air pistol from say Amazon, he needs to apply to the Police for a permit to import. The most amazing/amusing thing here is that, unlike real, non-air guns (e.g. a regular rifle, an application to import which can be considered just by any "member of the Police" who "must" grant it if certain criteria is met as per section 18(2,3)), an application to import an air pistol (which is "restricted airgun") has to be considered by the Commissioner (the head of the NZ Police themselves) who only "may" grant it, and only if there is a "special reason" to it (section 18(4,5)).
The law does not elaborate on what "special reasons" are, but the Police still has its idea. In a nut shell, if Bob simply wants to practice target shooting with an air pistol at his rural backyard, or control the population of rats threatening his duck flock, he is out of luck: import is effectively banned for him. But he still can just buy the same thing locally — if he is lucky enough to find it.
Now, there is more to it. Say Bob, who routinely buys stuff from Amazon, sees there an air pistol he wants for only $50, new, whereas locally he can find it only for no less than $500, used. He orders it without hesitation, thinking that if he can freely trade and use it locally, surely there will be no troubles buying it from overseas. He has no idea that there is section 16 which, in its previous version could send him to jail for 1 year (in the current version they've added "without reasonable excuse" which now could possibly save Bob from becoming a prisoner). Bob's Amazon order arrives at the customs which, upon not finding a matching import permit, forfeits it by way of transfer of title to the Crown. Bob loses the money — getting punished for not being clairvoyant enough to expect that such a law could exist. Moreover, he should be thankful that no charges get laid against him.
Apparently, the legislative intent here was to limit the number of air pistols in the country: if they were as accessible as they are in the world, the number of crimes involving them would have gone up. However, managing the risk of unlawful use just by keeping the prices 10 times higher (as opposed to either completely banning trade/possession or applying the same "special reason" threshold as for import) does seem like a very odd, peculiar solution.


texts: Contract terms: If it isn't forbidden, is it implicitly allowed?

texts: I know someone who owns a short term rental property and who requires incoming guests to sign a contract. Their lawyer covered several areas including early cancellation on the part of the guest. However, nowhere in the contract does it talk about early cancellation on the part of the host. It doesn't say whether the host can cancel early, what will happen if they do, or that the host may not cancel early. If it isn't expressly permitted or not allowed in the contract, is it up to the owner how he/she wants to handle this type of event?


texts: What is the Underlying Meaning of the Phrase "no reason to believe"?

texts:
I've searched online for this, to no avail. In a dispute where attorneys are involved on one or both sides, what is an attorney signalling, in terms of legal strategy (i.e. beyond the literal meaning of "unsubstantiated"), in using the phrase "no reason to believe", particularly in the face of overwhelming substantiating evidence, as in the following example:

  "We have no reason to believe that the allegations presented here are true."


texts:
I have a friend whose apartment was broken into at night while he was sleeping by the police with guns drawn to do a "wellness check" because the mother of a friend of his called 911 and reported him as possibly suicidal. Later they charged him because he grabbed a gun when he heard what he thought were intruders in his house.

What is the legality of such entries?

Obviously, if anonymous 911 calls are acted on, then a "wellness check" could provide the police a pretext to break into anybody's house, since the police can simply have an informant under their control call in an "anonymous" report on someone to generate a "wellness check".


texts: Is there a difference in a lawyer's liability for "passive" versus "active"negligence?

texts:
For instance, "passive" negligence might be, "I didn't do A (required by the law or the code of legal ethics) because I genuinely didn't know that A needed to be done" (even though I should have). "Active" negligence would be, "I knew I was supposed to do A, but didn't do it because it would cost money."

Another example: The client wants "X" included in a deal and the lawyer didn't include it. Lawyer 1 says, "I didn't know that the client wanted X in the deal because i never received a phone call or email to that effect. (This is conspicuously absent from both lawyer and client emails.) Lawyer 2 says, "I knew that X was a priority for the client (and was legal, even "standard" practice), but I failed to include/downplayed it because I had other priorities."

Are there any differences in a lawyer's potential negligence liability between these two sets of cases? How far can what i call the "idiot" defense protect a lawyer?


texts: Does "solicit" mean the solicitor must receive what is being solicited in context of 52 U.S. Code Section 30121?

texts:
Background
The impeachment of Trump over the Trump-Ukraine scandal has been all over the news as of late for the public hearings.  One of the things under scrutiny is the fact that President Trump violated 52 U.S. Section 30121 when he asked President Zelensky for an investigation into the Bidens.  The law states the following:

(a)Prohibition
It shall be unlawful for—
(1)a foreign national, directly or indirectly, to make—
(A)a contribution or donation of money or other thing of value, or to make an express or implied promise to make a contribution or donation, in connection with a Federal, State, or local election;
(B)a contribution or donation to a committee of a political party; or
(C)an expenditure, independent expenditure, or disbursement for an electioneering communication (within the meaning of section 30104(f)(3) of this title); or
(2)a person to solicit, accept, or receive a contribution or donation described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) from a foreign national.

However, the aid was eventually delivered to Ukraine and Ukraine ended up not conducting an investigation into the Bidens. This lead me to wonder if the legality of soliciting is contingent upon receiving the thing solicited by.  In other words, I am asking...
Question
Does the word "soliciting" in the cited law above meant that thing of value being solicited must be received by the solicitor?


texts: Does uploading a project to GitHub make a person joint data controller according to gdpr?

texts:
Does uploading an open source GitHub repository intended for commercial purpose make the person who uploaded the code joint data controller?
What is meant is that if code is uploaded to GitHub I have asked GitHub to host it. Now for security of GitHub's website they may collect some information including i.p. addresses. Does this make GitHub a data processor for me under the GDPR? I am not referring to GitHub pages.


texts: Would having a lodger be considered letting?

texts: Would a restrictive covenant for letting on a property prohibit lodgers?


texts: Are inventions patentable AFTER they are published?

texts:
Dropout was a technique introduced publically in 2012 by Geoffrey Hinton. Notably, he and his research team filed for this patent in 2013.

I'm not sure how this is allowed. They did invent it, but they disclosed their invention prior to the patent application.


texts: Does EU/US copyright law follow its citizens wherever they go?

texts:
Abby lives in the European Union or United States.
Abby visits Ben in Country X, which has no copyright laws. Ben has a copy of a movie that is protected under the copyright laws of Abby's home country. Abby makes a copy of it and watches it. She then lets her friend Carl, who is also in Country X, make a third copy.
Abby returns home with no copies of the movie.
Is Abby liable for copyright infringment under the laws of her home country?
And does it matter where the original copyright protected content is from ?


texts:
Foreward: This question is about the American government, but an argument could be made that it doesn't concern law, strictly speaking. If it doesn't belong here, please let me know where it could find a better home, or migrate it. I do think it's interesting.
The President of the United States, by convention, lives in the White House. The Vice President, by convention, lives in a designated house on the grounds of the United States Naval Observatory. Given that the first Google search autocomplete for "does the vice president" is "does the vice president live in the white house?" it would seem that this is a question of common curiosity, so I ask the community:
Which members of the American government are required by law or tradition to live in a specific location beyond the President?


texts: Why didn't European VW cars owners get any reimburse after VW scandal?

texts:
I read that Volkswagen broke some American laws on the answer to another question, but it still baffles me how come in Europe there was no class action against the company.

Besides, VW admitted to have lied, and since people bought a car with precise characteristics (that were not real), I wonder if that would be a fraud.


texts: Interpretation of the word "nearby" in a law

texts:
In regard to nuisances, a section of law mentions:

  ... because the tenant is causing, or has caused, a serious nuisance to persons occupying premises nearby.

Does this exclude a person occupying the same premises as the tenant?

I'm looking for a clear definition of nearby.


texts: Who should witness a medical records request form?

texts:
I have almost filled out a medical records request form for a hospital, but the final lines state that I must sign and my signature must be witnessed, along with a line for the "witness" in question. What does this mean?

Do I need someone legally able to do this? I don't understand.

The document says nothing about this, and expects it to be mailed to them (the hospital). Do I need a notary to do this or what gives?


texts:
Suppose a man is arrested but then stays silent.  Can the police go and talk to his wife without reading her her Miranda rights?

For example, if they don't notify her of her right to stay silent and she admits (in an interrogation room, but without herself ever being suspected of a crime) that she washed blood out of his clothes, can that admission be used in court?


texts: Does the US Government have the constitutional authority to ban alcohol?

texts:
This is something that has always confused me. In 1919 the US Constitution was amended to ban alcohol. That amendment was repealed in 1933. Then in 1970 an act of Congress banned a large number of drugs, without a constitutional amendment. Numerous subsequent acts have added additional substances to the list.

Was a constitutional amendment actually necessary for the federal government to ban alcohol?

If so: Why was one unnecessary to ban and control hundreds of other substances, fifty years later?

If not: Why was a constitutional amendment used in 1919 instead of an ordinary law?


texts: In the state of Connecticut are insurers required to pay for fees related to registering a new vehicle

texts:
My car was totaled and I am not at fault. Is the at-fault's insurer responsible for costs associated with my having to get a new car including all required fees necessary to register the vehicle in Connecticut?

Is there any way to coerce them to pay for these fees I surely should not be responsible for?


texts: Would working for another nation's armed forces be treason for US troops?

texts:
I am writing a historical fantasy story, and have come to a rather sticky in-universe legal situation. My main characters are the crew of a US Navy seaplane from WWII, and they've ended up in a new world of similar tech level. Now, they're still loyal service members of their nation, but they don't have any knowledge of this place they've been dumped into nor any contact with the United States but they have made contact with the local's military.
The major problem the bomber's crew has is that they have no money or identification here, aliens in more then one sense of the word. They can't refuel their plane here without committing a crime and stealing the fuel, and spare parts are limited to the few onboard that they were carrying on their bombing run.
One theory for their next course of action would possibly have the crew make an alliance of sorts with the local military, possibly agreeing to trade some knowledge and/or the services of their aircraft to the locals in exchange for fuel, parts, identification, and possibly cash to sustain themselves and their aircraft.
So, what I'm wondering is if they can somehow pull this off without committing treason against the USA by military law, or are they in a real Morten's Fork situation here?


texts: Is it illegal to record boss verbal assault in New York

texts: Is it illegal for an individual to record a boss yelling and using profanity at him?


texts: What are the US federal crimes and penalties against public insurrection?

texts: Defining broadly public insurrection as impeding the workings of US government or its officials, threatening them, taking up violence against them, or trying to overthrow the government, are there any specific such criminal statutes and if so what are their associated penalties if any?  Are there multiple such statutes?


texts: Does rent control apply to me between two 6-month leases (CA)?

texts:
I am on a 6-month rental lease here in San Clemente, CA and just contacted my landlord saying I'm interested in signing another 6-month lease after this one ends (April 2021). She responded that I could apply to stay another 6 months, but they're increasing my rent by 31%.
I believe this property is rent controlled as described here and therefore can't be increased by more than 10% per year.
What I don't understand is whether rent control protects me from changes in rent between my current lease and a new lease, if I'm occupying continuously. Could someone clear that up for me, please?


texts: Big Data - Analysis from the entire population - Disparate impact

texts:
I am reading

Barocas, S., & Selbst, A. D. (2016). Big Data’s Disparate Impact. California Law Review. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2477899

Among other things, the article talks about the difference ways in which big data can introduce bias in decisions taken by firm, for example, hiring whites instead of blacks just, ultimately, due to skin color.

One of this way is sample bias: suppose the manager is biased against blacks. He/she may monitor black more than white. By spending more time monitoring blacks than white, of course the manager will spot more errors / misbehavior committed by blacks than whites. Then, by relying on past data for future hiring decision, the manager will judge black as unreliable, and hire whites. So far so good, this is sampling bias.

Then at page 687 there is written:

  In the employment context, even where a company performs an analysis
  of the data from its entire population of employees—avoiding the
  apparent problem of even having to select a sample—the organization
  must assume that its future applicant pool will have the same degree
  of variance as its current employee base. An organization’s tendency,
  however, to perform such analyses in order to change the composition
  of their employee base should put the validity of this assumption into
  immediate doubt. The potential effect of this assumption is the future
  mistreatment of individuals predicted to behave in accordance with the
  skewed findings derived from the biased sample

Although I am not understanding it. If I have the entire population, then I have no sample bias by definition. But what does it mean "perform such analyses in order to change the composition of their employee base"? How using the entire population can still introduce bias? Can you make me an example, please?


texts:
I am working on a work of (historical) fiction, where an important element for plot and audience experience is a sexual encounter with an underaged person. I plan to publish this work worldwide, but mostly in the UK and US markets.
I know certain depictions of underage sexual relations have gotten people in trouble, yet others seem to have passed without much incident; in particular in literature.
Legally, what is the safe barrier of approach, particularly in these regions? Does it differ in Literature, Film, or Video Games? I am considering adaptation, too.
Though the work is not specifically erotica, to some it could easily be read as such.


texts: Status of U.S. attorneys in US DOJ (2021)

texts:
With the new President Biden and his administration in the U.S., I see news stories that the Biden administration is asking 56 Trump-appointed and Senate confirmed U.S. attorneys to resign from their positions at the DOJ.
How does this work? Do they have to resign if asked? If one does refuse to resign, will their life as a prosecutor be difficult?


texts: How do staggered terms work when there is no record?

texts:
Our Bylaws specify staggered terms,

  5.5 Election and Term of Office. At the first (1st) annual meeting of the Association the term of office of two (2) of the Directors shall be fixed for one (1) year, the term of office of the two (2) of the Directors shall be fixed at two (2) years, and the term of office of the remaining one (1) Director shall be fixed at three (3) years. At the expiration of the initial term of office of each respective Director, his success shall be elected to serve a term of three (3) years. The persons acting as Directors shall hold office until their successors have been elected and hold their first (1st) meeting.

So essentially every year one or two people are elected or reelected to a three year term. What happens however if no one knows whose time it is to go, and that record has been lost?

Do they draw straws or something of the like?
Or, does the community potentially lose the staggering and the accountability? Granting all five board members fresh three year terms which provides for no elections in the interim?


texts: If a company is being run in administration are contacts/agreements still valid ? For example, a service legal agreement.


texts: Can you sue if someone uses drugs in your car?

texts: If somebody does something illegal in your car or puts you at legal risk can you sue them? Or am I liable because I have them permission to enter the car?


texts: How legal is the current handling of refugees in germany?

texts:
I am currently living in Tübingen, Germany as an exchange student and am wondering about the legal problems they have here with the refugees. I really don't want to go into the populist discussions about morality and humanity and what not. This is only about the legal aspects.

I like helping people, but I also like the living in a country where laws are not circumvented whenever someone feels like it. So here we go:

As I understand it, the refugees can stay anyway while their request for asylum is processed, sounds fair. Once it is accepted, they can stay forever. If it gets rejected, they have to leave the country.

Still as I understand it, might be wrong, some of the rejected ones just stay anyway in the country and refuse to leave. So basically they are breaking the law.

Then they get support from politicians and nice persons who just let them stay anyway, ignoring and breaking the laws too. And then they even go so far to threaten taking away people's real estate by police force (see Boris Palmer in Tübingen).

In my understanding, the normal way with any agenda is to pass a law, discuss a budget for it and then use the budget to help as many as possible. For example by building new houses instead of taking existing ones, by allowing more investors to build houses, and so on.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but assuming my summary so far is correct: Isn't the current handling of the situation by german authorities totally outside the law? Is there no way for the german people to appeal to those practices legally?

In my country this would be called cowboy politicians, they would lose their job for breaking the law and then the new politicians would discuss if a change of the law would make sense. Is the german law so non-influencable by the people?

Sorry if someone takes offence, there is really no reason. I just wish this would be settled so that more people get help legally instead of all this discussions, fighting and hatred.

Also I have diffculties with the german language, so it is hard to follow the topic and my views might be a little wrong. Feel free to point out where.


texts: Am I breaching any laws/policies for publicly posting customer service interactions?

texts:
I've recently had string of poor customer support experiences with a major corporation whom I rely on for the majority of my personal communication.

I'd like to post these interactions in a public (online) forum to elicit feedback in order to decide my next course of action.

Is there some reason that I shouldn't do this - either legally, or because the company could choose to withhold service in retaliation? Not that I think I'm "worth it" for them - I just want to avoid even the most remote possibility.

Edit:

I plan on posting summaries of email/chat exchanges, with some direct quotes.
This doesn't concern anything nasty or otherwise innapropriate on the part of service representatives, just the lack acceptable resolution of a problem with my service. It doesn't involve money, either. Basically, customer service is telling me that a "feature" is limited such that it is basically useless, in a way that no reasonable person would expect based on public claims.
I live in the US.
I could not find any non-disparagement clause in the terms of service.


texts:
So, I am a graphic designer and I make a small amount of money selling funny custom t-shirts. These shirts have quick 1-liners which can be interpreted in a number of ways. My current design contains a product name (Namely Lurpak) and I was wondering if there are any IP or trademark laws which stop me from commercially selling these t-shirts which have subjective product placement.

I understand that there are problems when these products misrepresent a product or tarnish the reputation of the brand, but I definitely did not want to release the shirt and then have legal problems on my hands as this is not my strong point!

Thanks in advance!


texts: Is an agreement enforcable that makes parents liable for a child’s behavior at school?

texts:
Hypothetical facts

Alice is 17 (a legal minor).
Alice attends the 12th grade at Bob High School (BHS), a California public high school.
BHS loans Alice a laptop to do her school work.
As a condition of receiving the loan of the computer, BHS required Alice’s parents, Carol and David, to sign an agreement accepting financial responsibility for the computer including but not limited to any damage Alice might do to the computer.
While at school, an unknown person steals Alice’s computer.
BHS bills Carol and David for the replacement cost of the computer.
Carol and David take the position that, as a minor, Alice was under the care of BHS (per the doctrine of in loco parentis) when the computer was stolen and, therefore, BHS is liable for the theft.

Questions

Can BHS successfully hold Bob and Carol financially liable for Alice’s stolen computer?
Does the answer depend on the language of the agreement? Or is there a legal principle which prevents BHS from transferring legal liability to Carol and David?


texts: I know in general that stare decisis effectively means that once a court rules on a law that other courts can use that decision when considering their cases.  But why is that the case, how is it applied, and why are court reluctant to go against the precedence set in another case?


texts: In Oregon, when can by landlord deduct carpet cleaning from my deposit?

texts:
I am a new resident of Oregon and will be renting a home. To prepare, I've been reading their landlord/tenant law. There are two parts about carpet cleaning and I'm not sure how to reconcile them.
90.300(7)(a) outlines what, in general, the security deposit can be used for:

(7)(a) The landlord may claim from the security deposit only the amount reasonably necessary:
(A) To remedy the tenant’s defaults in the performance of the rental agreement including, but not limited to, unpaid rent; and
(B) To repair damages to the premises caused by the tenant, not including ordinary wear and tear.

However, (7)(c)(A) specifically addresses carpet cleaning:

(c) Defaults and damages for which a landlord may recover under this subsection include, but are not limited to:
(A) Carpet cleaning, other than the use of a common vacuum cleaner, if:
(i) The cleaning is performed by use of a machine specifically designed for cleaning or shampooing carpets;
(ii) The carpet was cleaned or replaced after the previous tenancy or the most recent significant use of the carpet and before the tenant took possession; and
(iii) The written rental agreement provides that the landlord may deduct the cost of carpet cleaning regardless of whether the tenant cleans the carpet before the tenant delivers possession as described in ORS 90.147.

It's not obvious to me how to combine these two things. My interpretation is that the landlord is allowed to charge carpet cleaning fees to my security deposit if (and only if) the damage to the carpet caused by me is not "ordinary wear and tear".
I have talked to some local landlords who understand the carpet cleaning law to be interpreted separately from the rest. They want to charge carpet cleaning fees to my security deposit whether or not the damage to the carpet is normal wear and tear.


texts: Is it possible to pull public courtroom records about cases given a specific attorney?

texts: Given a specific attorney (name/state, bar number, whatever) in the US, is it possible to find public court records of cases they have handled? If so, how?


texts: Are there laws serving a compelling government interest that create neither rights nor duties?

texts: There are laws, such as proclamations enacted for symbolic reasons, etc., that neither require nor prohibit conduct.  In other words, the law creates neither a right/benefit nor a duty.  Can any such law be characterized as serving a "compelling government interest," which is a test used in a constitutional strict scrutiny analysis.  Just one example of such a compelling statute would be interesting.


texts: If a contract sometimes uses the wrong name, is it still valid?

texts:
I was given a contract, which at the top states my name and says "herein referred to as contractor" but in several sections of the body, it appears that there is a mistake where they use the word "consultant" instead.

Example:

  This contract is between Joe (herein "Contractor") and McCompany
  (herein "Company"). blah blah blah. Consultant shall indemnify
  Company.

What, if any, would be the effects of this inconsistency?


texts: Is arbitrary age-based pricing legal in Canada?

texts:
In Canada, can a company price its services based, arbitrarily (that is, even if the user's age has no demonstrable impact on the company's costs), on the age of the user ?

So for example is a pricing list like this legal:

18-25: $119/year
25-32: $160/year
32-40: $200/year
40+:   $500/year


texts: Employee fired for reporting a serious injury, but in a roundabout way - How difficult is it to prove the employer's motive?

texts:
As per my previous question How do Florida's labor laws protect employees injured when asked to do something unreasonable?

A girl working in Florida insisted on filing an injury report after being asked not to. She was then, after working there 6+ months with zero write-ups, given three write ups within a span of hours for frivolous violations, including her shirt coming un-tucked while reaching upward for something, and mentioning the incident to a co-worker (who then went tell management she needs a doctor), which the management labeled as talking about non-work-related topics, and the third was so frivolous she's not even clear what it was for. She's on track to be fired on her next shift.

What would it take to prove motive in such a case in order to make a case that the company is breaking Florida Statute 440.205?

  Coercion of employees.—No employer shall discharge, threaten to discharge, intimidate, or coerce any employee by reason of such employee’s valid claim for compensation or attempt to claim compensation under the Workers’ Compensation Law.

More specifically (for the scope of this site), what are the primary fundamental questions that would have to be answered "yes" to make such a case?


texts:
What is a banker's bank? I came across this term when I was scrolling through my research on banks. I came across this definition, that says that they are banks that service the charter banks that founded them(or so I understood).
I didn't know what charter was so I founded this, which says charter is a legal document rather that a type of bank. The central bank(of my country), says it is a banker's bank that is supposed to actually regulate other bank's monetary policies. So, I was getting very confused with my amateur deductions and finally resolved here.

What is a banker's bank?


texts: Jurisdiction in cross-state-border exposure

texts:
In Queensland, the Summary Offences Act 2005 states "A person who is so near a public place that the person may be seen from the public place must not wilfully expose his or her genitals so that the person’s genitals may be seen from the public place, unless the person has a reasonable excuse."

Across the state border in New South Wales, there is no such statute;  only a stricter test of obscenity in or near a public place.  This doesn't stop NSW cops arresting World Naked Bike Riders every year, but they have to let them go, every year.

So does one commit an offence if one stands in NSW and exposes oneself to a person in a public place across the border in Queensland?  This isn't as clear-cut as the stereotypical example of shooting someone across the border, since no offence has been committed by the self-exposer, in the jurisdiction in which s/he is standing.  In the shooting case, the offence is murder, not doing or not doing something in a particular place.

Answers:  No;  if you're in NSW, then NSW law applies and Queensland does not have jurisdiction or Yes;  you committed a Queensland offence, even though you were not geographically in Queensland at the time.


texts: If insurer defends insured under Reservation of Right then can they seek reimbursement for legal costs?

texts:
Let's assume insurance company in California agreed to defend its insured and picked a legal counsel to represent their insured. But at a later date sent a reservation of rights letter with following language:

  By this letter we are advising you that we will investigate the
  claim(s) being made against you subject to a reservation of rights
  under your Business. A reservation of rights places an insured on
  notice of the fact that the insurer may ultimately decline to defend
  or indemnify for some or all of the damages that might be awarded in
  an action. A reservation of rights also advises the insured as to the
  reasons why there might not be an obligation to defend or indemnify.
  The terms of this particular reservation of rights are explained
  below. Although insurance company is agreeing to investigate the claim under
  the policy, we are reserving our right to deny coverage to you (or
  anyone claiming coverage) at any time.

Since that paragraph talks not only about duty to indemnify, but also about duty to defend, then does it mean that insurance company may once they establish that all claims fall outside the policy scope:

ask for reimbursement of any legal defense costs they paid? OR
merely just decline future legal defense?


texts: Why is it illegal to annoy someone via electronic communication in Massachusetts?

texts: According to Massachusetts State General Law, Chapter 269, Section 14A, it is illegal to send repeated communications to someone with the intent to annoy the person, punishable be 3 months in a correctional facility and up to $500 in fines. Why would annoyance be illegal only if the communication method is electronic?


texts: DMCA and First Amendment: When can a commentator be compelled to reveal their method of content acquisition?

texts:
Scope
This topic is cousin to the latitude afforded journalists to protect their sources. However, this question primarily pertains to enforcement of the DMCA.
Definitions

“User”: the entity that makes final use of copyrighted content, who may or may not have a “Source” for the content.
“Source”: the entity that acquires a copy of copyrighted content, through whatever legal or illegal means.
“Owner”: the entity that owns the copyright to the content in question.

Exposition
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), its exemptions, and the fair-use clause of Title 17 Chapter 1 Section 107 of the US Code clearly provide methods by which an individual may use copyrighted material, even if that material is protected by Digital Rights Management (DRM). It also appears that acquisition would be treated separately from fair-use considerations in a court of law, due to the separation of civil and criminal cases in the united states.
However, it is unclear under what circumstances an owner or government entity can question the origin of the content used, and further to compel the user of said copyrighted content to disclose or prove the means of acquisition of the content, or their source. If owners and government entities were unable to do so, this would imply that fair-use and protected activities provide immunity for DMCA violations in the absence of evidence of such a violation committed by the user. However, this would also be consistent with the presumption of innocence afforded by Coffin v. United States, 156 U.S. 432 (1895).

Some hypothetical examples
Segments of a film are used for commentary or criticism, but:

The movie is still in theaters. This can still be fair use, but would clearly necessitate some form of illegal method of acquisition (filming in a theater, journalist’s source obtained digital copies from a premiere or festival), provided that the individual has not received permission to use the content. This might be a situation where probable cause is warranted.
The scenes used appear to be illegally obtained, despite legal means existing. The footage may appear to be filmed in a movie theater, though a DVD is available, and dvdripping might actually be a legally exempt means of acquiring the content.
The copyright owner merely suspects, on a hunch, that the user did not extract or obtain the content legally (e.g. they didn’t dvdrip the content).


texts: Is it common to have both a criminal case and a civil case for the same incident?

texts:
Sometimes for the same incident there will be two seperated court cases.

A famous example is the Simpson's case. He won the criminal case but lost a civil case after a few months. Both regards to the same incident - his wife and one other person was found killed.

How common this happens in reality? Please give me links to some recent cases.

I don't know if I should ask a different question, but I assume I need not as this is related and I don't even have to change the title - it is the other side of the same question.

In a theoratical senario, as the investigation of the criminal case are stricter and need more resources, it might end up the civil case is an easy go and processed first. Then the criminal case investigation may finish even after the civil case being closed.

Is the above only happen in theory or in pratice as well? Are there any examples of this kind of thing?


texts: In Germany, can an Individual press charges against a Newspaper for Libel?

texts:
So I've read the following:
"You cannot publish untrue information about anyone or anything that could negatively affect that person or thing's reputation on your public blog. It doesn't matter if you get no traffic to your blog. If you publish something false about a person or entity that could damage their reputation, you've committed libel and could be in big trouble. If you can't prove the negative and potentially harmful information you publish on your public blog is true, don't publish it at all."

Then what about Newpapers? Reviewers? Vloggers? That doesn't make any sense. Anyone could sue anybody then, where is freedom of opinion here and what about something someone publishes which you take for a true statement, that turns out to be false? I mean this is ridiculous. How can this be true?

Lets say Tom posts an article and mentions that John was sued 3 months ago. Can John then go ahead and sue Tom for Libel if John was sued 5 months ago claiming it hurt his reputation?


texts: Can I include fan art topics in my art idea app?

texts:
I have created an Android app, and a Discord bot, "Art Prompts". The point of the project is to give artists inspiration via short prompts, such as Draw a vampire standing in front of a mirror, looking for his reflection.

I'm currently in the process of creating Premium categories for the app and bot - categories of prompts the user has to pay to unlock.

Can I create a Fan Art category as one of the premium ones? For example Draw Bill Cipher in the Weirdmageddon. (Gravity Falls), or Draw Mercy bringing Widowmaker back to life. (Overwatch)?

Is there any trouble I could get into by doing this, because of trademarked names, or the copyrighted IPs?

EDIT: The apps offer 6 free categories of prompts (Places, Animals, People, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Horror). The only difference between the prompts in the free categories and the premium categories is the topic (and the price, obviously).

The apps don't show any images inspired by the prompts - only the sentences themselves.


texts: Is it legal to restrict rental advertisement to local principles only?

texts:
Being a landlord, I discovered years ago that there are a lot of marketers trying to sell lead lists posing as someone who is relocating. The problem is this, my rentals are in a tiny town that no-one, I mean no-one would likely relocate to unless they are from the area originally. This makes any so-called lead-list pure junk. As well, people entrap landlords into a lawsuits using online advertising. My experience that these forms of drive-bys are also under the guise of a person relocating.

Another issue is that there is a state penitentiary in a neighboring state and the local town is rife with crime as a result. This is because relatives of the inmate want to move closer to the prison. Not being familiar with the area, we often get people trying to move into the area even though the prison is 30-40 miles away. Where people have moved to this area to be near the prison, it has been a disaster resulting in thousands of dollars lost during eviction, damages, and loss in reputation. It is easy to get caught in this trap and I personally lost $8000 last year as a result. Background checks rarely help with this unfortunately.

I only rent to people I can meet, evaluate personally, and can see and approve the rental in person. So far, it has always worked out and I have not had this as a problem until recently when I began advertising on-line. Today I got a on-line lead with no phone number and a throw-away e-mail address that appears to belong to a person in North Carolina doing a search for the e-mail address. There is no other information. For what it is worth, online rental ads are where the marketers and drive-bys get their contacts from. Otherwise, this would not be a problem.

Is my policy legal? As well, it is legal to include in the on-line ad local residents and principles only?

[Edit] @phoog brings up a great point. Perhaps the policy could be principles only and all inquiries require in-person interviews and approval of the rental. The policy wording may need to be massaged a bit. Thank You @phoog!


texts: What is UK Citizenship status of two persons born between 2000 and 2006?

texts:
I have two children both born in the UK between 2 October 2000 and 29 April 2006. I, their father, am a British citizen, their mother was a US citizen and we were not married.

Between the birth of the first child and the second, their mother was granted indefinite leave to remain.

According to what I can determine from the UK Government website, this:

qualifies the youngest for automatic British citizenship as they
were born to a British father and mother with indefinite leave to
remain.
does not qualify the elder as I was not married to their
mother and she didn't receive indefinite leave to remain until after
the eldest's birth.

https://www.gov.uk/check-british-citizenship/born-in-the-uk-between-2-october-2000-and-29-april-2006

I believe there should be no problem in applying for British citizenship for the eldest simply by filling out Form T, based on the details of this page.
https://www.gov.uk/apply-citizenship-born-uk/uk-until-10

  You must not have spent more than 90 days outside the UK in each of the first 10 years of your life.

The child has not left the UK at any point.

Is my understanding of this correct?

//Edit - Since this question has been flagged as a duplicate, I must point out that this question is about UK citizenship, not US citizenship. Since the UK and USA do not share laws on who is and is not a citizen, the answer to that other question is not applicable.


texts:
I read an article that says that copyrights last life of author plus 70 years.

Can I make a derivative work from a book that was written 150 years ago without making a copyright infringement?


texts: Does a U.S. District judge's decision set binding horizontal precedent in the same district?

texts: Suppose a U.S. district judge in, say, the Southern district of New York writes a decision regarding some legal procedure. Can a different U.S. district judge in the same district write a contradictory decision? Or must he/she respect the precedent of the previous decision even though it did not come from a higher court?


texts: Why does Disney omit the year in their copyright notices?

texts:
I was trying to sort a stack of movies chronologically. Most boxes contain a copyright notice e.g. “(c) 1985 Acme Pictures LLC“. However, Walt Disney Pictures consistently omits the year, e.g. “(c) Disney”. Why does Disney do things differently? Alternatively, why does the rest of the industry devote precious box space to the year in addition to the full name?
Since a counter example has been found, here are the titles I observed (all VHS copies):

Beauty and the Beast “(c) The Walt Disney Company”
Bedknobs and Broomsticks “(c) The Walt Disney Company”
Homeward Bound “(c) Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc.”
Sleeping Beauty “(c) Disney Enterprises, Inc.”
The Santa Clause “(c) The Walt Disney Company”


texts: Drink and riding (bicycle) offence in Germany

texts:
I am charged with a criminal offence in a drink-and-riding-a-bicycle case. I have received a letter mentioning the alcohol content 1.66 promile. I have accepted the charges and agreed to pay the fine.

What are the possible fines for this offence?
Is there any possible legal effect on my resident permit?
How long will the record stay in the register?

I do not have a driving license.


texts: Is a letting agency liable for mispresentation if they change their rental price?

texts:
If a letting agency (on the behalf of the landlord) states on two separate occasions that two months are to be at half rent, are they liable for misrepresentation when they argue full rent is to be paid?

Details:
Told on 2separate occasions that rent is to be £900 for both July and August.
Tenancy agreement states £1,800 per calendar month (doesn't mention July and August).
Upon signing agreement, I was assured that rent is to be £900 for both July and August.
After signing, letting agency states that August is to be full rent (£1800).
Supplementary form stating that that rent is to be £900 for both July and August, however on the same form it stipulates July is to be £900 and August is to be £1800 (however this part is poorly printed and not as clear).
Letting agency agrees it says this but argues this is a mere typo (the part stating half rent for both).
Only deposit paid so far.


texts:
How can a contract be established and enforced if the parties are countries?

There is nothing in perpetuity, how can contract negotiated by fathers bear upon children. Can not children defy contract unilaterally?

I am particularly interested in the Indus Water treaty.

If India simply stops observing that treaty, what can Pakistan do?


texts: Could Thompson v Spedding [1973] apply in this situation?

texts:
Situation:

Car A is tailgating Car B. Additionally Car A driver is operating a mobile phone while driving. Car B driver is driving carefully and well within the speed limit.

Suddenly a person C jumps from the sidewalk onto the streets without any indication of planning to do so before, forcing B to slam the breaks and narrowly avoiding hitting the person. Car A doesn't have a chance, and despite slamming his breaks crashes into Car B.

Now while I don't doubt that car A driver is responsible for damages done to B, he didn't maintain a safe distance between the cars and was likely distracted by the mobile phone. But my question is could Thompson v Spedding [1973] R.T.R. 312 apply here?

My reasoning is that the situation are similar, as both involve a third party that acted wrong (in this case a person jumping onto the road in front of a car, compared to a car taking a sharp turn in original case), the first car managing to avoid the incident and causing no fault of his own,  and the last car in line not able to avoid the accident because of not maintaining safe distance.

Am I correct in applying this case to those facts, and saying that it's likely that person C and driver of car A share liability for damages to B and A cars?


texts: Is the 21st century's idea of "freedom of speech" based on precedent?

texts:
Reading the first amendment strictly through a textualist lens it is understood that Congress cannot limit our speech, but the first amendment does not say anything about companies limiting it, or even the Executive branch limiting our freedom of expression through an executive order.

First Amendment:

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

Since the first amendment text is only about Congress's restrictions on making laws about speech, is the understanding that "we have the freedom of speech" based off of precedent set by courts?


texts: Is a nonprofit LLC required to have a Board of Directors?

texts:
Background:

I'm in the process of forming an LLC nonprofit, with the intention to file Form 1023, for tax exemption under IRS Code Section 501(c)(3).

I'm sure the charitable nonprofit mission of the LLC will not conflict with definitions of a nonprofit under 501(c)(3), however, there are elements of my LLC organizational structure I fear might conflict with section 501(c)(3).

Questions:

Is it okay that my LLC is Member Owned and Operated? This seems to conflict with the Board of Directors based governance central to 501(c)(3) nonprofits.
Is it okay to adopt a Board just for the purposes of advising and breaking ties among Members of the Company?

Conclusion:

I know that LLCs are eligible to apply for tax emption under 501(c)(3) via IRS Form 1023, but just how restrictive the IRS is in terms of an LLC's organizational structure differing from that of a 501(c)(3) nonprofit is not that clear in the documents I've read so far.


texts:
Scenario: a movie is made a couple of decades ago. The movie is NOT based on a book/literary work. Also, NO novelization is made of the movie. Hence, there is no literary work associated with the movie other than the script itself.

Now, assume some author, NOT associated with the movie, comes along and decides to write a book as follows. In the literary work, let's say the characters from the movie are changed, the setting is changed, and the story is flipped (for example, instead of aliens invading earth, the humans invade alien territory). The book does NOT use the script of the movie (so no word for word copying) except if there is an argument in the movie, there is an argument in the book (mimicking the plot point).

Question: Can the author above create a book that follows the movie's plot points without infringing on copyright or facing some other legal injunction?


texts: How much evidence do I need in their ban appeal that they are actually 13+ to unban someone who was banned for being under 13 (to comply with COPPA)?

texts:
Since my site collects personal information, people under 13 years of age are not allowed because of the COPPA law (and the site is not directed towards children).

The most common ban appeals that these people make are:

The person claims they were joking when they said they were 12 in the chat and they're actually older than 13.
Some months pass after a 12 year old is banned, and they claim that they have now turned 13

Can I take someone's word for it that they are 13+, or do I need some sort of proof like an ID or birth certificate? Is it even okay to ask for such private documents?


texts: Is it legal to build your own car navigational system?

texts:
I am trying to build my own car navigational system and vehicle informational system. I am in North Carolina so NC G.S. § 20-136.1 is the main reference point I am starting from. This just explains that computers are forbidden and their exceptions. I am using a raspberry pi and making a touchscreen that is mounted in my cup holder. Whenever driving it is only to be used as a navigational system and a vehicle informational system. Are there any previous cases or references to what classifies as a computer and as a navigational system or cases where people got tried for things like this. Is it also possible to get written approval from a department in NC on the system I am making.

Other states will be driving through and would like to know the legal status of my system. VA, MD, District of Columbia


texts: How do I register a trademark in the USA if I'm not in the USA and I'm not a US citizen?

texts:
I want to register a trademark. It's a word that I've been using for my website domain for a long time (over 3 years).

I just want to make myself feeling more safe so I want to register a trademark.

However, I'm not a US Citizen and I do have a lot of visitors from the US.

How can I get started? Thanks for any kind of tips. I even don't know what to search on Google.

Thanks,


texts: loaded questions in pseudo-legal scenario

texts:
How is a loaded question dealt with in a legal, or legalistic, context?

Is there particular language which is typically employed, or is there a strategy which is particularly effective?

The specific example would be of the form "when did you stop beating your wife?"  The challenge being to prove a negative.  Aside from asserting the negation as fact, how is the false premise embedded in the accusation best disputed?


texts: When was the freedom of speech part of the 1st Amendment first applied to the executive and judiciary?

texts:
the first Amendment states:

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

This only mentions congress explicitly. According to https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/incorporation_doctrine

  The First Amendment has been interpreted by the Court as applying to the entire federal government even though it is only expressly applicable to Congress.

I would like to find the first court case where the first amendment was applied like this to the entire federal government(judiciary or executive).

Can you help?


texts: Cosmetology salon workers status in California from 2020?

texts:
I have been reading at various sources that beauty salon workers that have independent contractor status would be reclassified as employees starting from 2020 throughout the California. Presumably through the AB-5 that would force some industries to use the Dynamex ABC test instead of Borello test.

However, when I open AB-5 it appears to have exclusion for barbers and cosmetologists:

  The bill would exempt specified occupations from the application of Dynamex, and would instead provide that these occupations are governed by Borello. These exempt occupations would include, among others, licensed insurance agents, certain licensed health care professionals, registered securities broker-dealers or investment advisers, direct sales salespersons, real estate licensees, commercial fishermen, workers providing licensed barber or cosmetology services, and others performing work under a contract for professional services, with another business entity, or pursuant to a subcontract in the construction industry.

So am I reading the law incorrectly? Or for salon workers performing cosmetology and barbering services nothing changes in 2020 as their status would still be determined by Borello test (just like it has been all the time)?


texts: Can the entity storing my property indefinitely unilaterally decide to remove/discard it?

texts:
Last year, a friend brokered an agreement on my behalf with a friend of his to store some of my property in their company's storage unit (he is the owner of the company). I was not a party to the original negotiation, and there was no paperwork signed, but I was under the impression that the deal was "for free, indefinitely", until I have the resources to move my property out and store it myself. Since then, the friend who owns the company has been dealing with me directly in regards to this matter, without a middleman.

Recently, the owner has contacted me, unilaterally deciding that I have a month to remove my belongings from his unit, or he will remove and dispose of them himself, in addition to suggesting that he will begin to bill me during this time period as well. I'm pretty sure that he cannot suddenly start charging me (unless it were a month-to-month-type arrangement, in which case I would have the option to continue paying the increased rent to remain, but that's not an option here as he wants my stuff out, period).

Given that there was no formal contract for this arrangement, what are the expectations as to how it legally should work, and what responsibilities/liabilities does/will his company have given that it's in possession of my property?

Jurisdiction is New York City, if relevant.


texts: Until when would my wife need to get her H4 visa stamped once the Form I-539 is processed?

texts:
My wife and I both are originally from India and we currently live in California. I am on H1B and she is on H4. I switched my employer last year and I got a new and extended date on my I-797. Now I am working on extending my wife's visa using the Form I-539.

From my understanding, Form I-539 will extend the date on her I-94. Now, my question is that - until when would she require to get her visa stamped on her passport? Is it only if she exits US? Is she allowed to stay until the I-797 date without getting her visa stamped?


texts: Why would a police force hold off on charging someone? Can they do this?

texts:
Person A commits an offence on January 1st. The police force have everything they need to charge person A within a few days.

Assuming there is no more evidence they can possibly obtain, would they hold off on pressing charges? say, for three or more years.

Surely they would want to move forward as soon as possible? since memories, data and other evidence may degrade (service providers are only bound to keep message records for 12 months ).

I have never heard of this happening, it seems like as soon as they have enough to charge they go right ahead. This seems the correct course of action in terms of the alleged victims of the crime "getting it over and done with".

This is fundamentally different to someone holding off from pressing charges (i.e the many victims of Jimmy Savile).

Examples

Hate Crime:
I can not think why there would be delays on a Hate Crime charge. Once there is sufficient evidence to lay charges in this case, then why would a police force hold off on charging?
Same confusion holds with offences such as harassment, distribution indecent images and plotting to commit a terrorist activity.


texts: California Penal Code, Section 800 Statute of Limitations

texts:
California Penal Code Section 800 states "Except as provided in Section 799, prosecution for an offense punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for eight years or more or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for eight years or more shall be commenced within six years after commission of the offense."

Does that mean that to achieve a six year SOL, a prosecutor could use several offenses that total up to a prison term of eight years or more?


texts: Child Sexual abuse - can you jail person just based on what child said?

texts:
I heard this case and got interested.
Relative of my acquintance got jailed because of child sexual abuse (child aged 8-9).
But here is what confuses me. There is no proof whatsoever about this, no facts,
or witnesses.
Just what the child said to the psychologist. My question is can just the
fact what child said to psychologist enough to jail person for years?
How is the practice in world about this?
For me this just doesn't make sense and I am also asking out of curiosity.
It is in Caucasus Region.


texts: Is displaying Open Source License Acknowledgments legally mandatory?

texts:
When a piece of software explicitly requires that their open source license acknowledgments be included in derivative software (software that uses the open source software), is this a legally enforceable requirement?

According to this blog post it is, but let's look at an example. PayPal have an open source project, card.io, that third-party mobile app developers can use for scanning credit cards in their apps. They state:

  Add card.io's open source license acknowledgments to your app's acknowledgments.

However, when I downloaded apps that use this project (Uber, PayPay itself, TaskRabbit, EAT24, grubHub, etc.), in some cases I found that they had a section on software licenses, however I did not find the license acknowledgments for card.io inside any of the apps (Uber is a good example of this).

What are the legal ramifications of not including the license acknowledgments in a visible part of the app (let's say it's a banking app here)?


texts: What is the difference between CC-BY-SA with attribution and MIT with attribution?

texts:
You may have seen The MIT License – Clarity on Using Code on Stack Overflow and Stack Exchange and A New Code License: The MIT, this time with Attribution Required.

But I'm no legal expert, and I'm confused what the changes would include. What's the difference between CC-By-SA and MIT, and what about with attribution?


texts: Selling artwork or other creative material under a fake persona

texts:
It is possible, using artificial intelligence, to generate convincing images of people who don't really exist. For some examples, see https://www.thispersondoesnotexist.com.
If a person were to create a fake online persona using images generated in this way and use that persona to sell artwork or other creative material, could there possibly be any legal repercussions?
For a more specific example - a person creates a persona of a young, attractive female with the belief that some men will be more likely to buy their artwork if they believe that the creator is a young, attractive female. In this scenario let's imagine that there is a hypothetical claimant who is prepared to testify that they only bought the artwork because they believed it had been painted by an attractive young female and that they would not have purchased it had they known otherwise.
Could a criminal or civil case be raised against the person who did this?


texts: Are interstate and interdistrict travel restrictions legal?

texts:
This is an excerpt from the latest unlockdown (Unlock 2.0) guidelines from the Ministry of Home Affairs,

States/UTs, based on their assessment of the situation, may prohibit certain activities outside the Containment zones, or impose such restrictions as deemed necessary.

However, there shall be no restriction in inter-State and intra-State movement of persons and goods including those for cross land-border trade under Treaties with neighbouring countries. No separate permission/ approval/ e-permit will be required for such movements.

The full document is available here
Now, due to rise in COVID-19 cases, many states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra etc. have imposed travel restrictions for movement of persons as of today through state and sometimes district borders. Persons have to go through an online process of obtaining e-passess for travel.
My understanding is that the states must strictly follow these guidelines and that means they cannot impose such travel restrictions (note the however in the second paragraph of the excerpt).
I would like to know if these restrictions are legal given the central guidelines and if so under what act/law?


texts: Does expungement of a case refer to online history?

texts:
When a court's expungement order stipulates that all entities with related data to the case, and data collection and data reseller companies destroy any and all records related to a case; does this mean the private online person search sites must destroy all references to the cases that were expunged?

Or do I need to reach out to each of these individual “background search” sites to request that their information be updated to reflect the order?


texts: I reserved a motorhome in Iceland. On the invoice the cancellation policy was listed. I didn't pay the invoice and then cancelled the reservation 2 months prior to the starting date. I cancelled because I found out that it's not safe (due to weather) driving a motorhome in Iceland in November. All the campsites are closed and the laws changed in the past year; you now cannot park wherever you like. They sent me an invoice for 75% of the total, which is 1246 euros or $1400! Is this a legally binding contract?  It seems like an unfair amount to charge for a cancellation policy when cancelling two months ahead of time. What are my options?


texts: Is it legal to use the Tor Network and Tor Software in the United States?

texts:
Is it legal to use the following provided by the Tor Project:

Using the Tor Browser
Using the Tor Network
Browsing *.onion domains
Browsing the "Hidden Wiki"

Provided I'm not doing anything illegal with these services/software. I am asking specifically for the United States. Are there any states within the US that prohibit the use of any/all of these services/software?


texts: Why was it neccessary for The Hague to establish the identity of all the people murdered in the Srebrenica Massacre?

texts:
The Srebrenica massacre of Bosnian Muslims constituted one of the main charges of genocide against the Serb forces at The Hague International Criminal Court for the Former Yugoslavia. Here, the Serb forces deliberately mixed up the remains of the victims in five separate locations so as to hinder identification.
But does not this itself show that the Serb forces were well aware of the gravity of the crime against them by how they were attempting to hide the evidence? It's not a question of hindsight, they knew well what was international and customary law.
Q. Why was it neccessary for the Hague to establish 90% verification of the identity through DNA analysis when such a bar of evidence wasn't neccessary at the Nuremberg Trials?


texts: Right to get a copy of information held on one by private company in Australia

texts:
Does anyone know what the law in Australia is with respect of getting copies of information held by Australian companies about oneself - particularly notes made by phone operators and recorded phone calls?

Does it make any difference if I made the call from inside or outside the country to an Australian business ?

(I've run into issues with an Australian Airline incorporated in Queensland)


texts: Is it legal to impersonate an abstract lawyer?

texts:
I would like to request a copy of my contract from a previous employer, where most of the staff is juridically uneducated people. I'm afraid that if I introduce myself, HR would realize that I am a former employee and would decline to send the copy, stating that I should have my own version (which I have lost).

There might be a legal debate, depending whether I signed a certain page where it says "overtime hours are not paid" or not. I know I can hire a lawyer who can demand the contract copy, but then if I really signed the page (it was a long time ago, I don't remember), the job of the lawyer is done and I still pay for their service.

To save money I have considered this trick:

Register a new email address with something like Person@FloridaLawGroup.com
Call the HR office and impersonate an abstract lawyer who is defending an interest of the former employee.
Request a copy of the contract be sent to the aforementioned email address.

Is any part of this plan illegal?


texts: Why can judges not set aside jury verdicts of acquittal?

texts: Would it be correct to say that the reason why judges do not have power to set aside a jury verdict of acquittal in a criminal case is precisely that that would violate a right to a trial by jury? Would there be other reasons besides that?


texts: How are presidential pardons supposed to be used?

texts:
When and how are pardons supposed to be used? Why does the Constitution even grant the president the power to pardon? Can it be used to pardon any crime?

On the surface, it seems to make the president above the law. CNN just reported that president Trump promised to pardon the head of CBP if he broke the law. It would seem the president could just do this for any law or policy he doesn't like and thereby bypass Congress or the courts.


texts: Non US company raised equity by issuing shares to non accredited investors,does re-domiciliation to Delaware cause retroactive breach of US laws?

texts:
As per the title I would like to know if anybody knows what happens if a foreign non -- U.S. company ( offshore ) raises equity by advertising and soliciting investors included but not limited to people who are not accredited investors per U.S. definition .

Raising equity by issuing shares to non-accredited investors is not a violation in the offshore Jurisdiction as it isn't advertising and soliciting to investors .

My question is : what happens if the aforementioned offshore company re-domiciliates to U.S. , specifically Delaware ? Does re-domiciliation imply a retroactive breach of US laws with regards to said equity raise ?


texts: Do I inherit some portion of property if there's no will?

texts: My mother passed away without a will a month ago. She owned a house with my stepdad in Albany, NY. He still lives there. I live in FL. What portion of the estate value do I get as a result?


texts: Irish citizenship or Permanent residence after 5 years of residence for EU citizen and their non-EU Family?

texts:
European Union law secures EU Citizens' right to travel in the member countries freely. They can also bring their non-EU family member(s) with them in certain instances.
This page mentions that:
Permanent residence
These Regulations also introduced a right of permanent residence for EEA nationals and their family members after a five-year period of uninterrupted legal residence in the State.
While this page mentions that:
Adult application based on residence for UK, EU/EEA & Swiss nationals
To apply for citizenship by naturalisation based on residence, you must prove that you have been resident in the State for at least 5 years (1825 or 1826 days) out of the last 9 years.
This includes 1 year (365 or 366 days) of continuous residence immediately before the date you apply.

Now does it mean that after 5 years of residence in Ireland, I (EU national) and my non-EU family members should apply for PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR IRISH CITIZENSHIP?
I am confused.
EDIT: Several informal sources also mention that Irish PR can be obtained after 5 years of residence (be it through employment, investment etc..). But one of the naturalization requirements is 5 years of residence. Why would one apply for PR when they can apply for Irish citizenship after 5 years of residence? Does Ireland have a concept of a PR like the UK's ILR or the American Green Card anyway? So many sources have puzzled me completely:(
DO NOTE THAT IRISH PR IS NOT A REQUIREMENT FOR NATURALIZATION. THERE IS JUST THIS CONTINUOUS 5 YEAR RESIDENCE REQUIREMENT, BESIDES OTHER THINGS.


texts:
How does one establish an easement for parking in the UK? It's an area the size of 5 cars opposite my house where I've regularly parked (not everyday in the week but at least one day per week) over the period of 26 years.

UPDATE: It is on the roadside of privately owned common land, so technically part of a registered common


texts: Wouldn't it be hard to kick someone out who never signed a lease?

texts: Who really has more power when a lease isn’t signed and there’s no written agreement? I know a lot of cheap rentals off craigslist do this (especially in shared living accommodations). Hypothetically if someone can prove they have been living there, and the landlord wants them out, wouldn’t it be hard for the landlord to evict them since technically it was never agreed on what conditions the agreement could end? Or hypothetically the landlord can’t prove the occupant lives there?


texts: Is it legal for NVIDIA to deny the use of the NVIDIA Capture API on non professional devices?

texts:
NVIDIA deny the use of their NVIDIA Capture API on what they deem professional cards, such as the Quadro, Tesla and GRID models. This API allows extremely high performance video output capture from a computer that is performed in the video card's hardware.

Due to this limitation other vendors that produce capture software such as Fraps and Open Broadcast Studio (OBS) are unable to use this API, which would seems fair since this restriction is supposed to apply to the class of card.

However NVIDIA also distribute the program "ShadowPlay" with the NVIDIA drivers which is a competing video capture application.

The ShadowPlay program uses the NVIDIA Capture API on the non professional consumer grade cards as it is exempt from this artificial restriction.

While I personally feel this is completely immoral, is it illegal? Antitrust?


texts: Can a gag order prevent someone from testifying in a congressional hearing?

texts:
In this article from the guardian - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/16/steve-bannon-trump-congress-intelligence-questioning it has been mentioned that,  former white house aide, Steve Bannon is claiming that he is unable to testify because white house told him not to do so and so leaders from democratic party are claiming that a gag order has been used to stop him from testifying to the the House Intelligence Committee.

Isn't it unconstitutional to do so? unless gag order has been given to prevent any kind of leak which may lead to risk associated with national security, which is not the case here? And ultimately who has the final authority to issue a gag order?


texts: Some link building service got an old webpage of mine and is hosting it on another domain

texts:
Apparently they got it from archive.org.  They made no changes to the page except to throw in some links, fitting them into the context so it will look natural to a crawler.  They neglected to remove the visitor counter, that's how I found out.

They even left the copyright notice I had on the page.

They're using my images, my design, my content, my js, etc.  Even though I no longer own the domain of the original site, I seem to be last owner.

Can't find out who owns the domain so I guess I would go through the host to get in touch.

Wondering if there is any legal remedy for this.