texts: Can a company legally block access to their public servers for a specific program?

texts:
There are numerous modded Minecraft "launchers". For example: https://www.technicpack.net, https://www.atlauncher.com, https://www.feed-the-beast.com

All of these launchers contain modded content for Minecraft, which is a proprietary game owned by Mojang. They circumvent the copyright and license by never actually distributing any part of the game themselves, but having the launcher (which is on the players computer) download the original files from the official source.

Could Minecraft modify their license to explicitly deny the use of their game through modded launchers such as these?

Practically, there is no maintainable way to enforce this. It's impossible to filter requests coming from a specific client unless the client reveals something which that would prompt the server to do so.

Legally however, is this enforceable? Can a company such as Mojang change their license and immediately make all this existing software illegal? What if these launchers published the open sourced code for their applications and a regular player compiles it and uses it to download Minecraft. Would that violate the license?

Technically all these launchers are doing is acting as an extremely specialized web browser for the user to download the game from its official source. I feel like it would be the equivalent of Mojang saying "You're not allowed to download our game with Google Chrome from now on!", and also making no changes to their website to prevent that.


texts: Is it copyright infringement to transcribe text from a math textbook and show it to people

texts:
If I take a math textbook and transcribe some of its text to obtain a pdf copy, is this copyright infringement?
Would I be able to show my transcribed pdf copy to other people or post it online?
Actually when I read a book I create a pdf document that has notes on what I read.  The first step is usually to transcribe the text.  Afterwards I will modify the text to aid my understanding of the content.  I will then use the pdf document as a reference so that I don't have to rely on the book itself.   It is easier to recall and remember what I read by reading the notes than reading the original book.  I'm essentially replacing the book with my new version.  I was wondering if sharing the notes with someone would be problematic.


texts:
I have received an NDA so that I can become part of a software project as a developer. Most of the clauses seems reasonable except for two parts that I'm slightly worried about. Could you give an example of something that would breach each clause? I have no idea what these clauses mean, practically speaking.
1.
Non-Solicitation

The Recipient, its affiliates, subsidiaries and representatives will
not, from the date of this agreement until day of, December 31, 2025,
directly or indirectly solicit for employment or employ any person who
is now employed or retained by the Information Provider or any
affiliate of the Information Provider without the prior written
consent of the Information Provider.

2025 seems like a long time, is this a standard practice in these kinds of agreements? It seems that a lot of the clauses of a similar nature are expressed in months, not years (nearly 10 in this case).
2.
Non-Competition

Other than with the express written consent of the Information Provider, which consent may not be unreasonably withheld, the Recipient will not, from the date of this Agreement until day of ____ be directly or indirectly involved with a business which is in direct competition with the business lines of the Information Provider that are the subject of this Agreement.

From the date of this Agreement until day of ____ the Recipient will not divert or attempt to divert from the Information Provider any business the Information Provider had enjoyed, solicited, or attempted to solicit, from their customers, at the time the parties entered into this Agreement.

It worries me to be signing a contract which doesn't have dates explicitly outlined. Is this a valid concern in this case? If it is, how should I respond in terms of possible modifications?


texts: How does Theft Act 1968 s 4 exclude trade secrets?

texts:
Information

Information is not property. In Oxford v Moss10 a civil engineering student copied an examination
paper and then returned it.11 The Court of Appeal quashed a conviction for theft as
confidential information cannot be stolen.12 The protection of confidential information is
found in civil law where injunctions can be obtained to prevent its revelation. It should be
noted that the Computer Misuse Act 1990 creates special offences which deal with people
accessing confidential information held on computers. →1 (p.558)

10 (1979) 68 Cr App R 183 (CA).
11Do not get any ideas!
12Law Commission Consultation Paper No. 150 (1997) suggested the creation of an offence of disclosing trade secrets.

I quote from the PDF mooted at footnote 12 above.

1.4 At present the criminal law gives no specific protection to trade secrets. In
particular, trade secrets cannot, in law, be stolen: they do not constitute “property”
for the purpose of the Theft Act 1968,11 section 1 of which defines the offence of
theft as the dishonest appropriation of property belonging to another with the
intention of permanently depriving the other of it.

11 Notwithstanding that the Act defines property as including “money and all other property,
real or personal, including things in action and other intangible property”: s 4(1). By
contrast, a patent or an application for a patent is personal property (Patents Act 1977,
s 30(1)) and so capable of being stolen.

s 4 is too long  to quote here. This paper doesn't explain how it excludes trade secrets?


texts:
I bought this very expensive MapInfo license (>1500$), now I'm not using this software very much and want to sell my license online.
Can I just sell it or do I need their consent?
Also, if it's still in maintenance, would the buyer enjoy the maintenance like warranty on a car?

The T&C they have say nothing about this subject. I live in the UK.


texts: Is use of names and insignias of disbanded British military units from WW2 allowed in a commercial video game?

texts:
I wish to make a commercial PC video game based on the British commando units from 1940s that have been disbanded in 1946.
The unit is "No.3 commando".
Is the use of names like no.3 and commando permitted in the name and other text in a video game? Same goes for insignia.
In case it requires special permission, which institution should I contact to seek the said permission, since I'm not a UK citizen?
I have heard about crown copyright that expires after 50 years but haven't been able to find enough information pertaining to commercial uses.
Just for reference, an existing game that uses such names and markings is "commandos behind enemy lines."


texts: Is a Receipt From the DMV Legal Proof of Purchase?

texts:
I recently purchased a used car and transfered the title at a licensing center with the previous owner.  I paid for the taxes,tabs, and plates, received a few dollars back in change (I was surprised, expecting to pay more on my card), and asked the clerk if she had in fact received the correct amount of money.  She said yes.  I was handed a copy of my receipt and title saying clearly that I paid the full amount.

I just recently received a letter from the licensing center which said "the correct amount was not collected from you" and "You will need to return back into our office and pay an additional $100.00." and basically that my title transfer will be delayed until I pay it.

As far as I understand, I have a receipt which is proof that I paid the full amount and the transaction was finalized.  I am unsure if this is a scam or not.  I want to mail them back a copy of my receipt and say "You gave me this receipt as a proof of purchase.  I need proof that I didn't pay the full amount." or something similar.

Basically, what are my rights here?  Is this receipt proof of purchase?  Are they really allowed to just deny my title transfer even though they gave me a receipt and stamped my receipt or title with an official mark of transfer?

Edit:
This is in the state of Minnesota.


texts: Can a company legally disable a product on the basis it was acquired fraudulently?

texts:
I recently bought a product on eBay, that turned out to have been directly bought from the manufacturer with stolen credit card info.
A couple months after the purchase, the hardware, which "calls home" on startup, started displaying a message that read "product disabled as identified as potentially stolen".

I just checked the terms of sale:

  ANTI-FRAUD
  ...
  XXX reserves the right to make contact using details provided, and lock both XXX accounts and hardware.

Is this even legal ?
This is really the question I'm asking (can't be too specific on stackexchange), but I'd like to provide more context with respect of my own case:

The company failed to implement antifraud protection on their website which is often just one optional line of code away (i'm a payment systems programmer). The company accepts payments from Visa, MasterCard, AmericanExpress and Paypal. They all propose anti-fraud filters and offer a zero-liability to the card owner in case of theft. This means the merchant (which turns out to be the company as well in this case) is fully responsible for handling the chargeback the financial institution imposes on the transaction (even if the goods have been sent). In other words (correct me if I'm wrong), the law consider the loss is the value of the goods sent, i.e. that it is not money theft per se, but theft of goods.
Disabling the product seems to me like a way to escape their responsibility.

Also, for reasons that are too long to explain, I sent back the disabled product to get a refund (was promised so), but now the company, which probably did not want to accept a stolen product to refund/repair/re-enable it but did so in the confusion of its shitty many-people-for-one-request kind of support is just silent and I'm still waiting for my refund.

What kind of specific threats can I do to force them to perform this refund ?
To me the ownership situation (they now own the product they disabled) shows that the theft has factually been transferred onto me, for an error they committed and that I would not have done (it's my job).

What kind of offices/chamber of commerce should I threaten them to reach out to, knowing the company is in Australia and I'm European customer.


texts: Why would you wait for a lawyer before talking with the police if you're innocent?

texts:
Let's say you were arrested and detained for a crime that you didn't commit. The police/detective starts questioning you but before they get anywhere, that old saying of,

  I want to speak with my lawyer

pops into your head.

If you've not committed a crime, why wait for a lawyer before answering things like where you were, who you were with, etc? Doesn't that just make you more suspicious?


texts: If Google wins Google v. Oracle America then would creating API compatible software clones be legal?

texts:
As of this writing, the Google v. Oracle America case over some of the Java APIs is set for argument on Wednesday, October 7, 2020 in the US Supreme court. If Google wins the case will that mean that it will be legal to make API compatible clones of software? That is, would the creation of an API compatible clone of a different developer platform, say a popular game engine such as the Unity game engine, be legal?
I'm imagining someone creating a platform where programs originally written against one platform, could be easily ported to a different platform in a similar manner that programs that only relied on the Java APIs Google re-implemented could be easily ported to Android. One could imagine giving developers a better platform licensing deal, (maybe even making the new platform open-source,) or providing other incentives to switch to the new platform.
If Google wins the case, do we know whether or not examples like this one would definitely be affected, or, definitely would need further legislation? Or would it depend on exactly how the decision is reached?


texts: What would happen to a minor who was blackmailed into robbing a bank and killing a man?

texts:
An episode of Black Mirror Season 3 Episode 3, Shut Up and Dance, presents what seems like an interesting legal scenario, at least to me (NAL).

A kid's computer gets a virus. Let's say he's 16. Someone records him masturbating to child porn via his webcam secretly, then blackmails him into going to a location. At the location he's given a cake, and told to bring it to another location, where another blackmailed accomplice joins him and they're told to go to another location where they find a bank.

I'm explaining this in order in case the vagueness of each instruction and timing is pertinent legally to the charges. As a side question, I'd be interested to know if these details, such as the way he originally didn't plan to rob a bank or kill someone, but each thing developed in a vicious cycle, would affect the charges.

They're then told to look inside the cake where they find a gun. The boy is told to rob the bank at gunpoint, he does it, and then leaves with the cash in the drawer.

Then they get to a drop point, the kid's told to bring the money out into a secluded patch of woods, where he finds another blackmailed man, and they're both instructed to fight to the death. The boy tries to shoot himself, but the gun isnt loaded, kills the man (after trying to run, so this actually appears to be in self defense), walks away and is soon chased down by cops after his location is reported by the blackmailers (who didnt care about the money) with the money on his person, and his masturbation video to child porn is released to the public also.

With the blackmail and not being an adult, it seems like an interesting legal scenario. What charges might this kid face? I live in the US, so I'm really interested in an answer for any state in the US, but the episode actually takes place in the UK, so an answer that covers UK law would be interesting as well!


texts:
Some phones have a duress button, e.g. pressing the power button rapidly five times will lock the device and disable less secure methods of unlocking it such as fingerprints and face unlock.

Another example would be using a reset button to wipe encryption keys from memory or hide what you were doing with the device at that moment.

Say you did this when you had reason to think you might be arrested, or after being arrested, would it be a crime? Is changing the state of something in this way destruction of evidence, for example?


texts: What is the status of using mens rea as a defense in this manner in Canada or similar jurisdictions?

texts:
In Canadian man found not guilty of raping wife, the prosecution of a rapist in Ontario, Canada failed due to mens rea because it wasn't proved that the man knew his behaviour was illegal. Not because he didn't know that the sex was not consensual, just that he thought non-consensual sex was legal (it has been in a wide variety of jurisdictions belonging to many different cultures, and still is in others).

Has such a defense been used before, either in Canada, or other countries with a similar legal system, such as the UK or Australia, for sex without consent? If so, have courts decided whether or not it is a valid defense, and if it has been ruled a valid defense, have such cases been appealed?

The section on mens rea in the Wikipedia article "Laws regarding rape" only talks about ignorance about whether the sex was consensual. The section Ignorance of the law and mens rea gives as an example someone making a mistake with their taxes, which seems fairly different to the scenario discussed here.


texts: How far does liability extend in a civil conspiracy?

texts:
Acme LLC makes widgets.  Bob is a member of Acme.
Bob tries to take Acme's widget maker, thinking he can operate the machine himself, but breaks it in the process.  Of course Bob has also violated his covenants as a member of Acme.  Acme sues Bob and obtains a money judgment against Bob for damages – to the machine, to Acme's business, and for the costs of litigation.  But Bob is as poor as he is stupid, so Acme can't collect on the judgment.
Acme had a contract with Charlie to supply widgets.  In the course of suing Bob, Acme discovers that just prior to Bob's perfidy Charlie had entered an agreement to buy widgets directly from Bob, instead of from Acme.  Charlie knew that Bob could only supply widgets by taking the widget maker from Acme.
In this scenario it seems like Charlie and Bob have committed some sort of tortious conspiracy.  What are the correct legal terms?  I think "tortious interference" and/or "tortious inducement," but not sure.
Charlie has plenty of money.  In this scenario is Charlie liable for any of the damages that Acme was awarded against Bob?  If so, on what common law basis?


texts: What documents and testimony establish identity and what happens if they're lost?

texts:
Birth certificates, social security cards, and driver's licenses identify a person, but what happens if these are all lost?

Say a homeless person loses all of their documents in the shuffle, what could they do to recover them?  Even further, if this person has no family or work colleagues who will vouch for them, is it possible that their identity is lost forever?  Can a person lose their citizenship in this manner?  Could they be arrested or even deported?


texts:
I've seen some pretty intense contracts employees must sign before starting work for a company. Some have very vague statements like "agree to abide by our code of ethics". My question is when can a company sue or take legal action against an employee, that goes beyond firing them? For example if an employee circumvents the firewall (e.g. with a proxy) and views pornography at work and gets caught, can they be suede for it?

I used to work for a fortune 50 company and they had a list of software that you can install, for example you weren't allowed to install software made by competitors or if the source code is in dispute. If I had accidentally installed something that wasn't on this list on my work computer, could I be sued?


texts:
I'm posting here, because I'd like to do something but I'm concerned about the legal aspect of it.

A lot of websites propose to sell t-shirts, goodies, etc. based on your designs. I'd like to sell t-shirts with the direwolve emblem of the "House Stark" in Game of Thrones, and of course, I've been immediately asking myself if HBO which produces the serie actually had some copyright on that emblem. I've searched a lot, but didn't found anything.

I also saw this video, where a girl who used a simple sentence from the serie was threatened to be sued, so you get my point : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4032504/Game-Thrones-threatens-SUE-autistic-schoolgirl-13-girl-used-phrase-winter-coming-artwork-competition.html

Of course I do not intend to use some copyrighted content, so that's why I'm asking, but how to know what can be used freely ? what sentence ? what sigil ? For example can a sentence as "The North Remembers" be copyrighted if there's no image under it ?

Thanks for all your legal advices !


texts: Does being Public Domain absolve the author/creator of liability?

texts:
Specifically, I wonder if a programmer publishes some of her own original source code with a clear intention of it being in the public domain rather than under any specific license, can she be held liable for any problems/trouble arising from others’ use of that source code?

I have read of advice saying that a programmer is better off legally to always specify a license which explicitly denies responsibility for its use rather than let the source code fall into the public domain. But I have not been able to find any details or specific cases regarding this question.

The Wikipedia articles on Public domain and Public domain software make no mention of liability.


texts: How far can the meanings of commonly used words be redefined by a legislature?

texts:
Most people understand "operating a motor vehicle" as driving, until they are arrested for DUI while sleeping off in their turned off car.
Most people understand "loaded weapon" as a gun with bullets in it, until they are charged in NYC with possession of a loaded firearm despite having the gun and the bullets in separate locked containers.
How far can such redefinitions of common words divert from the common usage?


texts: Is it legal to use movie frames for creating gifs and using it in mobile apps

texts:
I am working on a project that is using gifs we created from movie frame/scene for fun and interaction. For example, I am using multiple gifs to make a single scene. My gifs feature movie actors and famous scene from different movies. So is it come under fair usage? If not then what can I do to bring it under the legal umbrella?

We are planing to commercially sell these gif packs in form of inapp purchases.


texts: Can non-US citizens own equity in US companies?

texts: Can a non-US citizen who has never been to the US own equity in a company that is only incorporated in the US?


texts:
If a service provider, such as a plumber, does a job incorrectly that directly results in extensive damage to your property, are they liable for the damages?

New Mexico, US


texts: Do time boundaries apply to a handicap parking sign?

texts:
Given the sign above here is the scenario: street parking space, no indicating blue or otherwise markings on the street, it's 7pm, and I'm not handicapped, can I park here?

In other words should this be read: "handicapped parking and 90min parking from 6a-6p..." OR could it reasonably be read "from 6a-6p this is handicapped and 90min parking"

And other than the "you're healthy can't you just park elsewhere?" And "I wouldn't risk parking there" (most people I ask are in the latter) I'm interested if anyone has any more official experience with this that they can point to. Not necessarily looking for a specific city, but I did see this in Kalamazoo, Mi.

Also I'm not trying to fight a ticket or anything but saw this sign and my college logic classes started kicking in...

Thanks for easing my curiosity!


texts: Does Marcus J Ball have a realistic case against the Judges?

texts:
Since the extensive lying in the Brexit Referendum Marcus J Ball has been trying to prosecute Boris Johnson for the offense of Misconduct in Public Office.

The case was initially successful, however when it reached the High Court it was shut down in what (at least from the outside) seemed like a very arbitrary and hasty fashion.

Mr Ball has since been investigating the circumstances and has produced evidence that at least to a non-legal-person seems fairly damning and has raised a formal Judicial Conduct Complaint.

News article:
https://metro.co.uk/2019/12/20/judges-brexit-bus-legal-case-face-complaint-links-boris-johnson-11939848/

Video explainer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtB42gP4lCg

The complaint:
https://uploads.strikinglycdn.com/files/f84aa457-0343-40e6-9edb-281205bb5f89/Marcus%20J%20Ball%20JCIO%20complaint%20SUPPERSTONE%20RAFFERTY.pdf

The main points of complaint:

Judge 1:

Previously worked for Johnson (and received substantial sums of money) - including during the time period where one of the offenses took place
Is a member of the same organisation "The Middle Temple"
Is a member of the same private social club "The Garrick Club" along with the accused's father and multiple close political allies of Johnson. Many of whom are also involved in the original misconduct, if not direct targets of this private prosecution.

Judge 2:

Her husband works for a close ally of Johnson who is accused of the same offence
Her Husband is a member of the same "Garrick Club" along with the accused.
Is a member of the Privy Council along with both Johnson and many close allies of Johnson.

From the perspective of a non-lawyer this seems to stink. If I went to court and found out that the judge was previously in the employ of the other party, was a member of the same exclusive clubs, and members of the same committees I would not be happy. Even if no actual bias applied the appearance of it seems very strong here.

But how strong is the complaint in actual legal terms? Does it have any realistic prospect of getting anywhere and do the judges involved actually have a case to answer or is the complaint likely to just be summarily thrown out?


texts: What legal protections exist for people entering into polyamorous relationships in the United States?

texts:
Polyamorous relationships exist when at least one partner in a relationship has additional partners. Consider the following hypothetical arrangement:

Person A is married to Person B.
Person B has a romantic relationship with Person C.
Person C is married to Person D.
People C and D have other partners. (They are omitted in the rest of the question for brevity).

Some states have laws against these kinds of relationships. As an example from the web, Kansas law says:

Adultery. (a) Adultery is engaging in sexual intercourse or sodomy with a person who is not married to the offender if:
(1) The offender is married; or
(2) the offender is not married and knows that the other person involved in the act is married.
(b) Adultery is a class C misdemeanor.
(Source: KSA 21-5511)

Under that law, it would seem that People B and C are likely committing adultery.
Partners in this kind of relationship are subject to certain legal risks. For example, should the relationship between C and D sour, B may be accused of adultery.
Is there any legal "thing" that can help people in polyamorous relationships protect themselves from legal risks arising from their relationships? For example, could they construct a contract or MOU which outlines their mutual expectations that they will have other partners?


texts: What's the reason for all of the hedges and walls that I saw when I was in Ireland?

texts: I was in Ireland last month near the northern part of the Republic of Ireland.  100% of all properties were bordered by either a nice hedge or a wall of some form or another.  Even the big fields had a thicket surrounding each one.  Is there a land surveying type of law that establishes this or is the reason for this purely non-legal?


texts: Andrew Cuomo suing over the 2018 tax plan

texts:
Andrew Cuomo (Governor of New York) is planning on suing over the 2018 tax plan, claiming it to be unconstitutional: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/01/03/cuomo-new-york-sue-over-federal-tax-law/1001655001/

It sounds like the biggest complaint he has is the changes to the state and local tax deductions. This affects states like NY with high state taxes more than other states and might cause high earning people to leave the state.

Given that constitutionally congress has the power to levy taxes, does the claim that it is unconstitutional to not have a state and local tax deduction have any merit at all?


texts: Does making a mobile app using textures/content from a video game violate copyright?

texts:
I would like to make an Android app which replicates a puzzle board game played as a small side feature within a popular action video game.

Am I allowed to create such an Android game with the same rules as the original game and publish it to the Google Play Store?
If so, am I allowed to use the same texture graphics from the original game?
I plan on making this app free to download anyway. However I'm curious, is it necessary to make it free to avoid copyright infringements? But what if the app has in-game ads which generate income?


texts:
This questions covers the law and tech.
If I delete my account at Facebook or any company with a website service, can I ask to be provided proof of data having been deleted in some form provided by the company?

Could I send a letter asking for some official receipt of data deletion.

Any suggestions for going about such a request?  Read the TOS/EULA I suppose?

I've worked in IT, there are many logs and databases where data could just sit around.  Typically accounts would be removed after 30 days or so.

Is there any legal standing to ask for proof?

Or is this all new and uncharted areas of tech and law?


texts: Can the owner of a national trademark oppose the application of a trademark in another country when both are in the EU?

texts:
I've got a wordmark in an EU country, which is the name of my company. Someone else applied a logo as a figurative mark which contains their company name, in another EU country. Their company name is exactly the same as mine.
Both marks are national trademarks.
Both companies have exactly the same activities.
They applied for 3 of the same classes and one other.
I've spend hours on euipo to find an answer but wasn't able to find it.
Can I oppose their trademark even though mine and theirs are only national trademarks?


texts: If someone screenshots a photo you posted to social media and reposts it is that against any laws?

texts:
The account centers around taking screenshots of people’s photos and pairing them with another person as a "couple".
I don’t know about the other pictures but mine did not have consent.
This is on Instagram.
I only found out when a friend texted me.
I asked twice that it be taken down and both times I was refused.


texts: What law is broken when i give out someones ssn?

texts:
Say I find someone's  ssn. Then I go around sharing it with everyone  and all their personal info.

Am I committing identity theft? I am not directly using their identity. I am not directly benefiting from this either. Besides civil damages what law is broken?


texts: Does the failure to honour an express refusal invalidate prior claims of having implied consent?

texts:
Suppose a local health district (LHD) has used a patient's electronic medical record (eMR) for training purposes. Upon learning that they have done this, the patient is displeased and tells them so. The LHD responds, "we had implied consent", and the patient begrudgingly accepts.

However, let us now suppose that the patient realises, "hey, express refusals always override claims of implied consent." So he prepares an express refusal to consent to the use of his health records for training purposes and delivers it to the LHD.

The express refusal notice is lawful. However, let us suppose that the patient learns that the LHD has continued to use his medical records for training purposes, meaning they have failed to honour the patient's stated wishes.

Now, to avoid ambiguity about what has happened:

The express refusal notice is accepted as valid and lawful by the LHD
The reason why the LHD is unable to stop using the is due to technical limitations of the eMR system
This is the first time any patient has ever withdrawn consent -- it has to do with a particular type of training use that the patient knows is occurring but the public at large is unaware of it.
The LHD could have cancelled training if they wanted to. Or bused people to another LHD for training. Or designed a system that did not have this limitation. Or designed a system that did not require the use of patient records.

Am I correct in arguing that the LHD never really had implied consent to begin with? In other words, does the failure to honour the express refusal inform us about the legitimacy of prior claims of implied consent?

I believe that it does. This is my argumentation:

  The LHD never had implied consent, because it never had any
  intention of honouring any expression of autonomy that was orthogonal
  to its own self-interest. In effect, when the LHD started using the
  patient's health records for eMR training, it did so hoping that
  nobody would ever work out that they could exercise their autonomy and
  refuse to consent to such uses.

  The inability of the LHD to honour the express refusal
  invalidates any claim that it ever had implied consent to begin with.
  What it has done is no different to someone taking a book from my
  bookshelf without asking, then claiming it was borrowed and not
  stolen, but then failing to return it when I ask for it back.

  The
  LHD never had implied consent to use the patient's health records
  for eMR training, nor did it ever have implied consent to use the
  records of any other person for training.

Thoughts?


texts: Is a pardon ("Begnadigung") under German law possible before a final court sentence?

texts:
I just read that under US law, the US president may pardon a person even before they have been sentenced, and even before they have been accused (see e.g.  Ex Parte Garland, 1866). .
I was curious about the legal situation in Germany. The German Basic Law (Grundgesetz), Article 60 says:

(2) He (the Federal President) shall exercise the power to pardon offenders on behalf of the
Federation in individual cases.

However, I could not find any law that specifies what exactly is covered by the "power to pardon".
So my question:
Can a pardon under Article 60 be issued before the offender has been sentenced?

I did find an article by the Legal Service of the Bundestag, which says:

Unter„Begnadigung“  wird  eine  Maßnahme  verstanden,  mit  der  eine
rechtskräftige  Entschei-dung beseitigt oder gemildert wird.

My translation:

"Pardon" refers to a measure which removes or mitigates a legally binding decision.

Das Begnadigungsrecht des Bundespräsidenten, Anja Eiardt/Sarab Borhanian, 2007
So it seems to be accepted that a pardon is only possible after sentencing - but what is this based on? Is there some special law?


texts: "Delete Account" button and GDPR related request by a user to delete his data

texts:
Assuming I provide something like a "Delete Account" button on my webpage and/or App, which, after pressed by the user, deletes all his data, and I point this out in my privacy policy. If such a button is accessible after login, there is no requirement for any user identification process which would simplify things.
Now assuming a GDPR related request by a user to delete his data, do I have to do this, or can I ask the user to do it by himself (by pressing the Delete-button), or can I ignore the request because the user agreed to the privacy policy and should be aware of the button?


texts: What is the procedure to get answer from police related to a case?

texts:
My Father was murdered by a bullet to the head using Desi katta (country-made gun). He was a business man. I saw this all this in front of my eyes. The reason he was murdered was a property dispute.

I filed a FIR. I saw the person who committed the crime and know who he is. So the FIR was filled along with the name of the primary culprit.

The culprit is a person who is very much involved in illegal activities and all his money is black money.  As soon as he committed this crime he went on the run. Police are searching for him. 3 months are already over and the police haven't found him. But the thing is his businesses are running fine. He is constantly in touch of his people (workers and all). He is constantly sending letters to police in which he tries to proves his innocence.

Police told us that they are with us and they will help and they will catch him soon. But instead of catching him, police officials are going to verify the evidences which he is sending in order to prove that he was not present at the spot where the crime was committed(As I was present there and I had seen him and the shooter). What I think is, he is out there forging and creating fake evidences and police is with him. Therefore, I want to know
What legal procedures can I use to question the Inspecting Officer about the case and their efforts?


texts: Can Native Americans vote in national elections if they live on a reservation?

texts: Native American reservations are not states, and - unlike Washington, D.C. - weren’t given any representation by a Constitutional amendment. So Native Americans who belong to a tribe and live on a reservation can’t vote in national elections, can they?


texts: Source code licenses: can I append together source code from different sources if I include all licenses?

texts:
I'm putting together a "library of libraries" for the C++ programming language. Each library is a collection of one or more text files of source code, plus a text file containing the license.
Rather than require the users of my "library of libraries" to download and import each individual library into their project, I'd prefer to put all the different libraries together into single massive text file.
This is not a modification of the source code, since the license covers the code, not the text file itself (and in most cases modification is allowed, but I'd like to avoid it altogether just in case.) I'm thinking I can just insert the licenses directly into the source code as a comment (a 'comment' is a section ignored by the programming language where you can write anything.)
So what would start as:
Library 1
 - file1A.cpp  "1A code"
 - file1B.cpp  "1B code"
 - license1.txt  "1 license"
Library 2
 - file2A.cpp  "2A code"
 - file2B.cpp  "2B code"
 - license2.txt  "2 license"

Becomes
- library.cpp
   /* Notice: the following is subject to license1 */
   1A code
   1B code
   /* Notice: the following is subject to license2 */
   2A code
   2B code

All I've done is changed the delivery format, so this should be acceptable. Can you see any reason why it would not be?


texts: Is refusing to give free water in a business establishment illegal?

texts: I thought it was illegal to refuse free water to a patron, is this true in the United States? Does it vary from state to state?


texts: What does "for avoidance of doubt" mean in a contract?

texts:
I've seen this phrase added to various sentences in different contracts. A quick Google search also reveals that the phrase shows up in many Terms of Service or Terms of Use agreements.

There are some postings online that suggest this phrase is superfluous. For example:
http://www.adamsdrafting.com/for-the-avoidance-of-doubt/

Does the phrase "for the avoidance of doubt" have any legal meaning or any effect on the interpretation of a contract? Why is it added on some cases?


texts: Is loss prevention able to enter a dressing room while someone is changing?

texts:
I am a a fashion stylist in Los Angeles, CA. I often go to stores and shop for clients (and myself). Last year, I spent 100k at a Neiman Marcus.

Recently, a loss prevention person and an over zealous female salesperson entered my dressing room before I was finished trying on clothes. The male accused me of stealing, which I did not. Even with that, I attempted to make a $7500 purchase and they denied my purchase. I contacted the store manager. At first, she seemed shocked. Then she must have talked to someone, because she called me back and said, “loss prevention is allowed to enter dressing rooms”.

How can they get away with this? This is, at the least, defamation and at the most, bias. What do you think?


texts:
This question relates to images published in academic journals. I recently had two requests from doctoral students who want to use diagrams I published in their theses. In at least one case, probably both, I'm pretty sure I transferred copyright to the journal. Please ignore the fact that there are ways they could ask the journal for permission.

If I create a number of line drawings, create a diagram using these drawings in a particular layout with arrows etc, and then publish that and transfer copyright, are any rights to the original drawings transferred?

If not, and I created a similar figure using the same set of line drawings but different layout etc, would this count as a derivative of the published figure even though technically both derived from the same set of components (to which I still retain copyright)?

(One of the figures is here, for illustration)


texts: Are the Court of Appeal's points on forum non conveniens & arbitral seat choice still good law after the UKSC's decision in Enka v Chubb?

texts:
In Enka v Chubb [2020] EWCA Civ 574, Popplewell LJ found at para 61:

There is an express forum conveniens requirement in most cases of applications for permission to serve out of the jurisdiction: CPR 6.37(3) provides that the court will not give permission unless it is satisfied that England and Wales is the proper place in which to bring the claim. Arbitration claims, which include applications for anti-suit injunctions to restrain foreign proceedings brought in breach of an arbitration agreement, are governed by a different regime in Part 62. As already observed, one of the gateways for such jurisdiction is provided for in CPR 62.5(1)(c) where the seat of the arbitration is in England and Wales. But by contrast with the requirement in CPR 6.37(3), there is no requirement that England and Wales must be the proper place in which to bring the claim. This is because questions of forum conveniens do not arise when the court is exercising the curial jurisdiction which goes with the choice of England (or Wales) as the seat of the arbitration. It is true, as Mr Bailey emphasises, that the power to grant permission to serve out of the jurisdiction in CPR 62.5(1) is expressed in discretionary terms ("The Court may grant permission…"), but in cases where the gateway is the seat of the arbitration, that does not import forum conveniens as a relevant discretionary factor for the reasons I have explained. That is also the view of the editors of Merkin & Flannery on The Arbitration Act 1996 6th ed, at paragraph 44.12.5.1.4, which I prefer to that of the editors of Dicey Morris & Collins on The Conflict of Laws 15th ed at paragraph 16-046 who treat the question of forum conveniens as arising within the discretion under CPR62.5(1) in every case, but say that the forum conveniens requirement is likely to be satisfied where the seat of the arbitration is in England.

This finding, overturning the first instance judgment to the contrary, that the Civil Procedure Rules precluded applying forum non conveniens to choice of the arbitral seat, is quite significant.
However, the UKSC, when considering the same case ([2020] UKSC 38) completely sidestepped the forum non conveniens issues at first instance and appeal, upholding Popplewell LJ but with different reasoning.  In light of that, is this conclusion still good law? It was not expressly overturned, but was more or less ignored by the SC.


texts: What are my legal options when I don't have a physical address?

texts:
I have purchased some property on county land in Utah, United States.
The postal service doesn't service the area despite there being a decent number of people living permanently around my property. So I do not have a physical address. My neighbors get there mail "general delivery". Which I believe (and I can be mistaken) means they get it delivered to the nearest post office and they pick it up in person.
But I am wondering how other legal things will work without an address such as driver's license, bank accounts, taxes, credit cards, vehicle registration, etc. I don't believe a PO box works for those, am I wrong?
The property has a lot and parcel number that I could maybe use? But I feel like a lot of the things I mentioned above wouldn't accept something like that.
(Sorry I couldn't really find any other tags that made sense to me)


texts: Interpret the phrase “within 3 months of the said expiry”

texts:
The context associated with my question associated with interpreting the phrase “within 3 months of the said expiry” is as follows: The Lease reads "The Landlord hereby grants to the Tenant the option to purchase the rented premises upon expiry of the term, notice of exercising the said option to be given to the Landlord in writing within 3 months of the said expiry".

It was assumed by the Landlord that it would mean that notice be given by the Tenant 3 months prior to expiry of the lease rather than 3 months after expiry. What are you thoughts?

ps. This is relating to a commercial lease in the UK (region is NI)


texts: What does "Materially Non responsive" mean?

texts: A question is posed and an answer is supplied. If the response does not actually answer the question, is this what is meant by materially non-responsive?


texts: Defensively Suing Landlord in Small Claims

texts:
I have already moved out of the apartment in question, my landlord is not able to evict/harass me. I moved out early because the apartment became uninhabitable (flooding) prior to my already-scheduled move out date. The corporate landlord is playing hardball and is still trying to collect rent.
Can I sue to protect against them maligning me (for example, to credit agencies)? Is this possible in CA Small Claims court? http://www.lacourt.org/division/smallclaims/SC0011.aspx only lists examples of plaintiffs seeking monetary judgments.


texts: Host a public wiki website: how to make every contributors' content to be licensed under CC-SA automatically?

texts: I'm trying to host a wiki website which is similar to Wikipedia: all contents licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Besides putting a footnote at each page to explicitly declare the license, what and where should I put the legal language to inform that every contributor must contribute under this same license (and if they do contribute, they automatically agree with it)?


texts: Is it legal to post GIFs/videos of NFL plays online?

texts: On some blogs I see GIFs or videos of certain plays from NFL games. Is it legal to create these and post them online? You always hear the disclaimer on TV about using the footage, but I see this stuff all over the place.


texts: Is there a legal term for a natural person acting under the name of a company?

texts:
For example, if a post is made online under the name of a company, that post will be made under the name of the legal entity (company), but it had to be written by an actual natural person operating within that company.
Is there a legal term that describes this junction (a natural person acting on behalf of a company)? Is it simply "representation" or is there some more accurate term?


texts: Can my sister-in-law be barred from my parents' will?

texts: My sister-in-law is a horrible person, and I was wondering what would happen if my brother passed away after my parents' will was already executed. In the event my brother passed first, it's obvious I would be the sole heir. However, if my parents pass first and their will was distributed to me and my brother and then my brother passed after them, can my parents add a clause to their will to deny his wife any part of the estate? If he had children, I'm sure they'd want it to go to them. However, if he didn't have children, can a clause be added to have it go back to me? She's entitled to 1/2 their accumulated assets during the marriage, but is there any way to deny her anything related to my parents' will?


texts: What is the point of authority to sign clauses in contracts?

texts:
Example from https://www.lawinsider.com/clause/authority-to-sign

Authority to Sign. Each of the persons signing below on behalf of any
party hereby represents and warrants that s/he or it is signing with
full and complete authority to bind the party on whose behalf of whom
s/he or it is signing, to each and every term of this Agreement.

I once heard the point is that if the person signing doesn't have the authority to bind the company, then you can sue them instead of suing the company, which is presumably easier. Is this correct?
Wouldn't such a clause be desirable in any contract where someone is signing on behalf of a company?


texts: "Right to silence" for witnesses in Norwegian law

texts:
I know that the Norwegian Criminal Procedures Code §90 gives a suspect the right to refrain from testifying against themselves.

There's this Norwegian fictional story where a group of friends witness someone they know commit a crime. They are then called by the police to come testify regarding the incident. Since the accused is their friend, they don't want to contribute to him being convicted.

I know that it's illegal to give false testimony in Norway, so to claim the accused didn't commit the crime would clearly be illegal.

But would they have the right to say "I don't wish to comment"? Or simply refuse to show up at the questioning? (Since they themselves were not accused of any crime.)

Is that legal in Norway? If not, what kind of punishment can be given for someone refusing to testify in a case where they themselves are not the accused or a family member of the accused, but rather their friend or something like that? What if the accused is a stranger and they simply don't wish to testify?

Is there any difference in this regard between the right to silence during the initial police investigation and the right to silence during an actual trial in court?

I prefer answers that cite their sources.


texts:
Is ipse dixit ("he said it himself") specifically allowed or prohibited in law? I.e. a trusted witness (e.g. an expert) says something is true, but provides no evidence to back it up. It's presumed to be true solely because of who said it, not on any other merits.

I've seen some articles that say that in the US an expert must back their statements with other evidence, and demonstrate how they obtained their conclusions from the evidence before their testimony will be accepted.

I am interested mostly in English speaking and European countries.


texts: Is work done on paid time off “work for hire” in California?

texts:
I am curious about this, because my understanding was that unless my employment contract stated to the contrary, work done in my spare time without using company resources is not “work for hire” in California.

I am unsure if work done on paid time off counts as “spare time,” though. It seems like because it is time off, it should, but I am being compensated.

So if I am on PTO for vacation and happen to work on a side project, does my employer own the copyright?


texts:
Many companies have a press release section on their websites called newsroom or another similar term, and some even title it "for the journalists".
Does that mean those press releases and their multimedia attachments can be republished?


texts: Is it legal to profit from an open source software

texts: I am planning on making a service that uses a modified open source software. Would it be legal for me to profit from it? I am not sure what information would be relevant to this so if I have missed some relevant info, please tell me what additional information is required to determine this.


texts: What statutes (if any) would make it illegal to publish exact steps to exploit a network vulnerability?

texts:
Let's hypothesize that John Doe, who lives in the United States, has discovered a large-scale vulnerability in the networks of a major industry, using legal means. The steps involved in exploiting it for malicious purposes are very simple.

Are there any statues that would prevent John Doe from publishing this vulnerability and documenting the specific steps involved in exploiting it? Would any whistleblowing statues protect this action?

Furthermore, would John be liable if he published open-source software that could be used maliciously in this manner?


texts: My unit was broken into after uhaul put a non payment lock on it, so isn't it now their responsibility?

texts: I'm in Arizona and like my question says they put a non payment lock on my unit (payroll messed up at my job) and I said I had my own insurance so I didn't take theirs, but I never brought them my proof of insurance because it is slipped my mind and who thinks you would need to do that it's supposed to be secure. They're saying it's my responsibility now to cover it despite the fact I couldn't even access my unit when the break in took place and I can't even access the unit until tomorrow to check what was stolen because the property manager has the day off. What should they have done and what should I be doing? I was told the onus is on them but I have my doubts.


texts: Moral right of integrity in works for hire

texts:
How does the moral right of a creator in a work made for hire interact with the copyright owner's rights to make use of their property?

(Question edited to include the definition of "integrity", and to frame the hypotheticals within that definition).

In France and Germany (and possibly other countries) the moral rights of an author or artist cannot be waived. These rights include attribution and integrity. It seems to me that an employee, even an ex-employee, could use this to hold their employer to ransom for any creative work they were involved in.

The moral right of integrity is defined in the Berne Convention as

  The preserving of the integrity of the work allows the author to object to alteration, distortion, or mutilation of the work that is "prejudicial to the author's honor or reputation".

Some hypotheticals to illustrate the problem I see:

Alice works for an advertising agency. She takes a photograph in the course of her work, which is therefore a work for hire and commercial rights are owned by the agency. However the agency then wishes to use this photograph in a campaign for a company to which Alice objects on ethical grounds. Can Alice use her moral rights to prevent the use of her photograph in this way?
Bob works for a software company. He is the primary author of a product sold by the company, but then he leaves the company. Can he use his moral rights in the integrity of his source code to prevent the company from subsequently modifying the software without his permission to include a feature to which he has a moral objection, or the release of a new version which has a lot of bugs?
Charlie was a junior programmer working with Bob. Although Bob did most of the work and provided the overall architecture, Charlie contributed some parts while working under Bob's supervision. Can Charlie also use his moral rights to prevent the company modifying the software?

This question is related, but its about attribution rather than integrity.

Also, The Story of Mel, a Real Programmer describes how one programmer did indeed assert his moral rights in this way, albeit not under the law:

  They wanted Mel to modify the program
  so, at the setting of a sense switch on the console,
  they could change the odds and let the customer win.

  Mel balked.
  He felt this was patently dishonest,
  which it was,
  and that it impinged on his personal integrity as a programmer,
  which it did,
  so he refused to do it.
  The Head Salesman talked to Mel,
  as did the Big Boss and, at the boss's urging,
  a few Fellow Programmers.
  Mel finally gave in and wrote the code,
  but he got the test backwards,
  and, when the sense switch was turned on,
  the program would cheat, winning every time.
  Mel was delighted with this,
  claiming his subconscious was uncontrollably ethical,
  and adamantly refused to fix it.

Real Programmers apart, this isn't an issue in countries where moral rights are not recognised, or can be waived in the employment contract (provided corporate legal don't drop the ball). However if moral rights cannot be waived then any company hiring creative people would seem to have a problem.


texts: What gives the US federal government the power to set a minimum wage?

texts:
How can the federal government set a minimum wage? It seems like that would be reserved to the states under the 10th Amendment.

Is the interstate commerce clause? That seems iffy to me.


texts: Section 2870 of the California Labor Code - Can former employer claim ownership of former employee's project?

texts:
Silicon Valley tech companies in California require employees to sign a contract that assigns all inventions to the employer. The only protection employees have are in the form of Section 2870 of the California Labor Code that states the following:

(a) Any provision in an employment agreement which provides that an
employee shall assign, or offer to assign, any of his or her rights in
an invention to his or her employer shall not apply to an invention
that the employee developed entirely on his or her own time without
using the employer’s equipment, supplies, facilities, or trade secret
information except for those inventions that either:
(1) Relate at the time of conception or reduction to practice of the
invention to the employer’s business, or actual or demonstrably
anticipated research or development of the employer; or
(2) Result from any work performed by the employee for the employer.
(b) To the extent a provision in an employment agreement purports to
require an employee to assign an invention otherwise excluded from
being required to be assigned under subdivision (a), the provision is
against the public policy of this state and is unenforceable.

If an employee quits and then launches their own product that relates to the former employer's business, can that former employer sue the former employee and try to claim rights to the product solely on the grounds that the invention relates to their business? Even if the former employer has no evidence that the former employee used company equipment or developed it on company time?
For example, could the former employer claim the former employee could not have come up with such a product unless they did it while working at their company and place the burden of proof on the employee to prove they came up with the product either before or after the time of employment?
What if the former employee did not know that their company had a similar project in the works while employed there?
I am worried about large aggressive Silicon Valley style former employers overstepping their bounds to try and claim ownership of former employee's post-employement projects.


texts: Clarification of "Custodial Person" law in Germany?

texts:
I will be traveling to Germany from the United States for 2 weeks with my 15 year old cousin. I will be 23 years old at the time of travel. I am curious to know, for those 2 weeks, would I be considered a Custodial Person for my cousin under the German law as defined here?

  "A Custodial Person is an individual who is personally or together with another individual responsible for care and custody of other persons according to the legal provisions of the (German) Civil Code [BGB]." (pg. 1)

Thanks for your help!


texts:
If it matters, this is in the US state of Oregon.

If we bequeath equal shares of something to our two children per stirpes, is his/her spouse automatically included, or only their children?


texts: Can you be given a too-close-to-stop-sign citation if area was unmarked?

texts:
If there is a nice spot on a city street in Austin, Texas, and a lot of cars often park there without getting any tickets, and it is not marked with the no-parking-here-to-corner sign (even though the other part of the street and the adjacent streets are abundant with such signs properly erected), and there are no distinguishing red, yellow or any other paint on the curbside at all, would a parking ticket for parking a car in such a spot, allegedly too close to the stop sign, be valid?

All the while at the opposite side of this street from this spot the cars are parked even at the curbside within the intersection between the streets (as the other street at this intersection has no stop signs at this spot), without ever receiving any parking tickets?  Or, if they likewise would receive a citation, how would it be legal without no-parking-here-to-corner signs, nor any distinguishing paint on the curbside?


texts: Is it legal for an investment firm to announce some positions/trades that aren't true?

texts:
Taking as example the 2021 GameStop short squeeze, is it legal for an investment firm to announce some positions/trades that aren't true?
The question was triggered by this Tweet (mirror):


texts: Do you have to unlock your devices for TV licence inspections?

texts:
In this answer Matthew mentions that Section 366 of the Communications Act 2003 grants the person executing the warrant the power to examine your equipment.
Specifically it says

give the person carrying out the examination or test all such
assistance as that person may reasonably require for carrying it out.

and

A person is guilty of an offence if he—
(a)intentionally obstructs a
person in the exercise of any power conferred on that person by virtue
of a warrant under this section; or
(b)without reasonable excuse,
fails to give any assistance that he is under a duty to give by virtue
of subsection (7).

So say you have a locked mobile phone on you that requires a passcode to unlock. Such devices can receive broadcasts that require a TV licence, e.g. via iPlayer. Do you have to unlock it?
Would, for example, the argument that your phone or computer contains sensitive or personal data be a "reasonable excuse"? Such data could include embarrassing photos, other people's personal data and the like. In particular I can imagine they may want to view your browser history to see if you have visited iplayer.com.


texts: Software Licence Agreement for project developed away from work to be used at work

texts:
I developed a logging application. I started a process with my employer to integrate the application on-premise at their client's servers.

The application was developed by me, during my free time.

One part of the requirements is to deploy the source code to their source control repositories.

Is there any type of contract that we can agree to, so, somehow, I still get the ownership of the application code? Regardless of what happens with my employment contract.


texts: References to unknown ordinance (Ord. 271, 6/8/1992)

texts:
I am still dealing with the enforcement of an in-town ordinance that is more than vague. (Pennsylvania, U.S.)

  E. The accumulation of heavy undergrowth and/or vegetation which would
  impair the health and/or safety of the neighborhood; nor shall they
  permit any trees, plants or shrubbery, or any portion thereof, to grow
  on their property which constitute a safety hazard to pedestrian
  and/or vehicular traffic. (Ord. 271, 6/8/1992)

All throughout the various ordinances and other township ordinances, I see the reference (Ord. 271, 6/8/1992).

Can anyone shed some light on this? What is it? Where is it?

I have searched all the state law documents I have, which should be almost everything, and found nothing.


texts: What laws apply to transgender individuals using toilets and locker rooms?

texts:
This Skeptics SE post regarding a transgender individual (male to female) using a female locker room brought up some interesting legal issues regarding the rights of transgender individuals in using the locker rooms appropriate to their mental but not biological gender.

What laws apply in such cases? Are there any legal protections against abuse by non-transgender individuals, such as in this hypothetical claim by Mike Huckabee?


texts:
We have spoken to many accountants and none of their answers seem to be consistent.

We are launching a website which basically allows users to support a seller (think patreon) through donations/support with the promise of getting something in return.

So a seller would say, "for £10 a month, i will try to provide a thing for you."

A user would pay £10 a month and receive that thing.

A seller is not obligated to provide the thing. In this case, the user is not purchasing that thing for £10. The user is paying the money to support that seller and that the seller will try to provide that thing.

The issue we are having is in the legality of holding the funds. Our service takes a fee from the seller for providing the commerce functionality. Lets say for arguments sake its 50%.

So, user pays £10, we take £5, seller gets £5. So far so good.

However, we need to hold the funds that the user pays for 28 days, before we take our fee and pay it to the seller. This is to allow for easy refunding and potentially mitigate fraud.

At this point, we will store all £10, even though our actual profit is only £5.

The length of time holding this money could increase if the seller has not provided us with a means to pay them. This means we could be holding that £10 indefinitely. Will this be an issue in regards to accounting?

It is my understanding that we would tell HMRC at the end of our financial year that we earned £5. However, our bank account would show £10 because we have not paid out our seller.

One of the accountants we have spoken to have said that it is illegal to hold money that is meant for someone else, in this case the seller. Is this true?


texts: If someone steals from me do I need a lawyer?

texts:
Someone took my bank card while at a party. Somehow he got my PIN number and took $400 from my account. I filed a complaint with the local police. They asked me if I wanted to charge him. (Of course I would.)

But talking with the local police they made it sound like I needed a lawyer. Why might I need a lawyer in a scenario like this?  Doesn't the state/prosecutor pursue criminal charges?


texts: Which U.S. law forbids unlicensed diff files for a copyrighted work?

texts:
I know the topic is difficult. But - being a programmer and no lawyer - I want to understand it as best as I can. And it would be good to know the legal issue here for all types of works, not just hacked game roms.

My research is that there are laws only against specific cases. One is, removing DRM can be illegal. And another case I found is when releasing a binary patch for a software violates the GPL, because not enough source code was provided.

What I found no answer for is the case where both researched issues seemingly don't apply. When no copy protection is removed, and when there is no original work being copied for distribution.

For example, given that a so called "rom hack" is an unlicensed diff file that can add custom-made levels to a game, what's the law that may prohibit distributing this file?

Usually such a diff file also contains some sort of link to the original work, like a hash or specific instructions that make it work. Is there a law that says, such a link from a diff file to an original work to be patched, is a use of this work? (as in fair use and unfair use)
Or is there a law that says creating or applying a diff file, which technically fits into another work, is seen as a result of a transformative use of this work? (no patch without someone using and understanding the original work at first)
Or is there a law that allows the authors of the original work to give it a license that just forbids creating or distributing unlicensed diff files?


texts:
I am reading The Crying of Lot 49, wherein a fictional organization called "Trystero", that may or may not exist in the story, is associated with a symbol called the "muted post horn". The author, Thomas Pynchon, invented this organization and its symbol in this story, amongst other things.

The symbol as depicted on book covers became popular, and can be found as graffiti, and markings on signs, etc. since the 1960s, when the book was published.

I've noticed that several online vendors are selling items with the Trystero symbol, and I wonder if any legal rights issues come into play.

For instance, a print-on-demand service, CafePress, sells coffee mugs, water bottles, bags, shirts, etc, emblazoned with the symbol, or a facsimile thereof, and are advertised as 'Trystero' products. The designs aren't created by CafePress themselves, but rather are created by users of the site, who get some portion of the sales of the items.

There is also a coffee roaster that has named itself Trystero Coffee, and has the symbol on its products.

The above products and business openly acknowledge use of the name and symbol as an homage to the novel.

I'm vaguely aware of copyright owners forbidding money-making reproductions of their creative work-- mostly characters, such as non-Disney Mickey Mouse cartoons, or Calvin and Hobbes dolls and stickers.

Could Trystero the organization and its symbol be afforded such protection? Are these vendors simply not being persued?


texts: I have been wfh part-time and sharing childcare responsibilities since the beginning of lockdown. I am an EU citizen working in the UK and have asked my employer for the possibility to wfh from my home country for a few weeks provided that borders are open and we are not required to go back to the office. Can they legally refuse that?


texts: What is the value in learning a dead gunman's motives?

texts:
Last night a gunman shot and killed 12 people in a California tavern. The gunman was also killed. Interviews with law enforcement have stressed that they will work very hard to understand the gunman's motives.

As the gunman is dead (hence unable to be prosecuted), what is the value in understanding his motives?

It is reasonable the LE would want to determine that the gunman "acted alone", but why is it important to understand a dead gunman's motives.

( not your typical Law/se board question, but it surely doesn't belong in Politics/se)


texts: How will International Law respond if an uncontrolled epidemic in a failed state threatens to become a pandemic?

texts:
Epidemics like SARS and Influenza often originate in impoverished regions that are all too common in failed states. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.418.3292&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Article 39 of the UN Charter states that infectious diseases may be considered as ‘threats to peace and security’. http://voelkerrechtsblog.org/infectious-diseases-as-a-new-threat-to-international-peace-and-security/

If a deadly disease like Smallpox or Spanish Flu reemerged in a nation like North Korea or Somalia, do the general principles of sovereignty of a nation still apply or does UN resolution 2177/2014 allow the World Court to use the UN and WHO to effectively usurp the nation's autonomy by enforcing medical treatments including quarantine?

http://www.kentlaw.edu/perritt/courses/seminar/lubna-el-gendi-final-Epidemics%20in%20Failed%20States.htm

http://www.ifrc.org/docs/IDRL/UN%20SC%20Res.pdf


texts: California: Is it okay to use the center left turn lane to merge right?

texts: In California if I'm at a stop in (1) and want to turn left on a busy street, is it okay to use the center left turn lane in (2) to merge right with traffic (as long as I don't use it more than 200 foot)?


texts: Is it illegal to impersonate a Provincial Securities Commission agent in Canada?

texts: I had a situation were an old co-worker tried to stir up some trouble by impersonating an Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) agent. We have evidence that he did this, but nobody really seems to care. The ASC isn't even interested. Is there any course of action for us? Is this even a crime?


texts: Does the FDA have authority to regulate medical devices which aren't marketed?

texts:
I'd like to know if there is anything in US law that gives the FDA authority over medical devices which aren't marketed; and where that is in the law specifically.  I did a quick search of Title 21, Chapter 9 (the FD&C Act) but couldn't find a concise description of what medical device-related activities the act regulates, specifically.

It is notable that the different kinds of approvals for devices are called Premarket Notification (510(k)) and Premarket Approvals (PMA).

If the FDA only regulates marketing, the definition of "marketing" may also require some elaboration.  If I make a device and give it away for free, am I marketing it?  In other words, does "market" refer to the device changing hands in any way, or specifically to a sale?  What if I make it and use it myself? (it never changes hands)  What if a hospital makes it and uses it?  (it stays within the same entity/organization)

Alternately, does marketing refer to making a claim that something can be used as a medical device? (intended use)  What if I make something which has an obvious medical use, and sell it or give it away, but never advertise (or describe) the medical use?  (eg, I might make tongue depressors, but sell them as "pieces of wood" or "coffee stirrers")

Note: 21CFR807 defines "commercial distribution" as "distribution of a device intended for human use which is held or offered for sale" - which seems pretty clear, it would not cover anything other than sale (eg: a donation).  I still can't find a definition of "marketing" though.

UPDATE: There is an interesting aspect to the "intended use" argument which I didn't realize until just now.  Medical devices are commonly made by third parties (contract manufacturers) for another company that sells them to the public.  The contract manufacturers in general do not need (or get) FDA clearance/approval, even though they are clearly making and selling medical devices. It seems the difference is that the contract manufacturers are not claiming any intended use for the devices - they're just making whatever the other company tells them to make.  The contract manufacturers do need to register with the FDA ("establishment registration") but do not appear to need any approval to make a specific device; presumably because they aren't "marketing" anything.


texts: Copyright infringement and reproduce in web application

texts:
I want to know the actual meaning of infringement and reproduce in web application development. I understand that we can take copyright for the Code base (i.e., Source code) or layout of the website or the static textual / graphical content.
Consider the Company A and Company B in this case, both the companies deal with similar nature of e-commerce business. For instance, Amazon and Flipkart both are dealing with similar e-commerce business and handling customers majorly in web application / Mobile Apps.
In this case Company B has their unique business model when compared with Company A but the business nature is similar (80% of the application structure are same), in this situation can Company A claim Company B has reproduced our business model including our website with some tweaks from our website?
To be more precise:
Software Product A is in the industry for more than 5 years and new software product B is launched now. Both Product A and Product B has same target audience and Market.
In this case, Product A which is copyrighted product claims that Product B has been reproduced / redeveloped with some enhancement from Product A's source code. However, Product B states that it is completely different from Product A and states except the target audience and industry, Product B is completely different from that of Product A.
Additionally, Product A accuses that ex employee and freelancer who worked for Product A has been involved in development of Product B and claims that infringement of copyright have occurred and reproduced a competitor Product B using Product A's source code or Idea, etc.
What is the legality of this accusation? Will this be considered as infringement of copyrights?
If this is considered as infringement then most of the competitors will have common features then how is that interpreted?


texts:
This is a question exploring a solution to this situation Curious case of real-estate transaction with predatory tenants

A seller has entered an agreement with a buyer in the jurisdiction of Nova Scotia to provide the buyer with vacant premises on closing. The problem for the seller is that they have predatory tenants that know the law, and who are by law allowed to stay past the closing date.

The tenants are asking the seller for money in return for moving out before closing. The problem for the seller is that the tenants keep breaking agreements.

Possible solution?

Could the seller and the tenants sign an affidavit affirmed in front of a justice of the peace, stating the following:

The tenants recognize their legal right to stay on premises indefinitely.
The tenants confirm that they themselves, without being prompted by the seller, have proposed to wave the legal rights stated above (1) if the seller pays $1000 to the tenants.
The payment schedule shall consist of 2 deposits, one half before the closing date, and one half after the tenants have permanently vacated the premises.
The tenants recognize that by signing this agreement, the tenants relinquish any and all rights to remain on the property after the [closing date]. The tenants agree that their presence on the premises after the [closing date] shall be considered illegal and that it shall be considered an act of trespassing.

The question:

If the tenants have signed this affidavit and are still there past the agreed upon date, can the sheriff arrest/evict them? Or will it still have to go to the tenant board?


texts:
The US National Park Service (NPS) has the following language. This is in the context of a commercial operator (like a white water rafting company) getting a commercial permit to take clients down a river in National Park lands.

The commercial operator is required to carry insurance, and nearly all insurance companies require clients to sign documents that waive their rights to hold the commercial operator responsible for actions (as much as can be enforced).

The National Parks say this:

  NPS policy states that operators cannot require visitors (clients) to
  waive their right to hold Commercial Use Authorization (CUA) or
  Special Use Permit (SUP) holders responsible for actions.

  The Holder is not permitted to require clients to sign a waiver of liability statement or form, insurance disclaimer and/or
  indemnification agreement.

  ...

Let's imagine that in the past a commercial operator has had clients sign those releases, while holding a National Park commercial permit.

1) Is the release signed by the client independent of whatever the National Park's policy (above) states?

2) Are those releases subject to challenge because they violated an aspect of the permit?

3) Is the only real material affect going to be potential discipline from the NPS for violating the terms of the commercial permit, by clients signing liability waivers.

Additionally:

Apparently the history for this is because of a law that doesn't allow the federal government, in this case the NPS, to be released of liability.


texts:
I understand that this might be somewhat of a stupid question but I must ask it.

Does one have the legal RIGHT to party in the United Kingdom and / or United States?

For example some of the fundamental rights are the right to liberty, the right to self-determination, the right to freedom of movement, the right to freedom of expression.

Would a court acknowledge that people have the fundamental right to party?

If not would it be possible to start a petition to pass a law that acknowledges the right to party?

NOTE: by right to party I mean right to throw and / or attend a party.


texts: Who owns copyright of video gameplay captures?

texts:
There are many videos on Youtube and it doesn't seem they are being removed, so one might conclude that they do not infringe copyright of the game publisher.  But it could also be that for copyright purposes these constitute derivative works, but game publishers are happy to have the publicity and so they don't request Youtube remove the videos.

I have noticed that gameplay videos sometimes miss the game's original sound. One video's description explained that the sound had to be removed since it (naturally) contained music from the game.

Is it possible that video of gameplay constitutes fair-use but audio, at least in some situations, does not?

Are these questions subject to license terms of the video game software?


texts: Can hardware vendor stop 3rd parties from enabling users do what vendor does not purport for?

texts:
Hardware vendor A sells devices X to end users. A wants users to use X in a particular fashion, for which it provides all the means (e.g. A wants users to only run software that A approves, and so A provides an application repository; users are not normally able to install apps not from this repo).
Tech company B creates very cool software S that users (would) adore, but it can't be bothered dancing to A's tune (e.g. meet their requirements for inclusion of S in A's application repository).
So B devises some technical means to install S on X (despite A's technical attempts to prevent that) and markets S to users of X.
Does A have any legal avenue to stop B from doing that (apart from voiding warranty for X)? Any jurisdiction.

Though parallels with Apple/Epic may be sound, this question is not specifically about them and in fact is as abstract as the title. A valid specific example is hacking tractors to install unofficial software.


texts:
Specifically with regard to a UK/England employment contract. I am used to seeing clauses in contracts which state crudely that if one clause is found unreasonable, that clause alone will be struck out and the remainder of the contract left to stand. From this question, I gather this is termed a 'reading down' clause. From comments, it can also be a Salvatorian Clause or Severability Clause.

Is this form strictly necessary (i.e. one unreasonable clause in a contract has significant risk to invalidate the whole), or is it simply additional security in capturing something which would typically occur regardless?


texts: Am i responsible for fees from FedEx i was not made aware of and did not agree to pay?

texts:
last month I ordered a computer from an American company that shipped it through FedEx. I paid for shipping when I purchased the computer and if I remember right I also paid a small import tax when the package was in customs. Today I received a bill from FedEx with a massive charge on it that included the following charges
Advancement Fee                     $10.53
HST on ADV/Ancillary Services Fees  $10.25
Clearance Entry Fee                 $75.03
Canada HST                          $41.30
The Canada HST I found out I do have to pay but the rest of the charges don't look like any kind of legitimate government charges and I was completely unaware of them. Am I legally obligated to pay these random fees when I in no way agreed to pay them? I didn't even know there was anything owing on the package, I was told everything was paid for and I just had to wait. They were also supposed to get my signature at the door for proof of delivery but they failed to do that as well, they just left it at the door and left without even knocking. from what I know of Canadian law since I was not made aware of these fees I am not responsible for any of them besides the government tax, but I am concerned i may be wrong and I'm unsure of what to do.


texts: Do companies violate California labour law by not giving uninterrupted 10 minute breaks for each 4 hours of interviews?

texts:
In the software engineering industry, it's very often that the final stage of the interview is an onsite in California, where you spend a minimum of 3.5h doing the interviews; expenses are normally paid, but your time itself isn't normally compensated.

It is not uncommon to have 6h to 8h of back-to-back interviews, which are normally interrupted only for lunch, which itself is often on-site without leaving the potential place of employment, and in SF Bay Area, you're almost always accompanied for the lunch as well.

If a single non-exempt employee would happen to interviews you for 3.5h (e.g., for a simulation of an actual work day using XP pair programming methodology, which is strangely rare), they'd be legally entitled for a 10-minute break themselves, hence, you'll very likely get a proper uninterrupted 15 minute break as well:

https://www.calchamber.com/california-labor-law/meal-and-rest-breaks

  Employers must authorize and permit uninterrupted rest breaks for all nonexempt employees whose total daily work time is at least 3.5 hours. These mandatory rest breaks must be offered at the rate of 10 minutes for every four hours worked, or "major fraction" thereof. Anything over two hours is considered by the courts to be a "major fraction" of four.

However, outside of pair programming, you often get a different person for each hour of the onsite.  These folks manage their own breaks on their own time, whereas you the interviewee have a fixed schedule, and usually don't get any official uninterrupted breaks in the schedule for the whole 6 to 8 hours of the onsite.  Is that legal?


texts: Were there retroactive changes to CA marriage laws about same-sex couples?

texts:
The San Francisco 2004 same-sex weddings took place between February 12 and March 11, 2004, and were then “voided” on August 12, 2004.
But OBERGEFELL v. HODGES voids the voiding...
Could these couples have been prosecuted for filing single for tax years 2004-2014?


texts: Is MagSafe patented such that no one else can make magnetic power supplies?

texts:
I'm talking about MagSafe, the connector used on some Apple power adapters that pops out of the socket easily, and snaps into place using a magnet, so that both the cable and the socket are unlikely to be damaged in the event of an unexpected disconnection.

Is this patented in such a way that only Apple can legally make a similar connector? I don't mean off-brand clones of MagSafe itself, but rather another style of connector which uses the same principle.

If so, when does the patent expire?


texts: Who becomes President if no candidate for President or for Vice-President has been selected at noon, January 20th?

texts:
The Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution , Article 3, deals with the situation where no President or Vice President has qualified on January 20.

Section 3

If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the
President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President
elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been
chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the
President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President
elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified;
and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a
President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified,
declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one
who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly
until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.

(Emphasis added)
So, has Congress made such a provision, and, if so, what is that provision?


texts:
I recently attended a talk related to government workplace harassment law. The presenter repeatedly used the term nexus (i.e., a causual nexus) to describe any situation where actions outside of the workplace could be seen as related to workplace harassment.

After the talk I found an interesting article by Prof. Jeanette Cox on the American Bar Association website on First Amendment Rights in the workplace, but it doesn't speak to the extent an employee must modify speech in their personal life to avoid liability for workplace harassment.

What are the limits of behavior on personal time that might be considered a causal nexus for a harassment case? I'm assuming that any such behavior would have to also be conjunct with behavior that occurred in the workplace involving the same individuals.


texts: Car collision but no damage: Call the police?

texts:
Recently one of my friends was involved in a bumper related collision during a rainy day. The collision resulted in no damage to either car.
Would my friend at, this point, have been able to:

1. Drive away without legal ramifications (designated hit and run)

2. Drive away after no damage was agreed by drivers and information was exchanged.

After inspecting damage, the other person then called the police to file a report.

  I learned in our drivers ED that the police do not need to be
  contacted for collisions resulting in 1000$ or less damage.**

Once the police come to file a report, they are also forced to designate one of the drivers as the cause of the collision and charge that person with a traffic violation (really anything possible).

Given that there was no damage and both drivers had exchanged information, could my friend have driven away before/after the police were called, thus dodging the fine that the police would be forced to give?

** May not be exact/reliable or misinterpreted.

This is in Wisconsin.


texts: My friend and I want to start an online subscription service for people who vape, but are unsure of the legal hurdles involved in selling Nicotine online.  We are located in the US and would like to start selling to people in California and then branch out into other states.  Where can I go to read about laws/restrictions that might impact our business?


texts: Can people criticize the Imperial Family in Japan? I can't find a case or article about law, people in prison, or deportation of a foreigner for criticizing the Imperial Family.


texts: Do the laws of mathematics apply in Australia?

texts:
According to Malcolm Turnbull, Prime Minister of Australia "The laws of mathematics are very commendable, but the only law that applies in Australia is the law of Australia". My question is, is this true?

For example, in the US, Benford's law, a law of mathematics, can be used as evidence in a court of law. More examples of laws of mathematics being used in court can be found here.

My question is then, can the laws of mathematics be used in Australia? For example, could Benford's law be used in Australian court, or would be thrown out, seeing as the only law that applies in Australia is the law of Australia? What about other sciences?


texts: Can identification be confirmed over a mobile application, for alcohol consumption

texts:
I am in charge of hosting an event, here in California, and I had a quick question regarding the legality of an offer that was presented to me recently.

The event that we are hosting will be providing alcohol, however we will also be allowing minors (below 21) onto the premises. This will be a large event, and checking identifications on the way in is always tedious. Therefore a local tech firm has offered to integrate identification verification software that checks if the person is 21+ upon sign up of the event. Then at registration the participant is provided their package with a wristband if they are 21+.

Therefore, my question is if there is any legal implication of verifying a persons age for alcohol consumption completely via the internet? Are there certain steps that we need to make sure that the web application takes in order to verify the age (e.g. Federally accepted ID)? Finally, would this be a state-by-state basis or a blanket regulation?

I hope I gave enough information. Thank you in advance!


texts: Constitutional grounds for challenging California's AB5 in Federal court?

texts:
California's Assembly Bill No 5 came into force on January 1 2020, and has had a profound effect on consultants and other independent contractors since then. It broadly affects two classes of B2B:

1099-based agreements via its ABC test
C2C through its rigid 12 point requirements of Corps & LLC's doing business with each other.

Multiple entities have sued California for violation of the FIRST and FOURTEENTH amendments. Can anyone explain how these potential violations pertain to AB5?


texts: Simple Definition of CapEx and OpEx for Software Development

texts:
I work as a software developer in the UK for a company headquartered in Canada (not sure if the regulations vary from country to country) and I have to log my time for any work I do as either "CapEx" or "OpEx".

Operating Expenses (OpEx) are the costs of running a business day to day. Capital Expenses (CapEx) are long term investments whose benefits continues over a long period.

While there are some simple cases like: * New feature is CapEx * Triaging the dev support queue is OpEx

I'm confused about how to log my time and some of the rules don't fully make sense to me e.g. bug fix is always OpEx (even before the software is made available to the end user?)

Is there a simple definition of whether my work is CapEx or OpEx that works for all cases?

Can a bug fix ever be CapEx?
Is DevOps code to automate deployment or tests for software OpEx?
Is work to implement nonfunctional requirements like performance or backups for software CapEx or OpEx?
Please cite sources in your answers!


texts: Me and my friends got kicked out of a movie theater without seeing the movie and didn't get a refund

texts:
Me and my friends went to go see an R rated movie at an AMC theater. My friend's dad was there to buy the tickets. After that he went back to his car.

When we went to go into the theater the guy who collects the tickets asked us our ages. We told him that we are 15, and he said that we needed a parent with us, so we ran back to the car and had my friend's dad come back with us and they said he needed to be in the theater with us. He bought a ticket and walked to the theater with us and then left.

A few minutes later before the movie even started, the ticket collector came into the theater and asked where our parent was, we replied he left, and the guy escorted us out of the theater and said that we couldn't come back that day, when we asked for a refund he said we couldn't have one.

So I was just wondering if they broke any laws or if they were in the clear.


texts:
Suppose I add my credit card to Amazon AWS service billing.

Suppose that some hacker interacts with my domain at Amazon in such a way to make me owed $1000 or $10000 to Amazon (deliberately to harm my finances).

Suppose Amazon exceeds my CC limit and I remove the card from Amazon and tell my bank to close the card.

Will Amazon be able to sue me and make me I pay the rest of the sum, even despite my credit card cannot be charged anymore?


texts: UK: How did this squatter win rights to the house? How to prevent?

texts:
This article recounts the following facts:

The past owner occupied the property from the late 1980s
The past owner moved out in or about 1996
The new owner moved in in 1997
The new owner made renovations to the property from then until 2012
The new owner unsuccessfully lodged a claim with the Chief Land Registrar
The Registrar's decision was overturned by the High Court and the new owner was granted ownership of the property

Under what legal scenarios has this been done & how would one avoid it?


texts: How does the punctuation/capitalization of the 2nd Amendment affect its interpretation?

texts:
According to Wikipedia:

The importance (or lack thereof) of these differences has been the source of debate regarding the meaning and interpretation of [2nd] the amendment, particularly regarding the importance of the prefatory clause.
One version was passed by the Congress, and a slightly different version was ratified.

Passed by Congress (emphasis mine):

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Ratified:

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

From this I have two questions:

Which one is the actual/legal text (or is that questionable)?
How can the differences affect the amendment's interpretation?  Although this question is opinion-based, I'm looking more for how the textual differences have been argued in court or by legal scholars.


texts: Do you have to list ingredients in a food takeout business in New York State?

texts:
My wife just opened a food takeout business in New York State.
She sells coffee, sandwiches, salads, pastas, danishes, and the like.
Some of the products, for example some salads, pastas, sandwiches and desserts are pre-packaged for convenience and efficiency, but it's not a factory.

The local health department is telling us we have to list the ingredients on the label.  How is the business I describe different from a restaurant? I've been to plenty of restaurants that offer takeout and nobody lists ingredients.


texts: Open source company - how to protect myself from being sued?

texts:
In 2 and a bit weeks I'll be participating in a hackathon, where I'll create the prototype of an application that I want to base a company off of in the maybe-near future.

Both the prototype and the real version (made under the company) will be entirely open source.

I'm not concerned about people copying me or starting a similar company as me or what not. I just want to work on my product in peace.

What I am scared of, however, is a case where a mean party first copies it from me and later tries to sue me as breaching their rights/copying them, because they got legal documents X, Y and Z prepared but I didn't.

I don't really know anything about law, but basically I want to know how I can protect my company, not my code.

Also, is there any special preparation I need to do before the hackathon, considering that the company that I want to run the real version of this product in the maybe-near future doesn't exist yet? (i.e. what if after the hackathon but before I start my company, some other party starts a company with the same idea - how can I also be protected in that case?)

In probably-idiotic-non-legal-terms, how can I set myself up such that, legally speaking, it's obvious that "I came first" (unless somebody did actually precede me) and that I can use that fact to defend myself if under lawsuit from a copy-cat?

PS: The company will be based in Australia, but its services are all online (international).


texts: What happens if someone knowingly accepts a contract with some invalid terms?

texts:
A dispute arose between me and my ex-landlord. Before any litigation, I told him the things I expected that he wasn't doing. His response was to agree to do them, provided I would agree to various unenforceable things. Would such a contract have any effects? If the things he agreed to were enforceable but mine weren't, would he still have to do them even if I didn't?

For example, the landlord rented out a storage area to an extra person. He said he would somehow share the money to lower others costs, but the details were never clear and weren't in writing. When he did not share the money, I reminded him he had agreed to. His response was "I will share it if you agree not to undermine my leadership or complain" (these were literally the words he used). If I agreed to these terms what would happen? I give this example assuming undermining leadership isn't legally enforceable. Now that litigation has started, can I present this as evidence of some kind?