texts: How could the USPS be sued by the architect of Las Vegas' Statue of Liberty?

texts:
I've seen reports that the USPS had to pay $3.5 million for using a picture of "Robert Davidson's Las Vegas replica" instead of the original.

But it seems that the US has "freedom of panorama", which means that one can take pictures of buildings still in copyright.

So what copyright issues did the USPS violate?


texts: In practice what kind of claims can't be brought to court after signing a settlement agreement?

texts:
A settlement agreement contains the following term:

  Parties agree that this settlement extinguishes all claims each party
  may have against the other.

What affect does such a term have in theory and in practice?

When a case is dismissed without leave, the plaintiff can't make the same claim again. I here that in reality this has little affect, as the plaintiff can change something small and say it's a whole knew case. Is it the same for settlement agreements?

For example if someone sues someone for damage to rental property, if they settle, could the plaintiff sue again claiming he found more damage than he was first aware of? Could he claim for something unrelated, like if the renter didn't pay in full the last months rent (assuming that hadn't been brought in first case)?


texts: Tenant joint letter to evict an other tenant?

texts:
I am in the Los Angeles area, and there are 4 tenants in my house.  The last tenant who just moved in yesterday smokes, I told him that he needs to do it at the far end of the yard, and clean up everything. I have discussed this with my other 2 tenants before he moved in they were OK with it, and in my contract, there isn't specifically a part about no smoking.

Now my other 2 tenants complain that even this is not enough, they want to him to either smoke outside of the property or evict him.

I am trying to settle this thru house rule and agreement, but in the worst case, we might have to evict him.

Can I get a joint name letter of all 3 other tenants (includes me), so that if he doesn't stop smoking in the property he will have to move?


texts: What motion follows a failure to show cause?

texts:
I am representing myself. I filed a motion to terminate probation on April 8th, the motion was received by a judge on the 11th and he issued an order of rule to show cause to the district attorney's office within 15 days, that time passed, plus an additional 17 days and while speaking to a clerk in the judge's chamber, I was told I need to file some sort of motion regarding the district attorney's lack of response/timeliness, but according to general rules and procedures the clerk could not offer a description of what exactly I needed to file. Could anyone shed a light on this?

Pro se, in Lancaster, PA


texts: Depositing first page of Version of Record in institution repository

texts: Some of my university colleagues deposit the first page only of the Version of Record of their articles in our institution's repository. Only the first page is deposited because the license agreements with the publishers do not allow the Version of Record (the final published version) to be deposited. Instead, they only allow depositing the Accepted Version (before proofing and typesetting). My colleagues prefer to post the first page of the Version of Record instead of the full Accepted Version. Any thoughts on whether the posting of the first page only of the Version of Record is a violation of the license agreement? The agreements are silent on this matter.


texts: Sharing sports video clips, is it Fair Use?

texts:
I own a little Instagram page related to football, and one question came to mind.

Let's say that I take a video showing a beautiful goal from a soccer game and share it to Instagram, Twitter, or any other social media.  Could it be considered Fair Use?

Note that most of these videos won't last more than 20 seconds, and that the videos are not taken by me but will come from YouTube or from broadcasters sites (such as SkySports).


texts: Fairness to the consumer regarding geolocked digital products

texts:
First, a little disclaimer.  I won't be mentioning company names as this inquiry is solely about the responsibility of the parties involved, and not specifically about the entities themselves.

I believe this falls under the context of consumer rights. Its regarding downloadable games and software legitimately purchased through a vendor that turn out to have regionally geolocked licensing, preventing their installation which is not conveyed at the time of purchase.

The players:

We have the company who owns the platform and the online store where the product is purchased from.  We have the purchaser in one region of the world and the receiving party in another. Both the purchaser and receiving party are members of or subscribed to the same platform and their services.

The scenario:

A digitally downloadable application is legitimately purchased through the platform's store, "Buy as gift" feature by the purchaser. Once the purchase is confirmed and processed, the licensing keys are immediately sent by the system to the receiving party which they can then use to redeem the item.

Now when they attempt to redeem the item directly through the system notification that they received, it responds with, "This product can not be redeemed as it was purchased in another region".  Once the purchaser is made aware of the geolocked licensing issue, they promptly submit a request through the platform for an immediate refund and wait for up to 72 hours.

When they receive response, the request has been declined on the basis that the product has either been redeemed or used, which of course, it has not since it couldn't be installed by the receiving party as a result of the regionally geolocked licensing.

Now the inquiry:

Who should be responsible? Should the purchaser (consumer) have the expectation of a refund on the basis that they were not made aware of the geolocked licensing and potential issues ahead of the purchase?

Or does the company hold ground with the argument that by making the purchase through their platform, it is agreed that all digital purchases are non-refundable?


texts: Is it legal to use Web crawler for data gathering?

texts:
I live in Uk, I am programmer and I have built a personal system that goes to some foreign housing web sites and extracts data from adverts going add by add (using crawler/scraper/web spider), I then process this data and do some analysis to find me a 'good deals'. Since system has already served it purpose for myself I was thinking of making this analytical data public. Basically making a web site and continuously posting results there. In my understanding data that I am gathering is publicly available so I can use that data in whichever way I want. Another is that there is no way to stop me or claim damages as they would be impossible to estimate.

What are legal implications of using Web crawler for data gathering?


texts:
I recently registered an account on an employment agency website. Had to provide my email address, a password and of course all of my personal data, including my complete professional background.

During their "pre-qualification process", I had to register a separate account with one of their partners to take a test. During that phase, I decided this wasn't for me.

This is when I realized that I couldn't access the account I created with them (sign in didn't work), nor could I access my account on their partner's website (same issue).

So I wrote them an email, politely asking them to delete my account and all my personal data from their website and partner's website and to confirm to me when this would be done.

They answered that:

The reason why you were not able to log into your profile is that you haven't completed the pre-qualification process yet
In regards to our partner, they are a separate company from us, so I am afraid that you will have to discuss this issue directly with them
We will, as per your request, delete all the data related to you that has been stored on our platform.

My questions

Is it GDPR compliant that I can't access the account that I created and the personal data that I shared because "I haven't completed their internal pre-qualification process"?
Is it GDPR compliant that their answer to my deletion request is "We will delete the data..."
Do you see any other issue with how this went?
And how should I handle the situation now?

Thanks in advance for any help on that!

Note:

The company seems to be legally based in Norway and I am in Switzerland.


texts: In Contracts, why is some text all in uppercase?

texts:
For example in https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/terms/

Why does the text change from normal case, to all upper case?

  Our Warranties and Disclaimers

  We provide our Services using a commercially reasonable level of skill
  and care and we hope that you will enjoy using them. But there are
  certain things that we don’t promise about our Services.

  OTHER THAN AS EXPRESSLY SET OUT IN THESE TERMS OR ADDITIONAL TERMS,
  NEITHER GOOGLE NOR ITS SUPPLIERS OR DISTRIBUTORS MAKE ANY SPECIFIC
  PROMISES ABOUT THE SERVICES. FOR EXAMPLE, WE DON’T MAKE ANY
  COMMITMENTS ABOUT THE CONTENT WITHIN THE SERVICES, THE SPECIFIC
  FUNCTIONS OF THE SERVICES, OR THEIR RELIABILITY, AVAILABILITY, OR
  ABILITY TO MEET YOUR NEEDS. WE PROVIDE THE SERVICES “AS IS”.

  SOME JURISDICTIONS PROVIDE FOR CERTAIN WARRANTIES, LIKE THE IMPLIED
  WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND
  NON-INFRINGEMENT. TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE EXCLUDE ALL
  WARRANTIES.

I thought, maybe it's to highlight important parts but I don't think so. A lawyer probably would think "the whole contract is important" and usually the least readable part is the one in all uppercase.

It is to my understanding if the first letter in a regular word is uppercase, it means it has a special meaning in the contract (usually more specific than it's general meaning). From Google's terms,

  Thanks for using our products and services (“Services”).

So Services is strange as it has an uppercase S but I'm asking about entire blocks of text.


texts: Assigning intellectual property rights like a provisional patent to oneself while employed

texts:
A hypothetical: let's say I am employed in the U.S., and in a field where I am compensated for the results of my ideas or intellectual work, i.e. engineering.
Let's say I have a roughly standard employment agreement and NDA with common stipulations, such as:

I further acknowledge that all inventions, original works of authorship, developments, concepts, know-how, improvements or trade secrets which are made by me within the scope of and during the period of my Relationship with the Company are "works made for hire" [...]

This clause makes a lot of sense and protects the company and their shareholders from questions regarding who owns what -- they company pays me to come up with stuff, and they own it! Great.
Let's say that in addition to engineering (or whatever), I write a nonfiction book about investing in commercial real estate. Can I secure an original work of authorship, as in a copyright, because it is out of scope?
What about extending that to a patent? If I come up with an original process for effectively fermenting kombucha, what are the ramifications of filing a provisional patent assigning the rights to myself?
Are there clear criterion for what is "in-scope" and "out-of-scope"?
For clarity, the jurisdiction is U.S./Nevada.


texts: How can I tell a judge that I want to live in the opposite house of the parent who has custody?

texts:
My parents divorced when I was 5 years old. I am now 16 years old and every time I turn a year older I get told I have to be one year older than I currently am before I can tell the judge which parent I want to live with.
Thank you @bdb484 for the following question "Who is telling you this?" Just incase if anyone else is wondering that same question, it's both my mom and dad. And dad has custody but wants me to live with my mother and I don't want to live with her.


texts: I'm 16 years old and I want to move in with my 18 year old SO, am I allowed to decide this for myself? What can my parents do against this?

texts:
I want to move in with my SO who is 18 years old and has his own place. My question is basically: When I run out of my home, what can my parents do against this?

Can they "force" take me from his place?
Can I decide they aren't allowed to touch me or force me to go to another place?
What can they do against my SO?
Will my SO get in trouble, if yes what kind of trouble and how to mitigate that?
Can my mom / parents call the police against my SO and force them to take me from him?

My parents are split. I live with my mom, and I can't live with my father because he is just as bad. The problem with my mom is that she doesn't cook meals, doesn't give me any money to buy food and yells at me for asking for food when I'm hungry. I don't eat much and I'm very skinny due to that, last year I was in hospital because I had severe anorexia. I'm recovering and my mother still calls me fat and always complains about everything I do. Sometimes - but that doesn't happen as often anymore - she hits me. My SO is very supportive and I need him, I want to be with him, I want to solve all this misery. I tried getting help via GGZ / Jeugdzorg / Kinderbescherming / School but my mother acts to the world like she is the perfect and good mother and she manipulates everyone into believing I am just complaining and that she does help me and that she is good for me. No one believes me. I need a way out, desperately. Help me, please, what can I do? My SO does everything to help me and make me happy, he is there for me, always, he is the only one I can go to, I can't wait for help from Jeugdzorg / Kinderbescherming because they think my mother is good and they won't put me into 'Woongroep'. My mother is just abusing me mentally every day, also calls me names, almost every day and anything I do is wrong - I wanted to make homework with the help of a friend of mine and called on skype at around 21:30, she wasn't even in bed but told me to go sleep and hang up (well told? shouted very hard angrily) and I couldn't make my homework. I told her this and she yelled even more. I also can't make too much noise in the night because she can't sleep then and yells at me for it - but when it's 1 a.m. and I need to be up for school the next day and I say I want to sleep, she yells at me and calls me names. I am also seeing a psychologist and I tell him everything, talk about these problems and my mom also talks with him, and they keep e-mailing each other, and even my psychologist is convinced that my mother is good and even managed to tell him that my SO is bad influence on me, when all my friends tell me I changed for so much better after meeting him! They try to separate me from my SO now, not going to happen. No one except my age relatives / friends believe me and we can do nothing about it (my best friend even really saw how my mother is, and her mother knows that too - how bad my mother can be). Please help.


texts: Are there any legal terms to use for charging the client for downtime hours at reduced full-time rate?

texts:
Normally, when working as a contractor, the bench time — when the client fails to provide you with the work to do, and no explicit work hours were assigned, either — is not compensated.
This could be an issue with some clients reserving you for their projects, and then not giving you any work when you reasonably expect to perform the work (this in the context of software engineering, where delays on the part of the client are plentiful).
This would especially be an issue if no explicit timeline was provided by the client — e.g., 60 hours until 3 weeks from date of signing — nor do you prefer to work within the timeline of the client, so, the only way you'd be able to charge them is if it would have been reasonable for you to believe that you were supposed to receive some work and/or be capable to start on day X, yet no work was provided, and such language was to have been in the contract.
What would be some good legal terms to use in order to specify in the contract that it won't be tolerated, and you'll be charging half the regular rate if they don't use you during the time that you expect to be working?
For example, I was thinking about writing something like below, using the term "discount bench rate", which, in my opinion, is 100% clear and accurately describes what I intend to say, however, to my surprise, an internet search didn't reveal a single hit for "discount bench rate", so, I'm not sure whether or not the terms would be understood by the customer and/or their legal, nor whether it sounds really strange and unprofessional.

The base rate is XYZ USD per hour.

The discount bench rate is between 0.25× and 0.5×, limited to 8 full-time hours per day (2 to 4 full-time hours after the discount), and applies at the sole discretion of the contractor to grossly mismanaged projects and/or to continued delays on the intake of the contractor.

The client will be notified of the discount no later than 14:00 US/Central on, or before, the day for which it is applied.

The clock would start at the latest of: (1), time of notification, (2), 10:00 US/Central on the day of the application.

Consideration for bench time cannot be denied even if the contract has to be cancelled by the contractor without providing any of the services for which they were originally procured.


texts: Meaning of the word "person" and "individual" under U.S. law

texts:
How does the U.S. define the word "person" in the statutory sense? I know the Dictionary Act defines it as an "individual" or a corporation, corporate body, but that leaves open the question, what is an "individual" under U.S. law? There is the Black's Law Dictionary, which defines "person" as a "human being."

I am also aware that the word "individual" is distinguished from corporations by the distinct jurisprudential definitions for "natural person" and "legal person," or "artificial person." "Natural person" is defined as a human being who is born alive by Black's Law Dictionary. So is "individual" in the Dictionary Act equivalent to a "natural person," and thus, a "human being"?


texts: What happens if you tell the court you are not satisfied with your attorney's representation?

texts:
I have often heard judges ask parties at the conclusion of a hearing on some matter, "Are you satisfied with your attorney's representation of you in this matter?"
What is the consequence of a party answering that question in the negative?


texts: Can a company charge a fee for erasure under GDPR?

texts: Suppose a company has a mailing list to reach out to potential customers. They send both physical and electronic mail. One EU-based potential customer does not want to receive mail anymore and requests their data to be erased under GDPR. Can this company charge a fee for this?


texts:
When engaging an IP attorney, I would like to understand what the inventor can / should prepare before meeting with the attorney.  Assume the context is a system and method utility patent application (USPTO) and that a provisional patent application has been filed.

I can imagine a list of items an attorney would need.

Is there a name for such a list?  (so that it could be Googled)
What items would be on the list?


texts: Two mobile apps have same function/near identical names - copyright trouble?

texts: I'm developing a mobile app and recently discovered that another app was published to the iOS App Store in 2011 with a similar name and almost identical function.  Should I anticipate copyright trouble by releasing my app?


texts: Are screenshots of malware eligible for copyright protection?

texts:
There was a case in which a screenshot of a piece of ransomware (a dialog box asking for ransom) was uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. It is was claimed that this screenshot is rendered ineligible for copyright protection by the legal doctrine of ex turpi causa non oritur actio (Latin for "from a dishonorable cause an action does not arise").

My questions are:

Is this correct in the United States of America?
Is this correct in the United Kingdom?

By "is this correct" I mean whether the doctrine is valid in the queried countries and isf so, whether it applies to copyright.


texts:
I read in this Bloomberg article

  Ten days later, a Mountain View motorcycle cop noticed traffic stacking up behind a Google car going 24 miles an hour in a busy 35 mph zone. He zoomed over and became the first officer to stop a robot car. He didn’t issue a ticket -- who would he give it to? -- but he warned the two engineers on board about creating a hazard.

Who gets the traffic ticket in a self-driving car? The car owner, the manufacturer, the people in the car at the time of the infraction, etc.?

I am most interested in United States, especially California and Massachusetts.


texts: How is "simultaneity" in transactions achieved, and when is it necessary?

texts:
I can think of two ways. One is to have everyone connected, either physically (in the same room) or electronically, via e.g. Zoom, to execute their documents. A second way might be to have different people execute their documents on different days, and put them in escrow. When the last required deliverable has been received, there is an opening or "break" of the escrow.
Are these valid ways to achieve simultaneity, and are there "third" ways that I have missed?
When is this necessary, or at least advisable? Are these procedures mainly for contracts, or are there other uses for them?


texts: How much "more" needs to be added to an abstract idea in order to pass the subject matter eligibility test for a patent?

texts:
In Mayo v. Prometheous 566 U. S. ____ (2012), the Supreme Court said (regarding 35 U.S.C. §101 subject matter eligibility):

  a process that focuses upon the use of a natural law [must] also
  contain other elements or a combination of elements,
  sometimes referred to as an “inventive concept,” sufficient
  to ensure that the patent in practice amounts to significantly
  more than a patent upon the natural law itself.

This was reiterated in Alice v. CLS Bank 573 U.S. ___ (2014):

  a court must first “identif[y] the abstract idea represented in the claim,” and then determine “whether the balance of the claim adds ‘significantly more.’”

What is the standard for judging, as part of assessing subject matter eligibility, whether the claimed process contains "significantly more" such that it is not preempting entirely the use of the natural law (or abstract idea, or other ineligible concept) itself?


texts: Self-deportation of American Citizens from US

texts:
It is conceivable that US citizens detained at CBP will self deport to exit  overcrowded CBP detainment facilities avoid lengthy detainments (>20 days).  How would a US citizen's self-deportation affect one's ability to cross borders and return home?

Update:

"Food for thought" for responses:

Upon deportation, why would CBP allow you to re-enter the country with the questioned documents?
Would CBP not confiscate the questioned documents before deportation?
Citizen is held incommuncado.

There is a claim that 2 of 3 Americans live in the 100-Mile border zone patrolled by CBP:


texts: How should I describe the license of a document that embeds alternately-licensed content?

texts:
I wish to distribute a document under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license. I have written most of this document myself, with the exception of sections which are formed of examples of code (written by others) which are licensed under various open source licenses - GPL, MIT, BSD, Apache, maybe more.
Can I just state something like “This document is licensed under {cc license link}, with the exception of sections that include other licensing statements”?
I am aware that permissive and copyleft licenses are incompatible when building software, but I’m unsure of the situation when merely distributing their source code in a bundle.
I will be including such code in its entirety, not just quoting it, so I’m unsure if the concept of fair use applies.


texts: Does a website owner (data controller) have to disclose its data processors in its privacy policy?

texts:
A website owner is data controller. Most website owners are using web hosting companies, i.e. data processors. Each website owner must have a GDPR compliant privacy policy.

Must each website owner disclose which data processors are being used? Must each website owner list in its privacy policy which hosting provider is in use and where data is located?


texts:
As a non-lawyer, I have an understanding of the terms in the subject line that comes from TV shows, stuff I heard somewhere, Facebook, etc.  And that understanding so far is this:

Rendition is the act of one state handing someone over to another state.
Extradition is the legal proceeding in which a court in the state where the person is found decides whether to hand them over.

Does this correspond in some way to reality?  What revisions might my understanding need?


texts: Is it okay for letting agency to deny me viewing for not telling them my employer name and how long I had been in a profession?

texts:
Is it okay for a letting agency to ask me these questions ?

What is the name of company I work for ?
The property I am renting at the present is through agency or a landlord?
How long I have been working as a software developer?

They also asked me for how much I am earning and some other questions which I answered. When I further inquired they told me that until I answer these question they won't let me view the property and answers will be used for pre-screening.

Is it okay for letting agency to deny me viewing for not telling them my employer name and how long I had been in a profession ?

I know if I liked the property and for referencing they may need letter from my employer but I wasn't at this stage yet.


texts:
If a person had and will never have a use for gun and wanted to insure nobody can use his identity to potentially buy one (through identity theft, for example), would that be possible?

Obviously committing a crime seems like a bad way of doing this but I believe if you have been jailed you can't legally own a gun.


texts: Is it theft/fraud if one sends confidential info from their work laptop to their own personal web mail but there is no malicious intent? (UK/US)

texts:
Sender's intentions are non malicious, but the sender knows they are not supposed to send confidential info out of work laptop, and sender deleted some sent emails to cover up. Their intent is to do work whilst away from work due to not having access to work laptop, so the information was sent via email.

Also, more generally, can information be 'stolen' in UK / US law?


texts: Is growing and consuming plants a “natural right” in the United States?

texts:
The Declaration of Independence says:

  ”We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are not part of the Bill of Rights, but they are recognized as unalienable rights. The Ninth Amendment of the Constitution says:

  The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

So we have many other rights besides those included in the Bill of Rights. Even in the Bill of Rights, we are told we have a natural right to “bear arms” and that it shall not be infringed, so it seems self-evident that growing and consuming plants would surely be a natural right.

Is growing and consuming plants a natural human right in the United States?


texts: Does PHI need to contain health information PLUS one of the 18 identifiers?

texts:
I've worked for various healthcare companies and found there's a wide range of interpretation to what protected HIPAA data is. It should be more cut and dry, but in actual practice it seems to be a little confusing.

My questions:

Can one of the 18 identifiers be PHI by itself, without having any medical information attached to it?   For example an first and last name from an EHR system.  I have always thought you need some sort of medical information attached with the 18 identifiers to make it PHI, otherwise without the health information, it's PII. So a first and last name with the diagnosis of diabetes is PHI, but my first and last name is not PHI, only PII.
Does it matter where the information originated from?  For example if a person inputs their health information into a healthcare website, say weight and medical condition, is that different from a doctor inputting that same data into their EHR?
The definition states that it's protected if the covered entity receives the information - but what if the patient gives health information (let's say weight and medical conditions) to a downstream business associate (with a signed BAA)? I thought HITECH extended liability to downstream associates as if they were the covered entity.

It's worth posting the definition of protected health information for reference.

Under HIPAA, protected health information is considered to be individually identifiable information relating to the past, present, or future health status of an individual that is created, collected, or transmitted, or maintained by a HIPAA-covered entity in relation to the provision of healthcare, payment for healthcare services, or use in healthcare operations (PHI healthcare business uses).
Health information such as diagnoses, treatment information, medical test results, and prescription information are considered protected health information under HIPAA, as are national identification numbers and demographic information such as birth dates, gender, ethnicity, and contact and emergency contact information. PHI relates to physical records, while ePHI is any PHI that is created, stored, transmitted, or received electronically.
PHI only relates to information on patients or health plan members. It does not include information contained in educational and employment records, that includes health information maintained by a HIPAA covered entity in its capacity as an employer.
PHI is only considered PHI when an individual could be identified from the information. If all identifiers are stripped from health data, it ceases to be protected health information and the HIPAA Privacy Rule’s restrictions on uses and disclosures no longer apply.


texts: Ontario Human Rights Code vs. Canadian Human Rights Act and whether either compel speech

texts:
My first question is what's the difference between the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Ontario Human Rights Code? Is one simply federal and the other state law?

Also, I was reading the following journal article (https://www.utpjournals.press/doi/full/10.3138/utlj.2017-0073), and it transitioned from the CHRA to the Ontario Code:

"The question of whether the non-discrimination requirements (in CHRA) will include the right to be identified by a person’s gender pronoun has arisen in reference to Ontario’s Human Rights Code and, in particular, the Policy on Preventing Discrimination Because of Gender Identity and Expression, which was published by the Ontario Human Rights Commission."

Are provisions from the Ontario Code being used to define terms (discrimination) in the federal CHRA act and subsequent C-16 amendment?

Finally, people keep saying C-16 won't compel speech, but if the Ontario Code is being used to define parts of the CHRA, doesn't this interpretation from the Ontario Human Rights Commission (http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/questions-and-answers-about-gender-identity-and-pronouns) specifically say misusing pronouns will be considered discrimination?

"Refusing to refer to a trans person by their chosen name and a personal pronoun that matches their gender identity, or purposely misgendering, will likely be discrimination when it takes place in a social area covered by the Code, including employment, housing and services like education. The law is otherwise unsettled as to whether someone can insist on any one gender-neutral pronoun in particular."

It sounds like employers will be compelled to refer to their employees with certain pronouns.


texts: Does GDPR or any other UK law specify the timeframe for removing someone from a mailing list? In our case the mailing list must be created up to 10 days before an automated email send over the Christmas period.


texts: Will I have to appear in court or another proceeding about a suicide I discovered?

texts:
I was riding my bike to work, and found someone lying in the grass on public land (the road verge) not private property. He appears to have died of his own intentional actions.

The police were called, blocked off the scene, and did their thing. I have verbally told an officer what I found, but have not made a written or recorded statement. The scene was all cleaned up before I rode home that evening. They have my contact details.

I have no other connection with the deceased than discovering their body.

This occurred in, and so the question is specific to, New Zealand.

For an apparent suicide, will I be required to appear in court or any legal proceedings for any reason?


texts: Does 18 U.S.C. § 1462 Only Apply to Commerce?

texts:
I am writing a research paper, and am confused regarding the exact wording of the law.

As I understand it, 18 USC 1462 criminalizes the transportation and receipt of obscenity:

  Whoever brings into the United States, or any place subject to the
  jurisdiction thereof, or knowingly uses any express company or other
  common carrier or interactive computer service (as defined in section
  230(e)(2) 1 of the Communications Act of 1934), for carriage in
  interstate or foreign commerce [...a list of what is illegal...]

and further criminalizes

  Whoever knowingly takes or receives, from such express company or
  other common carrier or interactive computer service of the
  Communications Act of 1934) any matter or thing the carriage or
  importation of which is herein made unlawful

Does this second quote mean that it is illegal for individuals to view obscene material depicting adults online, or merely that they cannot receive obscene material depicting adults online that they have paid for (interstate/foreign commerce)?


texts: Is there such thing as reasonable expectation for delivery time?

texts:
I ordered a chair from a store here in town.  Delivery estimate according to the receipt is 10-12 weeks.  The receipt says if I cancel the order I have to pay a 25% restocking fee.
Twelve weeks has come and gone and the store doesn't know when the chair will arrive.  Since 10-12 weeks is an estimate, I don't think I have a right to complain off the bat.  But is there a reasonable, legal limit to how long I can be forced to wait before getting a full refund (or doing a charge-back and fighting in small claims court should they withhold the 25% restocking fee)?  Obviously I can't be expected to wait forever (I've already paid) - how long should one be expected to wait before acting?
Update: It is 1-2 weeks past the far end of the delivery time.  I called the shop and they said that COVID has caused delays and they expect 4-6 weeks more "If I need a number, but we can't really know".  I asked them if they'd still charge the restocking fee if I canceled the order and they said yes, they would still charge the 25%.  Not sure how this fits in with the definition of "reasonable" given in the answers; I appreciate any further comments.


texts: Is modifying software and creating derivative works synonymous?

texts:
When granting a software license:

the right to modify the software
the right to create derivative works

Are these two distinct rights or the one and the same right said in two different ways?


texts:
I know treason charges, in and of themselves, seems rarely pursued, in part because of its strict definition. However, I was interested in this restriction:

  No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.

Obviously, this was written in the late 1700s, with concerns of something like a "Star Chamber" being formed. However, we now have cameras and electronic records; non-witness means of verifying behavior. I was wondering if treason charges would be able to be brought in the following scenarios:

A physical act of treason, captured on video recording
An electronic act of treason, captured in an electronic record


texts: Is it legal to use Google Text-to-Speech generated clips to train my own Text-to-Speech model and use it for commercial use?

texts: I have generate 13000 wav clips legally using Google Text-to-Speech service. I have trained a Text-to-Speech model using it. Am I allowed to use my trained model commercially to generate same voice?


texts: Dirty Apartment 3 day notice to cure breach or quit San Diego, CA

texts:
I received a "Three Day notice to cure breach or quit" for a dirty apartment. It is dated Wednesday, but was left on my door Thursday at 9am. The landlord is coming over on Saturday before noon to inspect. Not only is this not enough time, but I read that weekends don't count and this inspection should be carried out Monday.

In addition to this, what they wanted clean was very vague. I have lived here for seven years, and maintenance has upgraded/been over at least once a year. The cleanliness of my household hasn't changed at all in the past 7 years(and it is the same guy doing maintenance), so I am confused. The document said a picture of my dirty apartment(what they wanted clean) was attached, but it was not. When I brought this up to my landlord over the phone asking for clarification, she dismissed this point and said the bathroom needed to be cleaned along with the rest of the apartment. Can they legally take pictures of the inside of my home while performing requested maintenance?

I spent all day cleaning and do not want to argue with my landlord, but if she chooses to evict me, are there any legal actions I can take?


texts: Is it legal in the USA to pay someone for their work if you don't know who they are?

texts:
Let's say you go on a freelancing platform and hire a designer to make a website for you. They never reveal their real name, photo or location and payment is requested via Bitcoin. The job completes successfully and far as you've concerned you've just transferred $1,000 to a completely anonymous person who may be located at any corner of the planet. You also have no way of ever contacting them again, as their email address was single-use just for this job and they'll never access it again.
Would this violate any laws? Does it matter if you pay them as an individual or as a business entity? For the sake of this question assume that the person/entity paying is located in the US.


texts: When is public humiliation and slander illegal?

texts:
There is a activist/vigilantly group called Creep Catchers who pretend to be underage children selling sex. Then when a pedophile agrees to meet in person, they show up with video cameras, broadcast it live, and basically get the person to admit he's a pedophile.

Recently there was a case where they did this to a disabled man and had initially pretended the girl was of age, but I don't want to discuss morality.

It's my understanding that it's illegal to slander a person on a very public scale and that public humiliation isn't allowed. By the Creep Catchers own description, their job is to publicly humiliate pedophiles using the internet (but I would suspect a lot of the tactics would count as entrapment). When is this sort of activity illegal?

There was another case where they knocked on a door and when the person answered they started aggressively accusing her of being a pedophile and broadcasted it. Whether or not it was true, she denied that she was and said someone else was pretending to be her online. Is this allowed?


texts: Sharing confidential information between two companies

texts:
I own a small company and submitted a proposal to a major company and I received no response. Another company considered my proposal and invited me to present the proposal to the board.

I was asked if I have submitted this proposal anywhere else, and I said no. A board member was an employee of the first company, and shared my letter to the first company with the board. And then, the board decided to reject the proposal because I was not honest with them.

As I checked, there is no official connection between two companies. In other words, he shared my letter based on his personal knowledge rather than official relationship between two companies.

My proposal was intended for the first company, and I do not see any legal ground for sharing it with a third party. I did not write "confidential" on my letter, but I assumed a business proposal is automatically considered as a confidential material.

How is the legal situation here?


texts: Are awards ever subsequently revised based on new developments, other than divorce cases?

texts:
In a divorce case, alimony may be subsequently modified either up or down, based on the changes in financial circumstances of either the payor (usually the husband) or the recipient (usually the wife).

Can changes in the underlying circumstances change awards, outside of divorce?
There are a number of possible situations, but I'll use the one that I am most familiar with, defamation.

In the 1979 case Bindrim vs. Mitchell, a plaintiff, Paul Bindrim, won an award against novelist Gwen Mitchell and her publisher Doubleday for "defaming" him in connection a novel, purportedly fiction, about his "signature" nude therapy treatment. (Although Mitchell had taken pains to disguise Bindrim, his treatment was so unique that it identified him.)

Suppose Bidrim's therapy business took off after the novel and/or lawsuit so that the increase in his annual income exceeded the award. Is there any legal mechanism to reduce or reverse the award, since the publication actually increased, rather than decreased, his "fame and fortune"?

One of the grounds for the award was that Mitchell had "defamed" him (in the 1970s) by "misquoting" him as telling people to grab women by their private parts (which he never said). A recently elected President of the United States actually used a very similar term. Suppose, instead, that the sitting 1980 Presidential candidate (who admitted to Playboy magazine to "committing adultery in his heart") had expressed this idea, thereby "popularizing" the concept. Is there any legal mechanism to reduce the award on the grounds that it's no longer defamatory if a POTUS uses it?


texts: Can my neighbor, the Fire Department, put up a fence/gate on our shared property line and then deny my use of that gate?

texts: My neighbor, the Fire Department, has put up a chainlink fence and gate along our shared property line.  It divides my backyard and their parking lot.  Their parking lot is not fenced on the other side - it is adjacent to the main street.  They're telling me I can't go through the gate to get out of my yard, that it's their gate and I can't use it.  I thought the fire department was a public access place.  Anyone can walk through their parking lot, park their car there, meet friends, whatever, but I can't go through the gate to get out of my yard.  Is this right?


texts: How do rules of conduct apply when acting in a pro hac vice role in another state?

texts: A lawyer's client sent me a mild threat via text message. I have contacted the attorney on 4 separate occasions requesting an explanation/response from the attorney. They have not responded. Are there any ethics rules regarding this lawyer's conduct and failure to respond? Thx.


texts: Public accommodation arbitrary refusal of service example?

texts:
This is maybe nothing but stupidity on my end...but;
Fitness center with tanning in Wisconsin.
Went to tan as have done before, worker asked if I had protective eyewear  (law to have in Wi) to which I replied yes—as in past practice—this time she said show it to her. Which I said what? Why? She replied it’s the law (it’s not—to which I also replied, it’s that I have and use, which I told you I do, not that I’m required to show you) Okay, I realize I could have just showed her, but I felt my word was good, unsure why it wouldn’t be, was unaware of this new “law” (it’s not)....asked to speak with manager, he too refused service-I asked when, where, why—it did not go well...so, were they right in denying my service even though I would not show them the googles even though I verbally indicated I had them etc.


texts: Is it allowed to ignore copyright claimed over an exact reprint of a public domain work?

texts:
The question is general, but I will explain it with a specific example I am currently facing.
In 1890, a book was published in Germany. Its author died in 1915. According to my understanding of copyright law, this book is now indisputably in the public domain in every country in the world and so I can do anything I want with it, though please correct me if this is not true.
In 1974, a new reprint edition was published by the same publisher. At that time, the work was apparently still copyrighted, less than 70 years having passed since the author's death. The content is absolutely identical in all respects: close inspection of the two editions (which I have at hand) reveals that the 1974 edition was printed with plates that have been copied, either stereotypically or photographically, from the original 1890 plates. Apart from the title pages and the design on the endsheets, the type is indistinguishable.
The 1974 edition is now out of print. I have contacted the publisher (which still exists, absorbed into a large and renowned German academic publishing conglomerate) regarding licensing and reuse. They claim that they still own the copyright on the 1974 edition, and they give me a quote of over 1000 euros to reproduce even just a few pages, and around 10000 euros for the entire work (which is less than 100 pages in total).
Suppose I ignore their avaricious demands and reuse the text anyway. Is this safe? I do intend to credit the source, and I will claim that I am reproducing excerpts of the text from the 1890 edition (which is truthful, as far as anyone could know, because I could easily do the actual retyping and/or OCR using my physical 1890 copy). I will not mention the 1974 edition. However, the result will be that my publication will contain text which is an exact copy of the 1974 text, over which the publisher apparently reserves rights and expects licensing fees. Am I at any risk of legal trouble here, or is my defence watertight?


texts: Can a student send a personal email on school campus without scrutiny by administration?

texts:
Is the following scenario legal

Let's say that there is a student A, who sends student B in a personal email but on school campus and on school wifi. Student A's email includes derogatory description of the principle. Let's say 10 days later, there was an unrelated riot inside of a class which the school administration for some reason believes that student A has caused the riot; student A is called up to the office and the office asks him/her questions regarding the incident.

Student A denies any knowledge but the school decides to go onto his/her school issued laptop and logs onto his/her gmail account and discovers the email and expels him/her.

Does the student in this case have the right to sue the school?

Because I believe that the freedom of speech in the USA should protect him correct? Especially because the cause of this whole incident would be unrelated and furthermore, there was an unreasonable search of his personal account?

My friends and I were talking about this scenario and have arrived to different conclusions and have argued about whether the student has the right to sue.


texts: Government legal actions - civil or criminal?

texts:
I was reading this overview of the differences between civil and criminal cases and they state

  Civil cases usually involve private disputes between persons or
  organizations. Criminal cases involve an action that is considered to
  be harmful to society as a whole.

Followed by

  Individuals, corporations, and the federal government can also bring
  civil suits in federal court claiming violations of federal statutes
  or constitutional rights. For example, the federal government can sue
  a hospital for overbilling Medicare and Medicaid, a violation of a
  federal statute.

That seems strange to me, why wouldn't stealing from the government be considered a criminal case?

I suppose the answer might be, that's just the way the statute is written.  In which case, my question would be, why are some things that are wrong involving the government considered to be part of civil or criminal law?


texts: Does prohibition on titles of nobility make presumption of guilt impossible?

texts:
The US Constitution prohibits the US government from granting titles of nobility (article I, section 9, clause 8).

Has it ever been formally established that giving any group, X, a priority of credulity in court over any other group, Y, would amount to granting the group X a title of nobility?

The presumption of innocence, at trial, was established in Coffins v US (1894).  This was more than a century after the ratification of the US Constitution.  Which meant that up until then there was some give-n-take allowed on this maxim.

However, giving an entire group (such as women) a priority in being believed over an entire other group (such as men) would mean that the former group has a higher standing before the law, by birth-right, than the latter group.

In the 100 years between the ratification of the US Constitution and "Coffins v US", were there any laws or court decisions which would give any groups de facto nobility over other groups by demanding that their accusations against some other groups must be assumed (if formally stated) true until proven false?  Did the argument that this amounted to granting of titles of nobility (which was prohibited) ever come up in any court cases?


texts: Meaning of numbers in UK Parliament Sessional Papers

texts:
I have a (scan of) an 1858 volume of papers drawn from Sessional Papers of the British Parliament.

These appear to be Command Papers, which, according to various sources, were numbered [1] to [4222] over the period 1833–1869. The Command Paper numbers (in 1857/8, in the low 2000s) do not appear in the papers, but they do appear in the index: e.g. here and here.

All the sections in the volume have numbers printed on the first page at the bottom left. Sometimes, this is the sessional paper number, eg. "155—Sess 2" (which agrees with the index).

But, sometimes, the number is a mystery to me. The section on page 345 is numbered "[120]", which does not correspond to paper 120 in either 1857 session (1st, 2nd) - this section is, in fact Command Paper [2166], listed in the index as coming from the 1857 1st Session, Volume XII., page 579. It seems this number is not a sessional paper number, command paper number or page number.

So, what does [120] mean in his context?


texts: I want to use a cover of a song by Alicia Keys and want to know if anyone here can help me figure it out

texts: If an amateur filmmaker wants to  use a short clip of a popular song, sung (covered) by a singer other than the one who wrote and popularized it, what permissions, if any, are needed?


texts: Indiana, USA. How do I legally refuse defendant's request for a later trial date and "limited discovery" in small claims court?

texts: I filed a small claims case against a small company who broke an item that was shipped to me. In response I recently received a packet of papers from the defendant's attorney basically requesting that I send the defendant's attorney all the things I am going to bring to court as evodence, as well as my and everyone else involved's SSN and driver license numbers (as if I know the relevant store employee's DL # and SSN, and as if I would give them my own). How do legally opt out of or refuse this limited discovery request in favor of presenting all my documents and photos at trial in front of a judge instead? How do I refuse a later trial date as well? I don't have an attorney.


texts: What can happend if I am sexting with an underage girl from another country?

texts:
So I met this girl on the internet and I told her I am 19 and she told me she is 17. We started talking for a while and she sent me me a pic in underwear.. We started texting and all that.. we did this for a couple of times.
After a while she told me she is 15..I know that is not legal even if she was 17.. so she told me she is 15.
What would happen if we keep doing it.
Could something happen if we just talk normally without any sexual terms.

I am from Europe and she is from US. more exactly California .. so another continent.
Could I be charged or something..?


texts: Is it allowed to Psuedonym or Soft delete the User Records in a highly complex User centric Software under GDPR?

texts:
I referred this question: Under the GDPR, should transaction data be deleted on account deletion or on user request? which deals specifically with the use-case of e-commerce site. But still, there is a need for a generalized view on the confusion regarding GDPR's "Right to be Forgotten".

A complex business user-centric web application might have references of user throughout and a complete hard delete (completely deleting the user from database) might create lots of havoc by breaking the referential integrity in the database and thereby in the entire application.

So, is soft deleting or pseudonymizing a user a correct approach meaning the user's record won't be removed from the database completely instead, his all personal information will be updated with a pseudonym (junk phrase) in the database. On UI/UX as well instead of all personally identifiable information, a pseudonym or a generic "Deleted User" or "User #234" (just as SO do) will show up. The general reference of the User's entry in database will not even be processed/used/displayed/transmitted/sold anywhere.

Please note that I am aware that GDPR is about how the data is processed and does not hold restrictions on the technicalities and designs one follows but the actual implementation and adaptions of the same are causing several severe technical constraints and the complete refactoring of the database architecture and references which happens to complicate the business application and might even need a complete restart/reset.

For instance, a Software Engineer would know that an Email can be used as identity and the entire app revolves around UserManager and the cookies. Moreover, many fields that are marked Required in database models on deletion may break the app completely.

So what should be the correct approach, in context of GDPR, when a user revokes his consent in a complex architectured web application?


texts:
In which cases can and cannot contracts (like concession rights) be negotiated with the Government via a middleman?  I.e., when can a company hire a consulting agent to help negotiate with the government?

I'm not looking for the US only cases. Any country.

I'm interested in mining or infrastructure concessions primarily.

Am I correct that "covenant against contingent fees" almost prohibits that practice in the US?


texts: How does a subdivision covenant work if no successors are recorded?

texts:
I am purchasing a home and would like to install a fence. The original covenants, from 1975, specify you must get approval from the architectural control committee, but all the listed trustees are dead, and the Recorder's office has no further records on the subdivision.
The covenants state they are valid for 25 years after which they automatically renew for successive 10 year terms.
Can covenants be sort of "forgotten about" and have no enforceability? Can I just do the exterior work I want to and not worry about "someone" coming after me for doing so?


texts: Are unclear "take-it or leave-it" contracts interpreted in my favor?

texts:
In the accepted answer to this question, it's written that:

  Since this is (presumably) a take-it or leave it contract which they wrote up and you didn't actually negotiate, any unclarities are legally interpreted in your favor.

What makes something a take-it or leave-it contract? And (if I am the one taking it), are unclear clauses categorically interpreted in my favor?


texts: Paid Music Collaboration, Assignment of Copyright

texts:
My wife (a violinist) is recording an album and paying a musician to play the piano improvisationally, as she described what she wanted, and to protect her rights to distribute and earn money from the work, she would like to have the musician sign over copyright of the arrangements and performances to her.
In the state of New York, is a short signed statement to that effect sufficient? Something like:

In exchange for compensation in the form of ________ I have been paid I assign complete copyright of my performance and the arrangement of the music pieces known as __________________ to Natalie Hall.
X_____________________

I have asked this question in good faith and believe this question to be on topic because the tour help page says:

Focus on questions about an actual problem you have faced. Include details about what you have tried and exactly what you are trying to do.

If you think any aspects of this question need fixing, feel free to edit it mercilessly. Else I will delete this section later.


texts: Are Two People Considered a Single Person When Married

texts: In the United States of America is a married couple, regardless of sex, considered to be a single person by the government? If so, in what situations does the government not view them as a single person.


texts: Is reselling online currency of a Website illegale?

texts:
On the Website "abcdef.com" You can get credits by doing actions like watching something or buying them for real money. With the credits you can let other people do actions for you.
I found a way to make thousands of actions a second.
On the page there is a special premium member function to transfer credits to other users. I have so many credits I want to sell my credits to others. I have a website where I sell my credits via PayPal, is this legal because the page gives me the function to send credits or is it illegal because only the original page is allowed to sell credits for real money ?


texts: Just how different is the legal situation in Germany under GDPR compared to previously with respect to running a website?

texts:
A frequent statement with respect to making German websites GDPR-compliant is that barely anything has changed in Germany with DSGVO (the German version of GDPR) and the previously applicable national law (BDSG).

At the same time, while many aspects of GDPR are still considered unclear or disputed, there seems to be pretty much a consensus in Germany that any website owner1 whose site is hosted on the server of a 3rd party will have to sign a contract for processing on behalf with the webhoster.2 This appears the case even if the webhoster merely handles visitors' IP addresses such as for security logging purposes.

While I concede companies and people as a whole used to be sloppy about former privacy laws and very late at starting to prepare for GDPR, the requirement for those specific contracts with webhosters are generally implied to be something new. Webhosting companies have started to offer the respective contract templates only recently as a part of their GDPR preparation, and articles point out these contracts as something to take care of to make one's site GDPR-ready, especially including non-commercial fan sites, blogs, and similar.

Was there3 a requirement to have such a contract with one's webhoster for non-commercial/hobbyist websites before GDPR? (If so, was it simply widely ignored, especially on sites hosted abroad, where hosters wouldn't know about (and be unwilling to sign?) such contracts?

EDIT: The only thorough essay on the topic I have found so far is a blogpost on CR-online (in German). It specifically addresses the situation of non-commerical and/or small services (coming to the conclusion that from the point of view of these services, the claim that "not much has changed" is a "myth") and points out that the obligations for internal documentation have been considerably extended. However, it does not concretely discuss any particular setups such as "running a website".

1: Except for websites maintained as a part of a "purely personal or household activity", but it seems disputed whether any publicly accessible website can meet these criteria at all.

2: My understanding is that the website owner ensures towards visitors the visitors' personal data will not be used for anything beyond what is stated in the site's privacy note, and the contract for processing on behalf is the website owner's legal handle to also ensure the webhoster does not exceed the boundaries of the privacy policy (or informs the website owner in time so they can update their privacy note).

3: Either from BDSG itselt, or based upon some EU-wide regulation.


texts: Is it illegal to create a scenario in which someone could inflict violence on another person, if said person had volunteered as part of the scenario?

texts: So, to cut a long story short. There's an employee I work with that has stolen money and property multiple times, and that has created a hostile environment for the rest of us via the use of intimidation and threats of violence. However, our HR have their hands tied regarding any form of further discipline due to our country's laws, and his threat of a lawsuit if he is ever fired. Some employees have decided to see if they can not provoke, more trick, him into losing his cool (he has a history of a foul temperament) and attack a colleague physically, ergo providing HR a credible excuse to finally fire him, and protect themselves at the same time. The main part of the plan is not to involve the cops, as we have no intention of causing unnecessary hassle, we just want rid of him. Would such an action be illegal under law?


texts: Will Stack Exchange EU terms still apply to Britain now that BREXIT has finished?

texts:
Background Information

Britain has recently finished BREXIT (after years of painstaking decision making about pretty much nothing) and I was wondering whether Stack Exchange's EU specific terms still apply to Britain.

Example of EU specific terms

  If you are located within the European Union, you must be at least 16
  years old to access or use the Network or Services, including without
  limitation to complete a Stack Overflow Account Registration. By
  accessing or using the Services or the Network in any manner, you
  represent and warrant that you are at least 16 years of age. If you
  are under 16 years old, you may not, under any circumstances or for
  any reason, access or use the Services or Network in any manner, and
  may not provide any personal information to or on the Services or
  Network (including, for example, a name, address, telephone number or
  email address).

Questions

Do Stack Exchange's EU specific terms still apply to Britain?

If so, will they ever stop applying to Britain?


texts: owning firearms but keeping them out of state

texts: In the US, do states place restrictions on ownership of firearms out of state? For example, if you legally acquire firearms in one state and keep them in that state when you move to another state, are you required to abide by firearms laws such as registration and restrictions on possession in the state you move to?


texts: Can I resell diesel to a trucking company's fleet during a price hike?

texts: Say I have a container of diesel which I purchased at a low rate and got a discount for a bulk purchase. Can I resell it to a trucking company's fleet of truckers at a competitive rate in a high-price diesel market, legally?


texts: Is it legal to include verbatim exercises from a book in videos/on a blog?

texts:
I live in Florida, U.S. I recently purchased a math book that I really like, and I am thinking about making a video series or a blog where I would succcessively resolve the exercises from the book.

Of course, to do so, I would have to  reproduce the problem statements in their entirety. Is this a problem?

I am aware of another question on this site which asks the same thing, except it is about translations of Greek manuscripts. However, I think my case is a little differet, for at least one reason: I am not sure how many of the problems are really the author's original work; in math, there are some very "classic" problems that are given by many authors; also, some problems are very fundamental to the theory, and were surely considered by people who first came up with the theory. Additionally, math books are notorious for not citing where they got their problems from, so again one really cannot be sure which, if any, are the author's truly original work.


texts: Can you drive without licence plates all across America?

texts:
There was a well-known controversy about the late Steve Jobs, who never had any number plates affixed to his AMG, supposedly still being in full compliance with California law, by supposedly leasing a new AMG every six months, and, supposedly, California doesn't require licence plates on the vehicle for the first six months.

Whether or not law explicitly codifies the six months, it's indeed quite common in California to see cars without any sort of number plates (and, likewise, a lot of cars are also missing the front number plate, even though plates are almost always issued in pairs, and front plates are required to be affixed to most cars in California), thus they don't even arouse much suspicion.  This is probably because even non-custom plates require processing, and are mailed through USPS after the processing, thus a lot of interns and such live in California for the whole summer only to receive their plate when they're already ready to sell their car and depart!

However, what would happen if you were to travel in such a plateless car across North America, can you be ticketed for not having the number plates?


texts: What is the legal term for enforcing things when an HOA has been lax previously?

texts:
Let's say an HOA has been very lax in enforcing its CC&Rs in the past. There are restrictions about fencing, but many owners got and received variances in the past and have put up fences that don't comply. There are many people keeping farm animals like alpacas, emus, bulls, pigs, etc. even though all such animals are not allowed.

This has been going on for decades.

What legal construct is it called if and when an HOA starts enforcing these things all of a sudden when the variances were issued for so many others and never were the animals enforced?

Did the HOA set a precedent for itself or open itself up to lawsuits since people are now being treated differently than they have for so many years.

Would a person that's been denied a fence, or denied keeping an animal have any recourse? What if the animals are denied for one person but the next door neighbor has the same animals and has for 10 years?


texts:
I need to cite one court case for a project I am researching. The Chicago Manual of Style says to use Bluebook citation for legal materials. I have a link to the document that I am using, but I am not sure how to cite it.
This is the link to the case: link here.
I think my citation should look something like this:

USA vs. Hasbajrami _____ (E.D.N.Y. 2016)

Since I found it online, I'm not sure how to mark the "reporter" field, which I believe should be in the empty space I marked.
How should I cite this? I apologize, I have no experience with law, and despite about an hour of trying to figure out this one citation, I don't think I'm searching for the right things because I can't find anything.


texts: In which state should interstate college students vote?

texts:
My daughter is from NJ, where her mom and I live.

She went to undergraduate school in SC, where she became a resident.  She has a SC driver's license, library card, and W2 statements from 2015.  She may have registered to vote there a few years ago, but I'm not sure.

Now she lives in FL where she goes to graduate school.

For purposes of voting, especially in a Presidential primary, where does she register and vote?

I know she can probably use her NJ address since she's still a student, but I think she would prefer to vote in either the SC or FL primaries, since NJ is very late in the season and almost inconsequential.

She has a SC driver's license (and possibly a voter registration card), but no longer has an address there.  She had lived off-campus in an apartment she's no longer in.

She's now in an apartment in Florida, where she'll be a student through the spring of 2017.  But she does not have a FL driver's license or anything else "official".

Where can she legally vote?


texts:
The "Florida Computer Crimes Act" defines "access" in Florida statutes Ch. 815.03(1) as follows:

“Access” means to approach, instruct, communicate with, store data in,
retrieve data from, or otherwise make use of any resources of a
computer, a computer system, a computer network, or an electronic
device.

What does it mean to "approach" a computer system?


texts: Do you have a right to your own reference check conducted by a third-party?

texts:
You apply through an estate agency for a house and pay them a fee to conduct a reference check. This reference check is then done by a third-party with which you interact with.

In the UK, do you have a right to see this reference check?


texts: Can an alternative medicine practitioner be held legally responsible for a patient's death?

texts:
First a little background, this issue doesn't affect me personally (I'm not a practitioner of alternative medicine or being treated by one).

I read a slate article about a woman who was forgoing conventional medical treatment for breast cancer (which was treatable) In favour of some kind of vegetable based diet and imagining tying ribbons around various internal organs. It seems obvious to a reasonable person that continuing down this treatment path will inevitably lead to the patient's death.

My question is this, once the patient dies, what is the criminal liability of the alternative medicine practitioner for treating the patient with a treatment that a reasonable person could clearly see would be ineffective?


texts: What the difference between false pretense and forgery

texts: I know that false pretense have to do with a scenario involving someone who pretend to be someone else in order to obtain money..etc. But I get confuse with both of them


texts: Can a lawyer charge the business fee (Geschäftsgebühr) when my interaction with amounts only to an e-mail exchange?

texts:
Background:
Last year I had a problematic tenant in our (owned by my mother) apartment in Germany. He was repeatedly late/not paying the rent and not responding to phone calls or letters. Around the same time I decided to move into this apartment with my family and informed the tenant that he must vacate the apartment with three months notice. He initially acknowledged this, but that was exactly when he failed to pay the rent for that and the subsequent month. Fearing that he might not honor the agreement to vacate the apartment in time, I contacted a lawyer.

Interaction with the lawyer:
As the rent was not paid for two months in a row, I had grounds to order the tenant to vacate the apartment immediately. Over the course of four e-mails I asked the lawyer about the possible procedural costs of eviction, steps which I should take to raise the chances of the apartment being vacated, etc.

As a result of our interaction the best course of action seemed to be to strengthen the request to free the apartment for my own use with an additional threat of eviction. To leave a paper trail I sent the tenant a final warning to pay the debt in full or be evicted. I told the lawyer, that we'll see what happens next, then if he doesn't pay, we'll start taking steps to kick him out. However, the tenant paid, therefore I no longer had grounds to evict him immediately (though he still had to leave after the above-mentioned three months notice). Since then I did not contact the lawyer again, a couple of months later the tenant vacated the apartment on time and I moved in.

Bill:
Recently I received a bill from the lawyer, claiming a "business fee" (Geschäftsgebühr) under the code VV 2300, a bit over 700 euro. This seems to imply certain actions being taken by the lawyer, such as contacting third parties (e.g. the tenant), involving local authorities, etc. I am of the opinion, that none of this took place (see details below) and instead he should charge me only with a consultation fee (Beratungsgebühr), which is, by law, capped at 250 EUR (+19% VAT + 20 euro postage/telecom).

Re-reading my emails, I do not see any explicit requests from my side to take any legally meaningful steps. Indeed, all I pursued was legal advice. There may or may not have been implicit requests, but I'm of the opinion that there have been none. At a certain point he offered to draft up a certain letter and send it to me, as soon as I provide him with some bits of info such as the rental contract. I provided him with the info, but ignored the offer, instead asking further questions about my situation. In any case I did not receive this letter.

Question:
Is the lawyer in his right to charge the business fee, rather than the smaller consultancy fee? If so, on what grounds is that/could that be? If not, how can I challenge his claim?

I realize, that a logical answer may be to go and ask him. However, as you can see, simply talking to a lawyer can already incur costs without the need for a formal written contract. Therefore I do not wish to call or write to him until I am better informed. Thankfully, as the sidebar says,

  Communications on Law Stack Exchange are not privileged communications and do not create an attorney-client relationship.


texts: How does a police officer / the state prove a particular breathalyzer reading was taken?

texts: If a police officer takes a breathalyzer reading of someone, what kind of record proves to a court what the reading was? General US information and/or info about California are both appreciated.


texts: Is it legal to force a atheist student to read a prayer in a Church of England UK academy?

texts:
At my school, which is a Church of England academy, instead of assemblies, we do "Collective Worship" (although everyone still calls them assemblies). With whole-school assemblies, each class takes turns to pick a few students to read Christian prayers to the whole school. However, in my class, nobody has volunteered, so our teacher is threatening to pick names out of a hat. We (myself and a few other friends who agreed) argue that we cannot be forced to preach the existence of God when we are atheist, as that could violate freedom of speech or a law on religion. Our main points are that we would begin with "Dear Lord," implying that we believe in a God, then end with "Amen," which translates to "I agree/believe," which we don't.

Is forcing an atheist student to read a Christian prayer illegal or prohibited in any way?

Would Article 14 of the UNCRC apply?


texts: What legally would happen if you murdered your conjoined twin vs your twin?

texts:
Has there been a case where a conjoined twin murdered their other half and survived? What was the out come?

One of the twins have control of the body and the other one is intelligent but can only communicate by blinking or lip smacking.

Lets say they go to Mexico and only half came back. What could the twin expect from legal repercussions or exemptions?


texts: Legal to drive a car without front tag out of registered state?

texts:
In the U.S. some states do not require cars to display license plates on the front of a vehicle, but a majority require plates on both the front and rear, as shown in the map below.

My car is registered in Pennsylvania, so I only have a plate on the rear.  AFAIK, I can drive it into any state that requires front plates without violating a law, because I comply with the registration state's law.

But what if my car is registered in a state that requires a front plate (e.g., California) and I drive it in any other state without displaying a front license plate.  Is there any state in which I could be cited for a legal infraction?


texts: Obtaining copyright on a joint work produced by minors?

texts: How would you go about obtaining the copyright of work that is produced by minors? In terms of context, I am the head of a high school club that produces original animated content. The club provides members with the materials necessary to make said content. Is there a way of bringing the members into an agreement which gives their copyright protection of club related content to the club board? This ideally includes any of the intermediary content such as models and storyboards.


texts: Replica of the product - what can I do, What can not

texts:
It's not clear to me how far can you move when you are making replica of something. On this example can you help me understand it better please?

Let's say I would like to build the replica of the engine and sell it. It will be not working, just standing on the display. So in general - it will have shape, but not function of the original product.

I know that I can not put any trademark on it. I know as well that it can not work, as it would be against patents. Would it be still legal to make one?

What if my engine will have same moving parts as the original one, but still will be not able to work. If those moving parts are part of claims in the patent to use in engine patent, will it be illegal to mimic them in replica?

Cheers,
Filip


texts: Is it acceptable to send flowers to a judge after a routine administrative proceeding?

texts:
I recently filed a petition in my county court. While I'm aware it's a routine proceeding for county judges, the judge's grant of my petition means a lot to me personally, and I would like to send a gift of flowers and a card as a token of my gratitude. Of course, I know there are restrictions regarding gifts to judges, designed to address impropriety and influence (or appearance thereof).

I came across the ABA's Model Code of Judicial Conduct: Canon 3 and the Guide to Jucidiary Policy; both seem to have exclusions, notably

  “Gift” means any gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, forbearance,
  or other similar item having monetary value but does not include:

  [...]

  greeting cards and items with little intrinsic value, such as plaques, certificates, and trophies, which are intended solely for presentation

Furthermore, the Guide to Judiciary Policy also outlines (emphasis mine) that

  A judicial officer or employee who has received a gift that cannot be accepted under these regulations should return any tangible item to the donor, except that a perishable item may be given to an appropriate charity, shared within the recipient's office, or destroyed.

My questions are thus:

Would a bouquet of flowers constitute an item with "little intrinsic value" and or that is "intended solely for presentation"?
If the answer to 1 is not a clear-cut and unconditional "yes", could I instead address the gift to the judge's office?

Such a bouquet would likely cost around $100, but mitigating factors (as I see them) include the facts that:

Flowers are pretty much intended for presentation; according to two examples from the Cornell Legal Information Institute, even though some items might have a "market value" that could trigger restrictions, since they are primarily intended for presentation, they are acceptable, and
The gift is being given after the judge's grant, rather than prior to it; I don't expect to be conducting any further business with my county court in the foreseeable future, and these restrictions are specifically applied to gifts from

  [...] anyone who is seeking official action from or doing business with the court or other entity served by the judicial officer or employee, or from any other person whose interests may be substantially affected by the performance or nonperformance of the judicial officer’s or employee’s official duties.


texts: Are women only scholarships legal under Irish / EU law?

texts:
As a student of a software engineering course I tend to receive tech related emails. Over the last year I've received 3 scholarship related emails of which all were titled with something along the lines of

Women in technology scholarship

I noticed for the first 2 emails, when I clicked on their links, their webpage showed a list of criteria and were very careful with what they were demanding of their applicants.

Applicants must be graduating in year XX/XX
Applicants must be enrolled in a computer science or related degree

etc. etc.
But it is when they get to the gender/sex criteria, it is usually described as the following:

This scholarship is open to female applicants

The third email had this as part of their criteria

Applicants must identify as female

My question is; under Irish or European law, is it in any way illegal to advertise or hold scholarships with any of the criteria I've described?


texts: Where can I find regulations for establishing shooting (firearm) schools in the UK?

texts:
Are there set laws or regulations that govern the setup of a clay pigeon school in the United Kingdom.
If so, where can I find the specifications.


texts: Can one take BSD licensed code and distribute it under GPL?

texts:
Prompted by https://opensource.stackexchange.com/questions/304/can-i-take-bsd-licensed-code-and-distribute-it-under-gpl.

The OP asks:

  Can I take code which is licensed under a permissive open source license (like the BSD license) and distribute it under a copyleft free software license (like the GPL)?

Specifically, quoting the following from Wikipedia:

  In addition, the permissive nature of the BSD license has allowed many other operating systems, both free and proprietary, to incorporate BSD code. For example, Microsoft Windows has used BSD-derived code in its implementation of TCP/IP and bundles recompiled versions of BSD's command-line networking tools since Windows 2000. Also Darwin, the system on which Apple's Mac OS X is built, is a derivative of 4.4BSD-Lite2 and FreeBSD. Various commercial Unix operating systems, such as Solaris, also contain varying amounts of BSD code.

And OpenBSD Journal:

  KernelTrap has an interesting article in which Theo de Raadt discusses the legal implications of the recent relicensing of OpenBSD's BSD licensed Atheros driver under the GPL. De Raadt says, "it has been like pulling teeth since (most) Linux wireless guys and the SFLC do not wish to admit fault. I think that the Linux wireless guys should really think hard about this problem, how they look, and the legal risks they place upon the future of their source code bodies." He stressed that the theory that BSD code can simply be relicensed to the GPL without making significant changes to the code is false, adding, "'in their zeal to get the code under their own license, some of these Linux wireless developers have broken copyright law repeatedly. But to even get to the point where they broke copyright law, they had to bypass a whole series of ethical considerations too."

Specifically at stake is the question of whether or not is it legal to take a file or files licensed under a BSD licence, affix a GPL header at the top of such files without making any other changes to the content, place the GPL licence in the root and mention it in README, and distribute the results.

If such licence amendment to include GPL (in addition to the BSD licence) is not legal, then why Microsoft's and Apple's practice is.


texts: What to do if you were violently ill from a product from a huge establishment that had a lone, large green label on the front of the product saying “vegan”, only to find once consuming, it contained heavy cream, eggs, butterfat and milk in it? There was an entire shelf of products mislabelled.


texts: Does reproducing a board game as a video game violate copyright?

texts: The context I am thinking of is converting a board game into a video game or app. Of course, I can't manufacture a physical copy of the game without permission, but does the same apply to a virtual version? My understanding is that copyright protects only the particular manner of an author’s expression. This means that the board game is copyrighted, but a video game with the same mechanics is not. Is that the case?


texts:
How can a 3D Artist know that his model is being sold some where else? And with so much modification that he can tell that its his model but can't prove it?

Suppose, I've created a 3D Model and then someone purchases it. Then, after After applying some modifications like Turbo Smooting(Or SubSurf Modif. In Blender) and then decimates or optimizes the geometry and then sells it again, then is there a way for the original artist to fight to protect his work?

And how can the artist tell that this is his model?


texts: Can UPS really trademark the color brown?

texts:
So, today as I received an email from UPS, I read the disclaimer at the end and it said:

  © 2016 United Parcel Service of America, Inc. UPS, the UPS brandmark, and the color brown are trademarks of United Parcel Service of America, Inc. All rights reserved.

What exactly does it mean that the "color brown" is a trademark of someone? Does it refer specifically to the brown in the logo's arrangement? And if so, anyone that uses that same color is subject to trademark infringement?


texts:
The GDPR does not apply to the processing of personal data that is "by a natural person in the course of a purely personal or household activity".  I cannot find a description of "personal" that seems to apply here, this one would seem to include activity that an individual performed as part of their role in a company.  The google answer would seem to include any activity that was not concerning my career or public life.
If I personally feel strongly about an issue, I may want to post multiple politicians' views on the issue on the web.  This could include the politician's name and some sort of publicly available contact details such as twitter handle or official email address.  If I were a company, GDPR would apply.  However, as this is being done by a natural person, as part of an activity that has no commercial component, which could be described as "of or concerning my private life, relationships, and emotions rather than my career or public life", would the GDPR apply?
This question broaches this issue, but is focused on the personal data of the web site users.  Assume there is no collection of user data, it is published as a static html page with no cookies or logging, and no adverts or donations.  This question is more applicable, and it seems to say that "what matters is whether your activity is professional/commercial", which would apply in this case.


texts: Can TV channels registered in one language run shows in another?

texts: In India, TV channels are registered with the government and have to obtain permission before they can air. Can a channel which is registered as an English channel run programme in Hindi or any other language?


texts:
I was given an opportunity to receive a $1,000.00 bonus for opening a bank account; however, the bank claims that they will "revert the bonus" if the account is closed within six months.

The bank charges $25 a month for a balance under $5,000.00 ... so, assuming I open the bank just for the bonus, and wait the six months without touching the money, I'll still have $850.00.

At that point the bank should NOT charge me for closing the account and taking the free money out.

I, however, don't trust them one bit and would prefer if they can put it in writing and/or sign a contract stating that they will definitely not charge me for closing the account after six months.

My question is ... is this viable/legal? Thanks.


texts: How are social networks regarded in the United States (public vs. private space)?

texts:
Several years ago the Supreme Court in Romania ruled that social networks (Facebook is the most prevalent in Romania) are public space (source).

  If you live in Romania, your Facebook page is now considered public
  space. The recent ruling by Romania's supreme court is the first of
  its kind in Romania, where there are over 7 million Facebook users.

  Romania's High Court of Cassation and Justice (HCCJ) has recently
  affirmed a lower court's decision that personal Facebook pages are
  considered public space, even if they are accessible to only a small
  group of friends.

  This decision has now been affirmed by the HCCJ on appeal, meaning the
  determination that Facebook pages are public space is now the legal
  reality in Romania.

Reducing the scope to political life, from a layman's perspective treating social networks as public space seems natural, as one could easily see that most news mix information from live/recorded interviews with information from public posts of political figures on Facebook.

However, according to this article treating social networks as public space is not trivial because owners are private companies which can be pressured by some governments to partially censor some content:

  Social media has, in many ways, taken on the role of the public
  sphere, [...] the online social spaces standing in for the public sphere are private ones, owned by billionaires and shareholders. Nevertheless, we treat
  them as public spaces.

  The trouble with private companies controlling our speech is that they
  are subject not only to shareholders, but also to governments. [...] these
  companies often face an unfortunate choice: to avoid being blocked by
  a government’s censorship apparatus, they must sometimes agree to take
  down content, at least in a given country.

I have looked for a source aggregating how western countries treat social networks, but could not find one. To narrow down question scope, I am interested in how it works in US.

Question: how are social networks treated in the United States from the public vs. private space perspective?


texts: When can a defendant in a criminal trial introduce evidence?

texts:
I was watching a criminal speeding trial in Texas a few weeks ago. The defendant was acting pro se. A police dash-cam video apparently existed of the incident and the defendant was in possession of it.

The prosecution did not want the police video introduced as evidence. The defendant attempted to introduce it after the prosecution rested and the officer was on the stand. He was asking that the video be played so that the officer could testify as to whether it was his video or not.

But the judge ruled it could not be admitted even before showing it. I remember the prosecutor argued it wasn't relevant. But the video was not shown either in front of the jury nor did the judge even ask the jury to leave in order to show it.

Is that really common? I find it incredible that this video wouldn't be relevant. I also find it weird that the prosecution wouldn't want it admitted being that the defendant must have thought it to be exculpatory. The defendant seemed to be trying to lay foundation and the prosecutors objections did not include failure to lay foundation.


texts: Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and Different Laws per State?

texts:
Questions

I was wondering if filing for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and any
applicable rules and regulations if any of these will vary from state to state?
In terms of assets, paper form procedure wise, and what is or is not
applicable depends on the state you're in or if it's all standard
nationally regardless?

Context

For example, to base the above two questions; if I have an FHA mortgage, a SEP IRA, maybe a car or two I own that are paid off, will what I will lose or have to turn over vary depending on my state.

Billionaires Can Do It

I know Donald Trump has filed for bankruptcy and time or two and still has a billionaire net worth—I'm just trying to survive for my kids and family and had an unfortunate event.

Long Term Plan

The plan is to seek legal counsel but thought I'd ask a basic question here first to see if anyone can bring clarity to the topic?


texts:
A recent answer had this law quote

  shall not be liable for damages in any action brought in a Federal or State court

and this explanation

  they cannot be sued over their actions

I posted a comment

  This statement is not accurate "they cannot be sued over their actions" they can be sued, anyone can be sued for anything in the US, per the law they can not be found "liable for damage" not the same thing.

Then I went looking for reference that supports my comment, and did not find one.

Can I be sued if if the law says I am not liable?


texts: Can I make a game with the N64 SDK legally?

texts:
Can I legally create a game with the Nintendo 64 SDK? I have seen several SDKs on the internet which are verified to be the real deal.

My next question is if I can distribute it legally. I was going to give Nintendo a call to ask if I can develop for a console that is older than I am. Should I do this? I do not want to get sued.


texts: What is the difference between thinking auto insurance claim with or without a lawyer?

texts:
When in an accident, i contacted my insurance company to start a claim. My general understanding that if I'll take lawyer to pursue the other insurance company, any settlement would be split between the customer, the lawyer, and the medical care provider.

This one specific lawyer only files the claims, but does not do any litigations if the insurance company pushes back. What does this lawyer actually do? Can i do it myself?

USA, MA.


texts:
I believe I have a good understanding of the meaning and implications of using the words "without prejudice" in a document which you may want to show in court.

To date, when I have offered a settlement it has always been on a separate document which I make mention of in my notice,  however I now find myself dealing with a person who does not have a good grasp of English. I need to send them a notice (while trying not to upset them) and am trying to keep things as simple as possible as a result.

What would the likely implication to the admissibility of writing a letter, and then adding a paragraph to the end - in brackets, starting with the words "(Without prejudice, ...) " followed by things I'm willing to do to help them be?

The issue I'm trying to resolve is that a tenant is in breach of an agreement because of how and where they are dumping inorganic waste. I simply want it removed, although doing this will be a big job for the tenant - I'm quite happy for the tenant to use my tractor to help move the waste and to arrange extra empties of my tip for him, but don't want this to be construed as changing our agreement or binding me to continue to allow him to use my tip in the future.


texts: May a person accept and keep bribes so long as they act lawfully?

texts:
This isn't a situation I'm in, but rather something I'm curious about.

If a private person (outside of any position of authority) is bribed to keep an illegal act they witnessed secret, but chooses to report the crime to the police regardless, is that person able to keep the bribe?

I know the contract is compromised by the criminal element, but does that negate the criminal portion of the agreement (letting the witness keep the bribe), negate the entire contract (requiring the bribe be returned to the criminal) or cause another outcome (bribe is surrendered to the state)?

Likewise, if the criminal informs police that they bribed the witness in exchange for silence, even though the witness reported the crime anyway and cooperated fully, is the witness thereby guilty of any crimes themselves?


texts: How much can I quote from an academic book for my lecture notes?

texts:
I'm writing lecture notes for one of my exams, both as a process to learn the subject well and to be able to share it with other students later. The official lecture notes are just slides and are really vague, would be/is of no help for anybody who didn't attend the classes (like me).

There is a huge book that describes many things I'd need to know for the exam. I'd like to know how much I could quote from the original book for my the lecture notes that I'd later make available online. I would not sell my lecture notes. I'd, of course, cite everything to the best of my knowledge.

I'd like to share the final PDF with other students after I finished the university (in a couple of months). I even thought about sharing the TeX source with the professor, so he (or his students in the future) can keep the lecture notes up to date.

The original books are +2K pages, my work would be around 30-50 pages, tops, with many other sources, if that makes a difference.


texts: My co-borrower wants her name removed from a 5 year mortgage contract

texts:
Me and my sister in law bought a house. We asked her help to acquire the loan.  She signed the mortgage loan for a 5 year contract, and we got the house.  Me and my wife paid all the expenses and down payment for the house, my sister in law never gave a single cent for acquiring the house.

The title stated she has 5% share and 95% for me. We all live in the same house and she is paying me 600 a month because she came to live with us with her two kids and with the 600 everything is inclusive down to utilities.

Something went wrong and now she wants her name out of the mortgage and she is claiming her 5% share.  Me and my wife are paying the mortgage and never had any default, we pay property taxes, insurance and all the utilities, my wife maintains the house and we renovated the house significantly without any help from her.

Do I have the right to refuse her demand to remove her name since I believe I cannot stand alone yet on the mortgage?


texts: As in the case of the 23rd July 2017 incident in which an Israeli security guard killed 2 Jordanians outside of Israel's embassy to Jordan, if the guard has diplomatic immunity, does that mean he can "kill whomever" and never get prosecuted?