texts: What prevents me from using vehicle anti-theft laws to regain possession of an impounded car in Maryland?

texts:
My car was impounded in MD due to expired tags. I've since paid the state and county fines for this, but the county police use a private impound lot which charges exorbitant fees for storage. MD law gives county officials the right to take possession of a car for unpaid fines, and authorizes them to contract the service to a third party. However, since paying the fine, the county is no longer in possession of the vehicle, the towing company is. MD vehicle antitheft law states "A person may not take a vehicle without the consent of the owner of the vehicle and with the intent to deprive the owner temporarily of the owner's possession of the vehicle, even if without the intent to steal the vehicle."

What exactly prevents me from using this antitheft law to regain possession of the car without paying? (I realize this argument would not hold up in court, I'm just curious about exactly why that is)


texts:
I know think under "premises/occupiers liability" you aren't allowed to set up things like booby-traps, to stop trespassers / invaders.

Are countries/militaries exempt from such laws?

If so, how are weapon systems like PHALANX CIWS, an autonomous anti-missile weapon system, in use?

Is is a matter of discriminance, in that, a booby trap can harm anything, where as systems such as PHALANX CIWS only defend against, what it thinks are, attacks? Or, is it that militaries follow different laws?

For example, was the shooting down of the Russian jet, by Turkey, illegal?


texts: Moral rights / attribution for software written for a company

texts:
I understand that software written during a employment/contract with a Company belongs to said Company (e.g. they hold the copyright to software source code and other IP produced during the course of the employment/contract).

The question is: how about moral rights to said source code/IP, specifically the right to attribution?
More specifically:

Is developer allowed to attribute himself to certain projects he worked on during the employment/contract?
Can company prevent him the attribution, e.g. listing of the projects (project name, duration, level of contribution) on his profile/CV?
Are moral/attribution rights granted by law and can they be waived by a contract?
Can company use any other means (e.g. the NDA) to prevent attribution?

Thank you for your help.


texts: Does German law have an equivalent of the "plain meaning rule"?

texts:
I recently read about the plain meaning rule that seems to be a principle in the application of English laws.

I would like to know whether a similar principle is either codified or known as a common principle in the interpretation of laws in Germany.

On the one hand, the rule sounds like a sane basis for interpreting a text that is not accompanied by explicit definitions.

On the other hand, the Wikipedia article is not linked to any German equivalent (for what it's worth, it is not linked to any equivalent in any other language). Also, cases come to mind where German courts did not seem to apply an "ordinary meaning"1. It is well possible, however, that such cases are exceptions (that became well-known precisely due to their exceptional character) rather than the "normal procedure".

If this concept does exist in German law, is there any specific term normally used to refer to this concept?

1: I mean instances like the infamous ruling on the duration of military service vs. alternative civilian service. "The duration of X must not exceed the duration of Y." was interpreted in such a way that "duration" refers to the effort/stress level, which must be equal, while X may very well last for a longer time than Y. Or, alternatively, that Y might theoretically imply additional phases of related activity in the future, which are counted towards the duration that X is compared to. (link only in German)


texts:
I understand the meaning of "indemnify from" when it is used with "loss" or "claim": if someone is indemnified from that, they are legally shielded from it and will not suffer.

But "indemnify from property" is confusing. What legal harm can property cause to be shielded from?

For example, here:

  (1) This section applies if a trustee incurs an expense or a liability to
  a creditor and the trustee—

  (a) has a right to be indemnified from the
  trust property; or

  (b) for any reason is not entitled to be
  indemnified or fully indemnified from the trust property (for example,
  because the trustee incurred the liability in breach of trust)

Also if you search exact phrases "indemnified from the property", "indemnified from property" etc. there will be other examples which I am not sure what sense they make.


texts: What are alternatives to a Septic System

texts: I work at a Scout (BSA) affiliated camp. Lately, we have been having legal issues with our kitchen because it does not have a septic system. In the past we have been using a bladder that has been emptied bi-weekly by a port a potty company. We cannot build a septic system at camp because we are surrounded by water, and we have been told septic systems must be built 100 yards from water. What are some Alternatives to a septic system? What can we do about putting in a septic system?


texts: Has being a clergyman or bona fide religious person been a defense to the charge of "practicing law"?

texts: I'm wondering because here's what I am thinking.  Religion is inextricably connected to whether something seems like the "right thing to do."  Often, people struggle with what the "right thing to do" is, and they ask their religious advisors for advice.  Suppose that a religious person advised that the right thing to do for "God's forgiveness" was to file *this legal document with *that court and argue *this point.  Would that religious person have a defense against the UPL?  Assume this advice was otherwise UPL and assume the religious advisor is a bona fide religious advisor.  Has this type of situation ever come up before?  Also, what are the liabilities of "holy" advice, outside of just the UPL?


texts: What is the charge if you erase digital information that was subpoenaed?

texts:
First off I’ll let you know that this would apply for Canada.

Here’s the scenario:
You own a server which is used to host a secure and encrypted message website/app. Say there is possible evidence that was in a chat related to an ongoing case and you receive a subpoena.

If the data gets destroyed by the server being erased, would the server owner or person who erased the server be charged with any crime? If so what would the punishment?

Now let’s change it. Say you truthfully accidentally damaged the hard drive and the data was unretrievable. Could someone still be charged for this

Again, this would be for Canadian law


texts:
Recently the following case has been catching eyeballs where Prashant Bhushan a Lawyer in the Supreme Court has been accused of Contempt of Court by making certain tweets. The Supreme Court has held him guilty and asked for an unconditional apology and given him a deadline for it.
The Bench also hasn't asked the person to explain the rationale behind his tweets as well. Many Retired Judges and Lawyers have condemned this as well.
This made me wonder can tweets outside of the court about the court which a particular judge may not like be treated as Contempt of Court? Isn't this a part of Freedom of Speech?


texts: Why would estoppel allow officials to play fast and loose with legal rules and the limits of a public authority’s powers, duties or jurisdiction?

texts:
I read all three cases in footnote 193, but they don't explain the boldening.

        At an earlier time, the courts rejected the use of the private law doctrine of estoppel in easing
  the plight of someone who had relied on an assurance from an official only to find that it
  was not binding because it was thought to allow officials to play fast and loose with legal rules
  and the limits of a public authority’s powers, duties or jurisdiction.193 Thus estoppel could
  not affect the obligation to perform a statutory duty. The House of Lords reconsidered the
  issue in 2002, in which Lord Hoffmann said:

    It seems to me that in this area, public law has already absorbed what is useful from the moral
    values which underlie the private law concept of estoppel and the time has come for [public
    law] to stand upon its own two feet.194

  As a result, the analogy between legitimate expectations and estoppel is not one which is
  likely to be of any utility in the near future.

  193Maritime Electric Co v General Dairies Ltd [1937] AC 610; Rhyl UDC v Rhyl Amusements Ltd [1959] 1 All
  ER 257; Essex Congregational Union v Essex CC [1963] AC 808.

Bradley, Ewing. Constitutional and Administrative Law (2018 17 ed).  p 667.


texts: Are there any laws the require subscription services to be prorated?

texts:
I'm reading the terms of use for Gogo Inflight, and in the part about refunds it says they aren't going to prorate your service if you cancel, then it says, "subject to applicable laws."

Are there any federal or state (Massachusetts) laws that force a service provider to prorate the cost or do a refund for the difference of the unused service?


texts:
I am a 13 year old. I am wanting to work at my town's local book shop. I live in Washington, USA. I can't find any online documents regarding if I can or cannot work there.
According to official D.O.L. documents, if you're 13 you can only work only on farming or other non harmful jobs. I was wondering if working at a produce store/book store is considered a "safe" job and if so, I can still get the minimum $7.25 pay since I am still working, right?
Also, the D.O.L. documents say overtime doesn't apply to farm jobs. Does the produce store job count as working on an "active farm", since the store does handle and process fruits, vegetables and farming related items but doesn't grow them.


texts: Can Mobile App Terms of Use contain General liability release?

texts:
The intent is a smart phone based app, which functions as a service(think ride share type of services). Wish to provide said service without insurance to test market feasibility.

Definition(s): 'clickwrap' method(IE. User is presented with a link(to terms) and a 'I accept/agree' requirement to register an account/access the platform).

Question(s):
Can the Terms of Use/User Agreement using the so called 'clickwrap' method contain a General Liability/Liability Release, releasing the app/company(a LLC) from any liability: Personal injury, damage to property.. ect.

Or would a Signed release(electronic possibly?) be required?


texts:
In the context of patent disclosure: What is the nuanced meaning of Literal Support?

Link to passage using the term Literal Support

  Written Description ≠ Literal Support “The test ... is whether the
  disclosure of the application as originally filed reasonably conveys
  to the artisan that the inventor had possession at that time of the
  later claimed subject matter, rather than the presence or absence of
  literal support in the specification for the claim language. ... The
  content of the drawings may also be considered ...”


texts: How to ensure that the order drawn by a party is checked by another party?

texts:
https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part40/pd_part40b#1.1

  Drawing up and filing of judgments and orders
  1.1  Rule 40.2 sets out the standard requirements for judgments and orders and rule 40.3 deals with how judgments and orders should be
  drawn up.

  1.2  A party who has been ordered or given permission to draw up an order must file it for sealing within 7 days of being ordered or
  permitted to do so. If he fails to do so, any other party may draw it
  up and file it.

  1.3  If the court directs that a judgment or order which is being drawn up by a party must be checked by the court before it is sealed,
  the party responsible must file the draft within 7 days of the date
  the order was made with a request that the draft be checked before it
  is sealed.

  (emphasis mine)

  1.4  If the court directs the parties to file an agreed statement of terms of an order which the court is to draw up, the parties must do
  so no later than 7 days from the date the order was made, unless the
  court directs otherwise.

  1.5  If the court requires the terms of an order which is being drawn up by the court to be agreed by the parties the court may direct that
  a copy of the draft order is to be sent to all the parties:

  (1) for their agreement to be endorsed on it and returned to the court
  before the order is sealed, or

  (2) with notice of an appointment to attend before the court to agree
  the terms of the order.

In the point 1.5 if the court order is drawn up by the court, it is to be agreed by the parties.

In the point 1.3 if the court order is drawn by the party, it is checked by the court. There is no mention of another party checking, agreeing, verifying.

In my layman understanding that can create a situation where a party drafting the order is in an advantageous position because they can submit an order, without asking another party for approval.

Me being that "another party" - how to ensure that I also can approve the court order?


texts:
Do public prosecutors work for a city, county, or state, or does it vary by location? Are they called district attorneys, attorneys general, prosecutors, or something else.  Specifically, if I have been a victim of monetary criminal matter, how do I find the prosecutor that has jurisdiction and how can I contact that person?  Is there only one prosecutor that has jurisdiction or do I have a choice among several, such as depending on where I live, where the criminal lives, or where the crime took place?  (I am asking specifically about a matter that involves a wrong-doer in Atlanta and a victim in New York.)  To make initial contact, do I send an email, do I make an appointment, do I just show up at the prosecutor's office?

On reflection, perhaps the crime took place over the internet. I paid by paypal and the other party did not use the money as agreed upon, pocketing it instead. So, where did the crime take place?


texts: Do I need "cookie management modal" in my web application?

texts:
We have a web application (+1000 users) and we use analytics cookies and have also some cookies that are required for the application to work.
Before the user creates an account, it has to accept both "Terms of use" and "Privacy policy" that we provide in the registration screen.
If the user accesses the application landing-page (not the app itself), we do show the cookie modal to ask for consent and etc.
My question is if we do need to have this modal for consent inside the application (after login) even if the user already has agreed with stuff on account creation?


texts: Can a Canadian doctor perform RFID chip implantation in a willing subject?

texts:
I want to get an RFID chip implanted in my hand for practical and entertainment purposes. I am a adult 100% aware of the risks and willing to undergo the (very minor) surgery, in which the small tag is injected beneath the skin via a syringe.

Since I want to minimize the risks, I want to ask a qualified doctor to perform the actual implantation.

I am located in Quebec, but am willing to travel out of the province if the laws are more favorable.

Is there a law that prohibits a doctor from performing such a procedure?


texts: Term for an action leading to something else

texts:
I am looking (searches so far not successful) for a term that describes this type of scenario:

A teen puts a nail against the tire of a parked car as a prank. It leads to an accident that results in a death, and is prosecuted for this.

A person pulls a knife on a victim and a passerby fires a gun to help out. The bullet misses, but kills a bystander, and the knife thief is the one charged with murder.

In other words, the term for prosecution based on being the one that set in motion a series of events, even if not the one finally responsible, here, neither the driver, nor the shooter.


texts: What's the limitation of sexual consideration?

texts:
Prostitution is defined to be sex in exchange of consideration

http://definitions.uslegal.com/p/prostitution/

  The term "prostitution" generally means the commission by a person of
  any natural or unnatural sexual act, deviate sexual intercourse, or
  sexual contact for monetary consideration or other thing of value.

The problem is what sort of consideration count as prostitution?

Imagine a girl saying that I only want to have sex if we're married. That is a consideration. It has value. Is she a prostitute? Most of us wouldn't think so.

Imagine a girl saying, I only want to have sex if I get bitcoins. She's not getting paid. She's getting something else. Is she a prostitute?

So what's the limit?

What counts as consideration?


texts: Can I be held financially liable for services I received as a minor?

texts:
I was in an auto accident at the age of 17. My mother and I had attended a local chiropractor but stopped attending before my 18th birthday.  Since I was a minor at the time I did not sign any agreement with the chiropractor; only my mother signed it.

Now that I am 20 the chiropractor sued me for payment.  Under duress I signed paperwork stating that I'd start paying them, however I find this entire situation very aggravating.

Was I liable for the bill, given that it was my mother who signed the following statement?

  I understand I am financially responsible for all charges regardless of any applicable insurance or benefit payments.

Doesn't liability for payment remain with my mother?

I am very confused as to why they're coming after me, for something that happened when I was a minor.


texts: In BC residential tenancy is there no longer a fixed term lease where tenant must vacate at end?

texts:
To my understanding the new government changed laws so that when a fixed term tenancy comes to an end, it automatically is converted to a month-to-month tenancy. There is no longer the option to have a tenant move out at the end of the fixed term. It's very difficult for a landlord to end a month-to-month tenancy

From Two Month Notice to End Tenancy

  When a landlord ends a tenancy for landlord’s use of property, the
  landlord must give the tenant the equivalent of one month’s rent on or
  before the effective date of the landlord's notice. This is true even
  if the tenant pays rent for the last month.

Is my understanding correct? A landlord can only end a tenancy because he wants the place back and would still have to give a free month (aside from eviction for cause)?


texts: Can I keep my last name if I get married?

texts:
Can I keep my last name the same if I get married? I don't want to hyphenate it either. Is this possible? Is it a MUST that I change or hyphenate it?

I am in New York City, New York.


texts: Rental agreement - Ending the tenancy clause

texts:
I live in Vancouver and rented a room in a shared house from the person who has the lease. I did not have to deal with the house owner ever.

The person who has the lease pulled up this agreement which I signed at the time I moved in - About 4 months ago.

  Terms: The details of the term of Agreement are as follows: Prior notice of 1 Month (30 days) is needed to end the contract if needed.

  Tenancy Start Date: August 4th 2019 until  May 31th 2020

  ...

  Ending the Tenancy:

  The tenant may end the agreement giving 30  days’ notice, the notice must be in written, included the date the tenancy to be ended and signed. The landlord can end the tenant agreement for unpaid rent; the tenant has breached a substantive term of this agreement.

  The tenant must vacate the room by 12:00 noon on the end date of the tenancy unless a later time agreed. The room and spaces use by the tenant should be left clean.

  ...

  I have read this agreement and I understand all it contains. I agree to be bound by its terms and conditions.

A few days back she started bothering me with things like "Do not dry bra on deck rail" and other silly stuff.

Yesterday she sent me an email:

  Please find attached a notice of termination of your  tenancy agreement for the bedroom adjacent the living room at  ADDRESS.  Please depart by 1:00pm  on February 1st 2020. Please ensure that you take all your belongings from the property and leave it clean in the same order which you have received it. Your deposit will be return after all checks are completed. Thank you.

Follows the text from attachment:

  Re: Termination of Tenancy Agreement

  This letter serves as a formal notice of termination of your tenancy agreement for the room which you occupy at the above address.  February 1st 2020 is the termination date. Please move out of the rental unit on or before the date by 1pm.

Do I have to leave the place according to the agreement?

Can I tell her that I am not in breach of the agreement as I have paid up my rent in time always and there was no breach of any substantive term of this agreement

I moved in here with all my stuff and i do not wish to have to move because it's a lot of work. for no reason


texts: Is highly irresponsible but unintentional encouragement of violence a crime in the US?

texts:
Inspired by recent events, I looked up the legal definition of incitement in the US. For example, the First Amendment does not protect speech if the speaker intends to incite a violation of the law that is both imminent and likely (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imminent_lawless_action).
I wrote some legal philosophy but never took a college course in law, and I am unsure if highly irresponsible but unintentional encouragement of violence is a crime in the US. [Note, this question has nothing to do with process of impeachment that might have a different definition of incitement.]


texts: Constitutionality of neighborhood lockdowns and road blocks

texts:
Increasingly police in the United States have resorted to "locking down" buildings, blocks and even entire neighborhoods. For example, recently police in Baltimore reacted to a cop getting shot by locking down an entire section of city. Presumably the only test of such actions would be for someone to get arrested for violating the "lockdown".

On their face, these actions seem to be extra-judicial since in many cases the police are not acting under the penumbra of law, but are essentially creating martial law with no authority.

Another issue is that such actions could be construed as violating the First Ammendment's guarantee of the right of assembly. A long essay on a Constitutional law web site discussed some of the issues with regards to curfews.

Have these police lockdowns been challenged in court or been declared unconsitutional by a court?


texts: Do I have to pay the dental bill that is much higher than estimate?

texts:
I got a crown and the color was different from other teeth. The dentist wrote to me that he would remake the crown free of charge. After starting the remaking process, he said his time was free but material was not.
He estimated the additional fee to be around $400. But the final fee was more than $1000.

Do I need to pay this procedure? I talked to other dentists and insurance representative. They said the common practice was no extra payment for additional procedure.
Or should I pay up to $400?
If the dentist does not agree to lower the charge to $400 and if I refused to pay (i.e. leave the office without paying) what happens?
Any tips in negotiating with the dentist?


texts: Does Surinder Singh route apply to Extended family members?

texts:
Surinder Singh route applies to Core family members of EU citizens (and I believe this includes dependent parents too?).
But does the Surinder Singh route apply to Extended family members?


texts: If someone makes a phone call to the police to say that you have drugs in your home, are they allowed to search the home?

texts: I have been arguing with a family member, and they threatened to call the police and tell them that I have drugs in my home. If they actually follow through, do the police have any right to come search my home? I have no criminal background, and I would like to know what my rights are in case they show up. Any help would be greatly appreciated!


texts: Does the order barring entry of certain aliens into the US properly apply to permanent residents?

texts:
The President of the United States has invoked his power under the INA to

  proclaim that the immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the United States of aliens from countries referred to in section 217(a)(12) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1187(a)(12), would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, and [...] suspend entry into the United States, as immigrants and nonimmigrants, of such persons for 90 days from the date of this order [...].

The relevant section of the INA is at 8 U.S.C. 1182(f):

  (f) Suspension of entry or imposition of restrictions by President
  Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate. [...]

This question is about the phrases "immigrant entry" and "entry as immigrants."  In particular, there are reports of aliens from these countries, who have already been admitted to the United States for permanent residence, who are in possession of their "green cards," having been denied entry to the US, or at least having been denied boarding by airlines.

The question, therefore:  Is re-entry of a green card holder properly within the scope of "immigrant entry"?  In particular, has any court ruled on the question?

I have not found any other part of the executive order that could be read as barring green card holders from entering the US, but I may have overlooked something.  Is there another part of the order that is relevant to the entry of permanent residents?


texts: Does HIPAA require a secondary physician to share results with your primary?

texts:
NY state here.

If I go to get a second opinion from a physician other than my primary, are there any regulations (HIPAA or otherwise) that require that 2nd physician to share consultation notes/lab results with my primary?


texts:
If someone records my Skype conversation, is that video his property or mine?

Is there a law against him making that video public or even recording it to begin with?

Country- India.


texts: Car registration and license in new state

texts:
I have recently moved to Maryland from California and have brought my car with me. I know that I need to do the following:

Change insurance policy from CA to MD
Get a MD drivers license
Get a vehicle safety inspection test
Get MD title and registration

In order to title and register my car I need a MD drivers license first. When I get this they will take my CA drivers license from me. Between receiving my MD drivers license and registering my car, will I be able to use my car with CA plates? If I get pulled over on CA plates and present a MD license, is this a problem?

I understand that getting a license and registering a car are separate things, but I want to be sure I can legally use my car as I switch from CA to MD.

For context, I'm originally from the UK and have been in the US for 2 years, so I am not fully familiar with changing states.


texts: Is it legal to create an alternative implementation of proprietary game server?

texts:
There are various multiplayer MOBA or MMORPG games, that have no publicly available documentation for their proprietary server protocols, and which only have one official client that provides an access to their services - for free or for a fee. For example, World of Warcraft, Lineage, DotA, League of Legends, etc.

Would it be legal, under US and EU law, to reverse engineer their clients (using clean room engineering approach), document their client-server protocol, and recreate server software that would be compatible with the official client, but containing no copyrighted code by original authors?

Would it be also legal to charge for using such private server software?


texts: Does the USPTO distinguish between downloadable software regarding trademarks?

texts:
Trademarks protect marks within their own categories, which can loosely be defined as fields or industries. However, some categories, like IC009, which covers downloadable software, is very broad. As technology becomes increasingly—and sometimes overwhelmingly—pervasive, "downloadable software" touches so many different industries. What company doesn't have their hand in downloadable software? There is at least one company in every possible industry with some form of downloadable software, like a mobile app. Does the USPTO distinguish between downloadable software?

For instance, I want to trademark a name for a social network (via mobile app) targeted to a specific segment of consumers. However, that name is trademarked by a video game company for their video-game development software. From a software engineer's perspective, there is no reasonable link between internal software used by developers and a social network used by consumers. But does the USPTO feel the same way? Or is downloadable software just downloadable software?


texts:
Do patents have to be original work? I mean, if I have an idea and I talk about it online (say a forums), and then someone patents the idea a month later, can I sue that person for plagiarism or something?

On top of that question, can Google's indexed search results be presented as evidence that I got to it first?

ADD: if you have an idea within content that is then copyrighted then later on, someone patents it, is that patenting legal?


texts: What is a Formal Patent Search of Classification in Canadian patent law?

texts:
I am seeking to start patenting something, and have reached out to an organization that claims to be able to help with the patenting process.

They want to do something they call a Formal Patent Search of Classification, and to charge me for it, before starting to work on the patent application itself.

What is this Formal Patent Search of Classification? I haven't been able to find any information on it online. Does it differ from a preliminary patent search (as explained on the CIPO website) in any meaningful way?


texts: Mendeley is encrypting my data on my hard disk with a key only available to them: can I ask for unencrypted data under GDPR?

texts:
I use Mendeley Desktop to manage my bibliography. Now I want to switch to Zotero.
Zotero used to be able to import the Mandeley's database. However, Mendeley 1.19 encrypted my data on my HDD with a key that only Elsevier has. See here:

Mendeley 1.19 and later have begun encrypting the local database,
making it unreadable by Zotero and other standard database tools.
Elsevier made this change a few months after Zotero publicly announced
work on an importer, despite having long touted the openness of its
database format as a guarantee against lock-in and explaining in its
documentation that the database could be accessed using standard
tools.

Mendeley claims that they were compelled to do so by GDPR:

We have encrypted users’ databases to comply with GDPR. You can still
export your libraries to get data locally and/or import into another
reference manager.

They also claim that I can export my data, but this is not true. Mendeley would only export basically a list of DOIs, and I am losing all the organization in folders it took me months to make.
I have zillions of articles: I can't afford to have them all in one folder in Zotero.
People are trying to break the encryption but I am not able to do that.

Can I ask them to provide me with a copy of the unencrypted database under art. 20.1 of GDPR?

Can I ask them to send the data directly to Zotero under article 20.2 of GDPR?


texts: Is it legal to organize a female-only event, assuming the topic isn't gender-specific?

texts:
I've recently seen a few "female-only" lectures about technical topics, organized by companies that try to promote the presence of women in engineering. While I don't feel like I'm discriminated (there are tons of "inclusive" events out there), I still feel like they're breaking the law. To be more specific, here's a description of a similar event in the US:

Is it legal to organize such events, under the anti-discrimination laws in the EU?


texts: Why don't governments and private companies sue China for economic and life losses due to COVID-19 (corona virus)?

texts:
We are witnessing the financial and personal repercussions of the spread of the corona virus that originated in Wuhan. It seems that the virus started spreading possibly as early as mid-November with the Chinese government trying to hide/downplay/minimize the issue at hand. Given the Chinese government failure to:

Prevent the sale of raw animal meat and enforce the necessary sanitary measures to avoid human contact with raw meat.
Allowing farming and selling of wild animals, which was than corrected later by issuing a law banning such sales, thus admitting the problem.
Properly contain the spread in Wuhan by acknowledging the alarm calls of the local doctors and first signs that an unknown strain of corona virus was circulating.

Is it possible for governments and private companies, I imagine only the most powerful ones, to sue the Chinese government to seek financial compensation for the damages occurred worlwide?

I imagine that if a private company would accidentally leak a virus outside a lab, such company would be liable for all damages, why is a government not liable for any damage in this case? Can, theoretically, Chinese or citizens from other countries sue the Chinese government for the loss of loved ones?


texts: Can a gas station employee use Skimmer Scanner in TN without getting in trouble?

texts:
I recently ran across Skimmer Scanner, which is an app that uses Bluetooth to scan for, connect to, and send no-op commands to verify certain common types of card skimmers. Given that the app uses default credentials to authenticate and sends a command that does nothing but characterize the device as likely being a skimmer, would exercising this much control over an illegal/illegally installed device get someone in trouble in Tennessee? Does anything change if they are using the app as part of their work at a gas station in order to protect customers from skimmers?

The Google Play listing says

  Please check your local laws before installing this product. There is implicit risk associated with publicly reporting crimes.

The describing article says

  The app does not obtain or download data from a given skimmer nor does it report any information to local authorities.


texts: Under the EU Free Movement of Goods, what does "authorization" mean?

texts:
Here are the facts of a hypothetical case.

A, an Austrian toymaker, manufactures
the M2019, a realistic imitation of a Wild West rifle. But M2019 can't fire
any bullets or pellets. A signs a distribution
contract with ToysRUs, a largest toy retailer in
Europe, to sell M2019 in T's shops.

And A signs a contract with Cinema, a company with cinemas in Poland and Romania. Customers who buy any beverage at C's cinemas
can enter into a competition, sponsored by A, to win a trip to Utah, the location of many western movies.

When the Polish authorities learn about the commercial
availability of M2019 and the contract between the A
and C, Poland fines  C €500,000, and orders the seizure of all M2019 rifles
from T's shops.

Poland fined C on grounds of the fictitious Polish Games Act 2017 that prohibits, and penalizes, any form of
gambling and competition based on values against Polish traditions.

The fictitious Polish Guns Act 2015 prohibits replica firearms from being sold in large retail shops, and requires that sale of replica
firearms be subject to authorization.

Advise A.

According to my notes, my law teacher mentioned the following restrictions:

authorization; free
movement of goods;
prohibition of sale in toys stores; free movement of goods (selling
arrangement);
CineGlobe contract and implications for services.

You must distinguish between 1 and 2 above.

Question 1. The leading case on "selling arrangements" in 2 is Keck and Mithouard, C-267–8/91. But what does "authorization" in 1 mean?
Question 2. How can "authorization" be distinguished from "selling arrangements"?


texts: Can a person drive a commercial vehicle with a photo copy of their CDL license if they lost or left their CDL license?


texts: Putting up a "we're closing!" sign illegal?

texts:
There's a store near our home that has the "We're closing! Everything must go! Huge discounts!" Sign.

It has been on their store for at least 6 months.

Is it fraudulent or illegal to make such an advertisement when the store has no plans to close?


texts: Does 18 U.S. Code § 1543 apply to foreign passports?

texts:
Consider this

An American uses a fake scan of a Canadian passport over the internet to open an offshore bank account
The account is never used
No quantifiable damages are incurred

Is the American liable for criminal fraud?

Also which federal agency would prosecute? The Diplomatic Service seems to only handle fraud of US passports, and only in immigration, drugs, terrorism and related crimes.


texts: if I use a meme in a video game can I legally profit off of it

texts:
If were to be building a video game that I would be profiting off of (through ads or some buying feature), could I use memes that are derivative of copyrighted materials.

For example,

There is a currently popular meme called Big Chungus (which can be seen at https://i.stack.imgur.com/MxbBU.png)

It is taken from the Bugs Bunny TV show which I'm pretty sure is copyrighted. This meme, however, has spread through Instagram and the Internet and become frequently referenced. Does this mean it's in public domain and therefore legal to use?

Thanks

edit: This is different from the linked question because of the reference to frequent use online as noted in the comment.

edit:

The image of Bugs Bunny as seen above is directly taken from the show, but another meme, called "Ugandan Knuckles," is a silly likeness of echidna from Sonic the Hedgehog.

In this image, "Ugandan Knuckles" is pictured far right while the others are different likenesses of echidna.

Since this is a silly version and therefore a parody (right?) is it fair use?

edit: Thanks David Siegel for this edit. I believe the commentary Ugandan Knuckles is making is simply to make fun of the original image. Is this a legitimate commentary?


texts: If Im a 1099 (independent contractor) at a cash advance firm and I left (quit). Can I take the leads I sorted through and became "my list" and take those leads and start my own merchant cash advance business? Or, am I legally not allowed to take them. Or if I am able to take them, how can I?


texts: Talent consent withdrawal in film in Europe

texts:
Consider the following scenario of right to erasure in film-making in Europe. Person A makes amateur live-action films, for example theater performances. Person B is in one of those performances and consents to recording and publication verbally or in writing. Later, for whatever personal or professional reason, person B would like to withdraw consent under the GDPR right to be forgotten.
Does person B have the right to erasure and would face and voice count as personal information under GDPR? Does person A have to edit the film to remove, blur, or distort the voice of person B?


texts: Risky if Plaintiff does not sue all possible co-conspirators?

texts:
Is there a danger that if a Plaintiff in a civil case does not sue all co-conspirators but calls these unnamed conspirators as witnesses, that a jury might attribute less fault or no fault to the defendant party co-conspirators?

If so, how can the Plaintiff balance the need for these unnamed witnesses to prove the extent of the conspiracy with the risk that the jury might find that the unnamed witness is more at fault than the actual defendants?


texts: Technically, can the prosecutor have advocate?

texts:
I understand, probably for many of you, lawyers, the article you’ve read is ultimately crazy, but I just thought: if everyone is equal before the court, can prosecutor use the services of a lawyer (advocate)?

I think, I can name something wrong in English, also the Law of US, or other english-speaking countries, can be different from my country.
By prosecutor I mean official person from the state who presents the accusing side in court. For each region of country, there is a prosecutor. In Ukraine or Russia it called like “The state accuser” (but translator translates it exactly as a prosecutor). It is very uncommon, but as alternative, the victim (if it alive, of course) can go to court by itself, and it will be called a “Private accuser”.
Also I do not understand, do you understand the difference between the lawyer (юрист) and advocate/attorney (адвокат). In my country, one becomes a lawyer after finishing the University. After, you can pass special exam based on your lawyer grade to become an advocate/a judge (more complicated process)/a notary. If you do not want to pass this exams you stay just a lawyer, and You can go work to Police, for example, or to prosecutor office. Advocate (Attorney) is the person, who defends the side in the court.
By the law, everyone have the right to the advocate(lawyer, Google translates it as a lawyer, I confused ).
Theoretically, can the Prosecutor have an advocate?


texts: Can the broker-agent of a landlord be construed as party to a leasing contract? [NY]

texts:
The leasing contract bears the broker's name, under "broker", and not as a signatory.
Is there an agency law ground (or some other) to make the contract enforceable against the broker (given no communication between tenant and landlord) so that the case could be brought against the broker?


texts: Can Australian government departments use ISP meta data for general analytics

texts:
In Australia all ISP s have to capture 2 years of all users metadata, a number of government departments can access the data with out warrant. We are told this is to track terrorists, criminals and peodophiles.

Knowing the internet usage of all people in Australia would create a data goldmine that could be used for far more than chasing criminals. Under the legislation could they use the data for general analytics


texts: I recently had friends stay with me for the weekend with their dogs and the property manager threatened to evict me

texts:
I own my home. But I rent the land via a mobile home community.
Our lease with the Lot states we can have dogs. We have 2 approved dogs. While we're renovating our home our contractor friend stayed the weekend to help us with our bathroom. He has 2 dogs.
When the property manager found out she threatened to evict me within 24 hours... her reason is that I only have 2 approved dogs on my lease and even if they're not my dogs when I have company over they became my dogs and I exceeded the limit that I'm allowed. Her words exactly.

This doesnt seem legal. Per my conversation with her when we moved in my wife asked if dog sitting is permitted because our kids have dogs and we often watched them when they go on vacation and she said it was fine. But if we were to own any more dogs they would have to approved first.

What can I do? Because I feel like shes overracting.


texts: Is there anything special I have to do to associate activity with a company?

texts: Let's say I own an LLC, and I'm also starting a website. In case of legal troubles with the website, I want to be free from personal liability. Is there anything special I have to do to link the website to my LLC, so it's a "product" of the LLC?


texts: Where can I find examples of blank motion forms?

texts:
I'm trying to find an example for a blank motion form for requesting the courts perform an action. Anybody have any examples that I can use to type up my request?

Edit: For LaSalle County Illinois


texts: Can states legally leave entire areas unrepresented in Congress?

texts:
Suppose, for example, that the Utah state legislature decides Salt Lake City shouldn't get US House representation, so they draw the congressional districts such that no district's boundaries include any portion of Salt Lake City.
Would this be legal?


texts: Can universities require computer science students to develop software for free?

texts:
At my university (it is a public Florida university), one of the core computer science courses required for the degree involves a group project, and the class is divided up into a dozen or so teams, each with their own project.  This is fairly common.

The questionable thing is this: local companies each pay the department a few thousand dollars to have the students develop their software for them, since it is cheaper than hiring professionals.  The students, who are paying tuition, don't get a cut of this money.
While this can be an ethical debate (they are getting experience, but they are paying to work for free, etc.), I would like to know about the legality of this.


texts: Is this grounds for Child Protection Services

texts:
If a religious parent found out their child was an atheist or part of the LGBT community, then freaked out about it and told them I rather have you dead than have you be what you are. Can CPS remove the child out of the home?
To combat LGBT and Atheism by wishing death; is that child abuse?


texts: Can cops cut airbags out of a car before anyone gets to see it?

texts:
About three years ago, a friend of mine was involved in an accident with a fatality.
Now he finds out on his last report that the police “cut” the airbags out of the car to bring them as evidence. My question is, would that be tampering with evidence? My feelings were that he could’ve at least taken a picture of the deployed bags because there is no way now for them to know if they came from that car.


texts: Legal to share malware code/sell malware products?

texts:
I program / rewrite (from security analysis / reverse engineering) different kinds of malware software as a hobby.
Those include some pretty malicious things like ransomware extortion viruses, banking trojans, exploit kits e.g.
I share the source code on github, and it is starting to cause attention. Can I have trouble with that?
What if I want to sell some of these malicious programs as a service (exe files/malware builders that work for a given period of time)?

I know this is controversial and that the majority of people will use my software to do harm, but it is extremely valuable for security analysts.
Anyway, can I be sure that with proper TOS I can distribute any kind of software or should I worry?
Also I live eastern Europe but intend to sell worldwide.


texts: Why are there three truth parts to an oath?

texts:
In mathematical logic we have iff: if and only if. As an example of this for my classes I realised that in sworn oaths there are three statements for telling:

1: the truth,
2: the whole truth, and
3: nothing but the truth.

The first two of these I rewrite as follows:

Statement 1: If I say something, then that something is true.
Statement 2: If something is true, then I will say that something.

Together these two statements are enough, since they imply what you say if and only if it is true. Hence the third statement is superfluous.
So my questions is: why is this third phrase included in the oath?


texts: Can I build an iPhone app that generates cryptocurrency income without the user's consent or knowledge?

texts:
I had an idea of an iPhone app but I'm not sure if the methods are entirely legal. For that reason I thought I would come here to ask.
Where I live, in Canada, it can get pretty cold. Hence, I had the idea of making the iPhone heat up slightly (to a safe level) so the user could heat up their hands and to prevent the phone from shutting down to the cold temperatures (a common problem in the winter).
To do this I had the idea of running a cryptocurrency miner on the device. For those who don't know, cryptocurrency mining can be a CPU-intensive process and can cause it to heat up, but the process can also generate cryptocurrency that can be exchanged for other currencies (CAD, USD).
Would it be illegal to use this method to heat up the phone if the user is not told how the phone is heated up as it generates an income that they would not receive?


texts: In Canada's famous "Ron Engineering" case, what really is protected by Contract A?

texts:
In Ron Engineering, the supreme court ruled that a "Contract A" is formed when a bidder submits a bid.  This seems to imply that Contract A is formed by the bidder, not the receiver of that bid, unilaterally.  As I understand Ron Engineering, Ron Engineering made a mistake and could not retract their bid.  In effect, Ron Engineering was not let out of Contract A.

However, as Contract A is usually explained, it protects bidders from poor practice from people receiving bids.  For instance, if the receiver does not go with the lowest bid due to other bids having additional terms not spelled out in the original tender, the lowest bidder can sue.  This appears to be the complete opposite of the decision in Ron Engineering.

So what does Contract A really do, and who is bound by it?


texts:
Hand signature on a document is legally binding if not forged.
And apparently, digital signature is also legally binding.
But in cryptographic digital signature, such as PGP, you can revoke your signing key if for any reason you believe that it has been compromised.
Say you have signed a document, and then revoke your key at a later date, is your signature still legally binding?
Say your key has been stolen, and you revoke your key, but the thief uses your key to sign documents anyway, are you legally bounded by the signature that has been made by your impersonator?


texts: Photograph Copyright Law - Picture transformation

texts:
I need help regarding some copyright law issues. I live in Canada if that helps with anything..

Lets say I took a picture off the internet of a celebrity and then I mixed up his face with another celebrity and now it only kind of looks like the original picture.

Will the still infringe on copyright law?

Would changing up the background on that picture help too?


texts: If the state is involved in a civil matter, can it use its criminal evidentiary powers against the other party?

texts:
I will preface this question by say I am a total layperson when it comes to the law so forgive me if I mix up ideas here. This question is based on the recent news that the EU is suing AstraZeneca for non-delivery of vaccines. I realise the EU is not a normal state but I am interested in a more typical jurisdiction.
Since this is a contractual dispute I imagine this is a civil matter. As far as I know, in a typical civil matter between two parties their power to obtain evidence from one another is more limited than a state's power when it comes to criminal matters. For example, the state can issue search warrants to get access to otherwise private material.
If a state is involved in a civil matter like a contractual dispute can it use all its criminal justice system powers or will they be limited to powers the civilian party has. On the same vein, may they use public prosecutors or must they hire private representation? Are there any distinctions between a state appearing in a civil court and criminal court?


texts: Could asking feedback from competing app's users be considered as unfair competition that could result in legal consequences?

texts: I developed a chat app. I wanted to develop a good chat app and wanted a perspective from users. But I kind of stepped over the line and asked users of competing app for feedback. I went to their public group chat room on the app and asked users questions on how that app could be improved. I got various feedback about how they should have a 'like' button, GIF, threading, and etc. I decided to add a like button and comment section for social posting. I asked questions to users several times for two weeks. Then the developer of the app intervened and asked me not to do that. Even though the feedback was given in the public chat room and feedback was a good idea but not a game-changer, could this be an example of misappropriation due to the fact the info was obtained from their app? Could the developer also accuse me of unfair competition to Apple?


texts: Can different rates be charged for the same individual performing multiple labor categories?

texts:
I am performing work on a T&M basis for a municipal corporation (i.e. counties, cities, towns, port districts, water-sewer districts, school districts, metropolitan park districts, or such other units of local government which are authorized to issue obligations).

Different portions of the work require different technical skill sets, and these labor category qualifications are specified in the contract along with the associated labor rate.

If a single employee has or exceeds the required qualifications for two or more categories, can their time be billed for their time spent performing each category and should the hourly rate be used for the category being performed?


texts: Can my employer expend more of my PTO than is necessary to meet 40 hours?

texts:
I am an exempt employee. A few weeks ago, I worked worked a lot of hours between Monday and Thursday due to a project deadline. I had already planned to take off the day on Friday and informed my employer as such.

Because I had already worked nearly 40 hours from Monday to Thursday, I only put the remaining 3 hours of paid time off (PTO) on my timesheet for Friday to bring myself to an even 40.

The following week, HR informed me that this was not correct to do and because I was an exempt employee, I needed to allot a full 8 hours. They changed my timesheet so that I had a total of 8 hours on Friday, which netted my work week to show 40 hours plus 5 overtime hours. Because I'm an exempt employee, I received no compensation for those 5 additional hours.

Was that legal? It doesn't seem like it should be. Related, as an exempt employee, am I required to work 8 hours in a day or 40 in a week?

If it impacts this, our employee handbook indicates in one spot that PTO should be taken in 4 hour increments. But another spot seems to contradict it by stating we need to accurately report time based on hours actually worked. The handbook defines a full-time employee as one who regularly works 40 hours in a week, but doesn't state that 8 hours each day must be worked.

My office is located in Pennsylvania, but the main office is in New Jersey.


texts: What is the legal basis for determining the value of a securitized collection of debt?

texts:
Publicly-traded companies have obligations as regards accurate accounting of their balance sheets, so how do they determine the value of novel types of securities which are often too complex to analyze accurately?

For example, say it's the '80s and someone wants to structure a CDO for the first time. We all know from the financial crisis that nobody really understood how much these things were actually worth. So what legal basis under corporate accounting rules do these companies have to put such a thing on their balance sheets? Are you just allowed to put anything liquid on your balance sheet, with the current market value? If so, what happens with initial offerings of securities when there's no indication yet whether they'll be liquid?

Basically, I'm looking at some of these really complex structured products and wondering what's actually preventing someone from crafting the ultimate impossible-to-analyze twenty-thousand-page instrument and using it to hide their toxic assets.


texts: GPDR/ICO registration. Do I need to register? (Their site is inconsistent.)

texts:
https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/data-protection-fee/exemptions/ lists exemptions as:

Staff administration
Advertising, marketing and public relations
Accounts and records
Not -for -profit purposes
Personal, family or household affairs
Maintaining a public register
Judicial functions
Processing personal information without an automated system such as a computer.
Since 1 April 2019, members of the House of Lords, elected representatives and prospective representatives are also exempt.

but https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/data-protection-fee/self-assessment/y/N/Y/Yes/Yes lists the exemptions as only:

Judicial functions;
elected representative functions
personal, family or household affairs not connected to commercial or professional activities (including CCTV to monitor your domestic property, even if you are capturing images outside the boundaries of your property); or
to maintain a public register (ie you are required by law to make the information publicly available).

This feels like the ICO are deliberately overreaching in order to increase the number of £40/year fees.
Are they overreaching and how can I find out?
(Note: I'm happy to pay the £40/year fee if I'm legally obliged to.  On principle, I don't want to pay if I am being misled by their website's self-assessment guide.)


texts: What is the winning ratio of pro-se defendants in U.S. criminal cases?

texts: In cases where a criminal defendant rejects the service of counsel and defends himself pro se, how often is he acquitted?


texts: Does selling game hacks based on personal user agreement is legal?

texts: There are so many websites who sell the game hacks and game companies never sue them for that("because they have their own terms and conditions - that's what I think basically"). So if I sell hacks only if the buyer accepts terms and conditions like" he will be solely responsible for blah blah..", will it be considered legal or illegal?


texts:
I am looking for free access databases that can be used to search docket information and case law search. I came across. https://www.docketalarm.com/ but, I could'nt find the docket information of case.
I am aware of paid data bases like Lexmachina/ westlaw but I am looking for free database, Are there any freely accessible data bases for searching docket information.
My target is US jurisdiction.


texts: Is downloading or using software off bittorrent sites illegal?

texts:
If someone downloads software, that normally requires paying money to buy, from a P2P file sharing program is it illegal to

download it?
install it?
use it?

I'm not talking about normally freely available software, like Firefox or whatever.


texts: Are stock quotes and related trade data protected by copyright or any IP law?

texts:
Every source of stock market quotes, trade volume, and related statistics (other than maybe a physical printed newspaper) contains dire legalese that attempts to prohibit anyone without express permission from republishing the stock quote data.

Are stock market quotes and related information protected by copyright or any other form of IP law? Could stock markets or the authorized distributors of their data bring about any consequences legally to someone who republishes the data without permission?

Assuming financial market quotes can't be copyrighted, can the distributors of the information (exchanges or their authorized distributors) use a contract (terms of service) to prevent someone from redistributing the data that they don't own (the copyright to) in the first place.


texts: Is it legal to publish personal information obtained in public?

texts:
Lets say I built a device using some software like NFCProxy or a hardware/software kit like Proxmark3 and just stood in middle of a sidewalk with a high amount of foot traffic and I passively captured all the data of the people walking by me. The data captured might include personal/private information like credit cards, passports, drivers license, building access cards, etc. Basically anything that uses radio frequencies to transmit data within a certain proximity.

Since the data was captured passively and in public. Would publishing that data on a public website/forum be illegal?

EDIT: For clarification, This is for a cyber security project I had in mind to show the vulnerabilities in everyday items we carry with us (Phones, Tablets, Credit/Access Cards, ID's, etc). This is to raise awareness and eventually secure these devices properly.


texts: Does Verizon laying fios in DC automatically grant them an easement?

texts:
In general, I wanted to know what rights are granted to Verizon has when they come lay their FioS personal or business service wires.
What are applicable city laws (specifically for District of Columbia), Federal Law, etc. that address whether you automatically grant Verizon easement when they connect the wires?


texts: Would it be copyright infringement if I were to remake a whole movie?

texts:
I want to take The Little Mermaid and remake it. I heard that the original story by the author was actually about how he liked another man, and incorporated that into The Little Mermaid. I want to remake The Little Mermaid into that story, but would it be illegal for me to do so? This is something that I don't intend to make money off of. I know that The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen is public domain, but I'm really inspired by Disney's version. Would it be wrong for me to take the script of The Little Mermaid and interpret it so it's somehow "my" own story?

Also willing to add more information if some parts don't make sense.


texts: If I gave someone a ride to a store and they end up stealing from that store, can I be held criminally liable for the theft?

texts: I recently gave someone (Bob) a ride in my vehicle to a local supermarket. I remained in the vehicle, and Bob went inside. Bob stole something from the supermarket, and loss prevention attempted to detain him in the store. Bob ran away and got back into my car, without telling me what happened, so we left. A witness saw what transpired, and gave the store my cars license plate info and description. My question is this: Since I never left the car, went inside, or knew what happened, can I be held criminally liable for Bobs theft?


texts: Is it legal to duplicate illegally distributed materials, if being used for fair use purposes?

texts:
Suppose I wish to use copyrighted printed materials under fair use, and let's assume for the sake of argument that it is completely obvious that my usage correctly falls under fair use guidelines.

As far as I can tell, fair use says nothing one way or another about where the content comes from. Could I, for example, duplicate portions of illegally distributed versions of the material available online if my own usage of it is legitimate under fair use? Or is it the case that fair use is only legitimate if my source is a legally distributed one?


texts: If the US President is sued, do the taxpayers fund his defense and any settlements?

texts:
If someone sues President Trump for slander, do the taxpayers fund his defense?  I would consider having the Attorney General as counsel would qualify.

Also, would the taxpayers be on the hook for any settlement of a lawsuit against the President?


texts: What precautions are lawyers obligated to take with digital communication security?

texts:
Given that various email providers have different levels of access to email, and that it shouldn't be considered private communication unless further encrypted, what steps do lawyers need to take to protect client's confidentiality? This question is also merited for things such as text and phone conversations as those conversations could fall under the same sort of arena.

Are lawyers only required to inform clients that email, text, phone is unsafe communication with risks? Or are they in some cases risking a breach of client confidentiality even if they do?


texts: If I use CC-BY-SA image in a video, must the whole video be CC-BY-SA?

texts: I would like to use an image from Wikipedia, licensed with Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC-BY-SA) license, as a part of my video. The image would appear in its original form, possibly scaled. Does this make my video a derivative work which must be "shared alike" or is it enough credit the image properly?


texts: Is it illegal to carry someone else's ID or credit card?

texts:
I was watching a video by RealWorldPolice about a high school student who was arrested for carrying a loaded gun into his school in Seattle, WA. Footage of the entire search, detainment, and arrest of the student can be found here.
At one point in the video, a police officer is interrogating the student about the contents of his wallet, which apparently contained somebody else's ID and credit card; the officer claimed that this was illegal (starts at 13:48):

Cop: ... And who is "Caleb Wartz?"
Student: [Indicating to an ID the officer is holding] ... That's Caleb's ID ... he goes here.
C: I got that. Why is it in your wallet?
S: Because that's my friend Caleb?
C: Why do you have his ID?
S: Because he left it at the gym, and I picked it up, and I was supposed to give it to him...
C: OK, why do you have someone else's credit card?
S: That, I don't know... That... I had a new wallet, picked it up from my house, it's always been in there, never used it...
C: You realize it's a crime just to possess someone else's credit card?

Is there any validity to the officer's claim that merely possessing someone else's credit card is illegal in and of itself, federal or state?


texts: I am preparing The Lion King themed summer camp for young children, am I allowed to use The Lion King poster on my pamphlets?

texts:
This summer I am preparing a summer camp for children which is strongly inspired by The Lion King story line and I like the posters created for the movie.

Is it OK to use the posters as images on my own pamphlets for parents, so they can read more information about the camp?

By the way, I am from the Europe, not sure if that matters.


texts: Write song to the tune of a copyrighted song

texts: my wife is considering writing (and selling) some childrens' books which will contain songs which are to the tune of various copyrighted songs (like the "Let It Go!" song from Disney's Frozen). She wouldn't have the musical notes in the books. My question is, would it be legally kosher to say that a song is "to the tune of Disney's 'Let It Go!' from Frozen"?


texts: Is it legal to not allow a parent into a doctor or dentist consultation?

texts:
My wife just witnessed something that I find ridiculous! She took my 6 year old child to the dentist and they have asked her to stay behind in the waiting room while they performed the x rays and cleaning to my daughter. Of course she resisted and asked to be allowed to accompany my daughter. There was resistance from the staff, but eventually they gave in as an "exception". They are saying the kids behave badly when their parents are around.

Is this even legal? Should I report them?


texts: Why is the age of consent in some jurisdictions lower than the age for which a nude is considered underage pornography?

texts:
The age of consent in the UK is 16. The age at which a nude picture is considered underage pornography is 18. This particular situation, an age of consent that's lower than the underage pornography cutoff for nudes, is present in multiple jurisdictions AFAIK. I've recently seen a number of reports about someone over 18 receiving nudes pictures from someone who is 16. While I personally am disgusted by such a thing, there is always someone in the comments who complains about this weird juxtaposition of being allowed to consent to sex, but not being allowed to send nudes. To some extent I can't help but agree this situation in itself is weird. It feels like having sex with someone is quite a few steps further on the relationship ladder than sending nudes to them. I'd like to understand more about this situation so I can provide counterarguments the next time I see someone make it.
What exactly is the legal motivation behind having a lower age for being able to have sex with someone than being able to see images of them naked?


texts: Landlord wants to include a clause where tenant pays rent if property is vacant after leaving. Is this legal/enforceable?

texts:
I'm asking on behalf of a friend. I don't have the contract to copy in relevant clauses.

A landlord proposes to change the rental agreement. The new clause states that when a tenant leaves, they pay rent if the property is unoccupied. This way the landlord does not have a void period.

My inclination is that this is not enforceable, because the former-tenant would be paying for a service that they do not benefit from. Also, this website offering tips to mitigate void periods does not list this tactic, implying that it is at least uncommon.

My questions are:

Is this type of clause legal/enforceable?
What is this type of clause called? N.B. I found it hard to conduct my own background research, as I don't know what to search for


texts: Does using English university’s complaints procedure estop Full Merits Review by a judge?

texts:
King’s College London (“KCL”) denied my request for everlasting Alternative Venues, and Stage 1 (Local information resolution) failed. They informed me that the next step is Stage 2 (Formal investigation). But I don't trust KCL or OIAHE.

Ought I sue in court, rather than use Stage 2?
Can using Stage 2 trigger deference? I prefer a judge to conduct a full merits review. I'm trying to eschew KCL's procedures or OIAHE, as a court can't full-merits-review OIAHE decisions. Courts can  judicial-review ("JR") them, but  the standard for JR is (the more limiting) Wednesbury unreasonableness.


texts: Are wikileaks considered valid proof in a court of law? How does the government assess whether a leak on wikileaks is legitimate, and is the assessment made on an individual basis, if so what is the process for determining their validity, or are they all rejected or accepted?


texts: Automatic Renewal Contract / Contract Law - Licensee Cancels before Expiration Date, but not within 30 day period

texts:
Has this turned into contract law - can the licensee cancel the upcoming auto-renewal?

Licensee entered into a multi-year software usage contract with Licensor. The software license is a straight forward, "right to use" and includes no support or custom modifications. 15 days before the existing license expires, Licensee calls the Licensor to say they will not be using the software after the current period expires. Licensor says that per contract, Licensee needed to cancel within 30 days and therefor is automatically enrolled into another year period. Licensee insisted on cancelling and days later, Licensor offered the Licensee a partial year term as a reduced rate. Licensee refused this offer too. All this occurs inside the current period, before the next billing period started.

Borrowing from basic contract law, could this "partial year, reduced rate" offer be considered a counter off and does it give the Licensee an opportunity to cancel the automatic renewal terms?


texts: Copy of ID card: blacken / hide fields that are not relevant (Switzerland)

texts:
In recent c't there is an article about GDPR (Sorry for the German). In Switzerland there is so far no GDPR, but we have a similar mechanism called Auskunftsrecht.

In article there is written that customer can blacken / hide fields that are not relevant from ID card. Does this also apply to Switzerland? In the past when requesting data about me, I attached full copy of ID card.


texts: Did my girlfriend rape me? Sexual assault? Nothing?

texts:
It was November 2016. We were on a high school graduation camping trip. Myself, my girlfriend of almost 3 years and about 10 of my best mates drove 4 hours north to camp on a friend's family's property. Half of us had tents and the other half had cars and a little shack on the property.

I brought a tent built for 4 people which had two separate sleeping areas and a space in the middle. Myself and my girlfriend stayed in one half and my best mate, S, slept in the other half, since he was only staying for 2 nights out of the whole week (he went overseas with family).

We arrived on the Sunday. We were tired from the trip so that night was pretty uneventful. The next day, some friends (3 or 4) who lived nearby joined us for the day. We woke up early (about 6am) since it was summer in Australia and it was already 25C by then. We were pretty bored and eager to drink and party since that's what we were there for so we started drinking early, around 11am.

I was among the most enthusiastic of us to drink. By 1pm, my head was spinning and I was in the I-just-want-to-lay-down-and-pass-out stage. I laid down in a tent that belonged to another friend, T, to do this. About 20 minutes after doing this, S came to the tent. He picked me up and put me in my own tent, on my air mattress. He left after doing this and then my girlfriend entered the tent.

Later I learned that my girlfriend had requested S to do this because she wanted to have sex with me. She came into the tent and proposed her plans. While laying there, I said 'no' and that I 'just want to sleep'. I distinctly remember this verbal communication. She ignored this and proceeded with her plans. She took my pants off easily by virtue of me wearing a belt and began having sex while I laid there and let it happen.

She herself had a little bit to drink but she was a light drinker. She was about 60kg and had 2 or 3 standard drinks. I was 50kg and would have had at least 5 standard drinks.

In having sex with me, she wasn't very rhythmic of coordinated. This annoyed me so I decided to take over, since I always took the lead in sex. We were 17 and had been having sex for a year. I told her to lay down and started reciprocating sex. We finished and both joined our friends again, the activity of sex having removed my desire to sleep.

My question is, while this was certainly a horrible thing for my girlfriend to do, was it rape? Sexual assault? Just a hurtful action? It happened a while ago and haven't thought much of it since. We broke up a month after this for unrelated reasons (she went on high-school exchange overseas). I don't think I'd pursue legal repercussions for this if it were a crime and I'd definitely consult an expert if I were to do so.


texts: How can I know if I can modify/copy resources on this website?

texts:
I was visiting a website/forum, and I saw that any content belongs to their respective owners.

Does this mean I cannot copy/reuse/edit source-codes or other resources/contents the users are posting? Assuming I'm a moderator, does this mean that I can't even edit some posts in case of spam, and other?

What will the penalties be if someone violates these rules?


texts: What are the potential legal consequences for a company that has GPL violations?

texts:
In the news recently was that the smartphone company Xiaomi has not released the kernel source code for its Android phone that has been on the market for over 3 months. Since Android is based on the Linux kernel and that has GPLv2 licensing which, among other things, requires source code distribution, this is a violation.

What are the potential legal consequences for a company violating the GPL like this? Can they be sued (and if so, by whom)? Does it matter that a company like Xiaomi is based on China?


texts:
I don't quite understand the education process for lawyers, but I do understand there are a number of different degrees, and one of them is 'JD', the juris doctor. My Latin is quite rusty, but I believe that is "Doctor of Law."

So why are they not called "doctor" in common practice, like any PhD is? Is the JD actually not similar to a doctorate program? If not, then why does it take the name doctor?

I understand that the JD is what they call a "1st degree" and there are even higher degrees. The LLM, for example, is a "Master of Laws", which really confuses things now because "master" degrees are normally less than "doctor" degrees. So if a JD is not not called a "doctor" for some logical reason, what about the LLM, since it is a higher degree?


texts: Claiming statutory warranty for a fault that resulted in the loss of the product

texts:
I recently experienced a failure on a rather expensive piece of sport equipment upon its first use. I purchased the product in the UK and experienced the failure in the UK, 2 weeks after purchase. I believe failure occurred because I had been supplied with the wrong fasteners.

Due to the nature of the product (a surfboard hydrofoil) it promptly sunk to the bottom of the ocean. Chance of recovery is slim to none. I contacted the retailer immediately to inform them of the failure and did not receive a very optimistic response - they asked me to try and find it at low tide. I went hunting but the water is just too deep and murky.

I have supplied the retailer with photos of the damage, a GPS trace for the time of the incident and a video of the failure occurring. Given that there is very little of the product left, is it reasonable to expect the retailer/manufacturer to respect my right to a replacement? If they resist, what can I do about it?


texts: What are the legal protections for someone that downloaded a leaked database in the domain of the USA?

texts:
My question is what are the legal protections for downloading a leaked database under the premise of not knowing the database in question is actually a "leaked database" as in you think the database is not really leaked and you download it anyways.

Hypothetically Finding of the database was of the sort that involves the ability to google and finding a link. Amazed at finding the link and doubting it factually a leaked database you then download it and find out it really is a leaked database.

Goal is and was to see what you can find on world wide web AS known as "the internet" and then attempt to report said supposed leaked database to owners of leaked database.


texts: I murder someone in the US and flee to Canada. If Canada refuses to extradite do they then try me in Canadian courts

texts: The murder is committed on US soil. the fugitive flees to Canada. The US requests Canada arrest the fugitive, which they do. US requests extradition. Canada refuses because US has capital punishment. Does Canada now try the fugitive for murder in Canada or is the fugitive simply released?


texts:
If a company sells a device containing GPL licensed code they need to provide the source code when asked.

Does this apply to private sales, e.g. if I sell an used device that I bought on ebay, would I need to supply the source code when asked?

If I don't have the source code and the company that I bought the device from went out of business, resulting in me not having any way of getting the source code, does this legaly prohibit me from selling the device since I cannot provide the source code?

How about if I don't know that the device contains GPL licensed code? Does that change anything?


texts:
It would seem Adobe will kill Flash, but not release its source code under a free license.
So, when will Macromedia Flash’s copyright expire?


texts: Is possible to patent a trading algorithm (indicator)

texts:
I know some algorithms are patentable, but not sure what are the resctrictions and limitation for this.
My question is specific for a trading indicator, something like MACD, or RSI etc, is possible to patent those things?
For example:

Calculate the average of the last N1 and N2 (customizable) prices
Plot those averages together in the same chart
Show a BUY signal when they cross

Is something like that patentable? and if yes, it makes sense to patent it or anybody can change a very small part to null the patent, for example "add 0.01% to every average calculated in step 1"


texts: Is it legal for a company to erroneously charge you and refund you in credits?

texts:
I was recently charged a $5 fee in error by a California based tech company. I disputed the charge via app and they issued me a “refund” in credits for future use of their service. I have not been able to contact the company in regards to getting my payment method refunded. I’m upset at this shady business practice, because I am out of the $5 for their error no matter what and the only way I can experience the refund is if I use their service again. Personal feelings aside, I’m genuinely interested if this is a legal way to conduct business.

Can a company erroneously charge customers and issue credits as refunds instead of refunding the payment method directly?


texts: Why would Twitter not be able to flag / annotate / censor any content it sees fit?

texts:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-preventing-online-censorship/

As I understand it, the 1st amendment is to protect 'free speech' from government censorship, not platform censorship.  Is this not correct?  In others words, the first amendment 'leashes' government.

UPDATE: a basic constitutional doctrine called State Action. It’s the notion that the Constitution only limits things the government does, not things that private individuals do. (and presumably social media, a private corporation)

If the above presumptions are correct, why wouldn't a commercial platform (Twitter, Facebook, social media, etc.) be able to remove or annotate content as it sees fit (i.e. Terms of Service or otherwise)?  IANAL and do not understand the purpose of the document


texts: Could a juror research legal or scientific information online to assist him in rendering his verdict?

texts:
Before anyone asks I am not a juror, I'm not researching things during a case, I promise I'm not being contemptuous inside or out of a court :)

There are a number of strict rules about what a juror can do during a trial.  He can't talk to others about the case itself, look up more details about what happened in the case, or try to investigate the case itself.  There are good reasons for all of this.  I'm wondering though if there is any room for any kind of research within those rules in his attempt to be the best juror he can be?

So lets look at the 'most forgivable' attempt a juror could attempt to try to help him make a decision.  If A juror, in the evenings between trial dates, were to research legal theory and presidents relevant to the trial he is a juror on, but nothing about the specific case, would this be permissible for him to do?

For example say our juror felt the (often deliberately obfuscated by one of the lawyers as I understand) instruction given to the jury prior to the start of the case was so confusing he didn't know what his responsibilities were, so he tried to look up what the jury legal expectations online.  Or as another example maybe he vaguely recalled something about jury nullification being possible and wanted to argue for it in this case, but first researched the particulars about when and how a jury was allowed to nullify a case.  Would this potentially be considered permissible?

Moving on to an even 'greyer' level, what if the Juror were to read about a scientific principle that could be relevant to how he would vote online, without asking about any of the specifics of his case? lets say a mother is on trial for causing her babies death and one expert says they are 100% certain the death was caused SIDs or some other disorder and there is no way the mother was responsible and the other expert says there is no way that SIDs could be responsible and the evidence is clear that the mother killed the child.  If our Juror felt like he didn't know enough about SIDs to have any idea which expert he should believe and decided to hope on the Wikipedia page on SIDs and read about it in more detail in hopes of being better able to judge which expert's testimony felt more logical afterwards is there any chance this could be permissible?

And to throw out an almost certainly not allowed example, if the Juror looked up the two experts and saw that one was highly respected and the other has been accused of accepting high fee's to provide expert testimony that happens to fit whatever the lawyer wants to prove, causing our Juror to rule for the side with the more respected expert, I'm guessing he would get removed?


texts: How does this agreement define 'revenue'?

texts:
Microsoft restricts its license of some particular software for organizations with "more than one million US dollars (or the equivalent in other currencies) in annual revenues...."

My clients are small business owners, less than 50 employees. I am confident that none of my clients net over a million dollars in profit in any given year, but can I define "revenue" as profit?

If a client sells widgets for $5k each, 201 in a year, and makes 2% profit after Costs of Goods Sold, is that $1.005MM revenue, or $20.1k revenue?

I don't want someone to give me assurances that I can win against Microsoft in court, but I don't know where to look to confirm my suspicion that revenue has very little legally to do with how much money moves through your account in a given year, but instead how much money you actually make. My suspicion comes from the fact that Microsoft seems to be equating an organization with $1MM in revenue with one that has 250 PCs in use at any given time.

Without explicit legal clarification from Microsoft, can I determine how a court would construe this otherwise undefined term?


texts: Does a corporation " do business" wherever its subsidiaries do?

texts: Does a corporation fall under the jurisdiction of wherever its subsidiaries or affiliates do business ? Consider there is no common branding and operations are separate .


texts: What does it mean to grant rescission on terms?

texts:
Kindly see the embolded phrase below.

18.5 Remedy

There is no tort of undue influence. As a result, C cannot recover damages from D if a claim
in undue influence is successful. This is sometimes criticised, and it may be that in time
undue influence will evolve to be recognised as a wrong which triggers compensation.45
After all, in Libya Investment Authority v Goldman Sachs International, Rose J recognised
that the stronger party owes certain duties to the weaker party in a relationship of influence.
A breach of duty is a wrong, and the normal response to a civil wrong is damages.
      Nevertheless, the traditional and orthodox view is that the only remedy for undue influence
is rescission.46 It is worth highlighting that the usual bars of rescission apply.47 So, for
example, in Allcard v Skinner, the claim for undue influence was barred because of the claimant’s
delay in bringing her claim (laches). Similarly, in the three-party scenarios discussed
in Chapter 18.4, if the bank is not put on inquiry and purchases its rights in good faith
without notice of the undue influence, C will not be able to rescind the transaction since that
would unfairly prejudice the bank. But if the bank is put on inquiry, then it will have notice
of the undue influence, and as a result the rights it acquires will not be sufficient to prevent rescission unless that bank has taken reasonable steps to ensure that C has not entered into
the transaction as a result of undue influence. In Etridge, Lord Scott said:48

If contractual consent has been procured by undue influence or misrepresentation for which a
party to the contract is responsible, the other party, the victim, is entitled, subject to the usual
defences of change of position, affirmation, delay etc, to avoid the contract.

There have been cases where rescission has been shown to be a flexible remedy that has been
granted on terms.49 For example, in Cheese v Thomas,50 the agreement was between C, aged
85, and his great-nephew, D, to buy a house to live in together. They purchased a house for
£83,000; C contributed £43,000 in cash, and D contributed the rest of the money by way of
a mortgage. D defaulted on the mortgage payments, and the house was sold for £55,000.
The court held that the relationship between C and D was one of trust and confidence, and
that the transaction was manifestly disadvantageous to C, since he paid a substantial sum of
money for a ‘seriously insecure’ right that tied him to that particular house.

45 See eg L Ho, ‘Undue Influence and Equitable Compensation’ in P Birks and F Rose (eds), Restitution and
Equity (Mansfield Press, 2000) vol 1. Similar arguments are often made in the context of duress, which is also not, in itself, a wrong that leads to damages.
46 For general discussion of rescission, see Chapter 16.4.
47 See Chapter 16.4.4.
48 Etridge, [144]. 49 Though partial rescission is impossible: see Chapter 16.4.4.1.
50 [1994] 1 WLR 129.

JC Smith's The Law of Contract 2021 3 ed, pp 285-6.


texts: If a company offers relief to the potential lead plaintiff in a class action, does that moot the case?

texts:
Suppose a plaintiff (let's call her Josephine) sues a company (let's call it CE Inc.) under a statute that sets out the maximum remedy that Josephine could be awarded for CE Inc's violation of that statute.

Josephine intends to be the lead plaintiff in a class action representing many similarly situated individuals.

Prior to the class being certified, CE Inc. offers Josephine the maximum amount she could be awarded under the statute.

Does this moot Josephine's case for lack of Article III standing? (Since, ostensibly, Josephine would be getting all that she is due.)
Does Josephine's desire to represent the class make a difference?
Does it make a difference whether the class has been certified or not?
Does it matter whether Josephine accepts the offer?


texts: Actionability of web site terms of service

texts:
How actionable is a violation of a website term of service, like for example, YouTube's clause 4C which reads:

  You agree not to access Content through any technology or means other
  than the video playback pages of the Service itself, the Embeddable
  Player, or other explicitly authorized means YouTube may designate.

In this clause YouTube is announcing that their "terms of service" require that a viewer only watch YouTube videos through the YouTube player and not through any other player that they might have.

Even aside from the issue of whether I have "agreed" implicitly to this, what possible claim could YouTube make in a court of law against a web user who viewed their videos using a non-YouTube viewer? The legal "agreement" which I never agreed to, does not even specify remedies. How would the remedy even be determined? YouTube decides, oh hey, we decided the remedy is that you owe us $100,000,000 because you watched one of videos on a non-standard viewer?

Have such TOS pronouncements ever been tested in a real court of law?


texts: Could Trump bet on winning the presidential election?

texts:
This question came up during a discussion with some friends after I placed a bet on a certain candidate (let's call him T) winning an upcoming presidential election in a Western country, call it USA. It was pointed out that I may have (inadvertently and infinitesimally) helped T: Due to the dynamics of a betting market the next person placing a similar bet will be offered (very slightly) worse odds, which is indistinguishable from the market believing that the chances of T winning just went (very slightly) up. In a way, this is very similar to stating that I would vote for T when asked in a poll.

The question now arises: Would it be legal for T to place a massive bet for himself (thus skewing the betting market)? Would it make a difference if it was known what his motives were (i.e., skewing the marked against just being convinced of his victory and wanting to make a profit)? Could he bet he would lose the election? Could T suggest to his voters they should place such bets?

(It seems very analogous to bribing people to vote for T in polls, so intuition tells me no. At the same time, why would they be forbidden from placing a bet anyone else is allowed to place?)

Edit to clarify: The question originally applies to online betting, e.g., on betfair. I would be most interested, however, in knowing if there exists a betting market where a presidential candidate could place such a bet.


texts: To what extent is a lawyer guilty of malpractice for material misrepresentations to a client, and the client's counterparties?

texts:
An investor agreed to invest an amount of money, 2X, in a startup through a convertible note. At the end of two years, the investor had the option of receiving back the monetary amount of his note with accrued interest, or converting his note into equity at a pre determined rate. The terms of the deal were that the investor would invest X up front, to allow the company to acquire a particular asset, and the remaining X upon the company's successful acquisition of this asset, which everyone involved agreed was  key to the deal.
The company failed to acquire the key asset, and in this contingency, the terms of the contract called for the company to return X to the investor. The company notified the investor's lawyer of this fact, but the lawyer falsely told the client that the asset had been acquired, and asked the client to forward the remaining X. The client failed to do so, which would have been a "default" had the asset, in fact, been acquired.
The lawyer also represented to the company that he had reviewed the finances of the investor (he had not), and that the investor was an "accredited investor" as defined by the SEC, who could invest in unregistered securities, even though this was not the case.
After two years, the client sued for the return of X, which the company had spent. The company counterclaimed for the remaining X by saying that it would have survived if the investor had invested the whole amount. Because of certain jurisdictional and procedural issues, this set of lawsuits will take years to resolve.
Did the lawyer violate a fiduciary duty by telling the client that the asset had been acquired when, in fact it had not been, and if so, what are the consequences to the lawyer?
What responsibilities did the lawyer have under "know your customer" or similar legislation to verify the client's ability to invest as an accredited investor? And to what extent is the lawyer liable for the relevant mispresentations?
Normally, malpractice is not held against the lawyer unless the client wins the underlying case against the company. Is this true here, or are the lawyer's lapses so egregious and so material to the issues involved that the lawyer can be found liable regardless of the outcome of the investor-company litigation?


texts: Taxation in the U.S. for non-residents living abroad

texts:
I have the opportunity to get a small share of an acquaintance's LLC in the U.S. in exchange for some services. However, I am not a U.S. citizen or a resident of the U.S. - in fact, I have never been. So, I am just wondering what sort of taxation laws apply to me? Is the money I would make (if any) taxable in the just the same way as if I was a U.S. citizen? If so, do I need a U.S. bank account?

Any advice is helpful!


texts: Is it legal in California to use lethal force to stop ANY felony from being committed?

texts:
According to California Penal Code Section 197

197. Homicide is also justifiable when committed by any person in any of the following cases:

When resisting any attempt to murder any person, or to commit a felony, or to do some great bodily injury upon any person; or,

I thought that only a very few instances of grave personal threat justified lethal force. This section of law seems to say that it can be used to "resist" any felony. There are many felonies, but non-violent ones such as forgery I wouldn't think justified lethal force. Does this clause apply to nonviolent felonies?

(Inspired by an uneducated reading of this question: Am I allowed to kill a person threatening me? CA, USA)


texts:
I am a homeowner and water tends to pool on my sidewalk.  In the winter months, I do the best I can to remove the ice, but there's so much of it that it's difficult to control.

Am I liable if someone slips and hurts themselves on ice on my property?
If so, how can I protect myself in advance?

I live in Michigan, USA


texts: What is needed to start discovery on a civil conspiracy claim?

texts:
Say that a plaintiff alleges that defendants X and Y have engaged in a civil conspiracy, and wants to subpoena communications between X and Y regarding the plaintiff.  If the plaintiff is already suing X for the tort underlying the alleged conspiracy, is that enough for the plaintiff to subpoena from X communications with Y about the plaintiff, or is more than merely that needed?

Alternatively, if the plaintiff is suing neither X nor Y for the tort underlying the alleged conspiracy, is there any evidence that the plaintiff can offer in order to justify such a subpoena?


texts:
I just came across this:

  You cannot use "insta", "gram" or "Instagram" in your company or
  product name.

on the instagram API platform policy,
https://www.instagram.com/developer/

I am wondering: how can they do that? how can they forbid one from using such general terms (i am referring to gram and insta) in a product or company?
It is logic to think that they would reject an application that is called in this way and uses their API but the statement seems to be more generic..

update: I don't have an instagram app or else in the works, i just want to understand how it works

update2: there is no sign of that statement in the full platform policy


texts: Methods for obtaining source code from an uncooperative company

texts:
I purchased a commercial product in the United States that has user-upgradable firmware available by unrestricted download.  I am positive this firmware is based on an open-source project licensed under the GPL.  I would like the source for this firmware to make my own modifications, and being under the GPL they are required to give it to me.
I have contacted the company, and initially I got some traction, but eventually I got stonewalled.  I contacted the reseller I bought the product from, and they have shrugged their shoulders.  I want this source code, so what are my options to obtain it?