texts:
Here is a quick summary of my situation:

April 2018: leased an apartment in Chicago until September 2019
June 2019: extended lease for 12 months
July 2019: loss of job
September 2019: accepted a job offer in California.
October 2019: Moved to California

Worked with the landlord to find a person to take over my apartment. The apartment was leased. I am a cosigner (my mistake, but nonetheless I am on the hook). One year passes by.

June 2020: landlord sends me a balance notice of $4k to mee threatening collection since the person moved out earlier than the lease extension has expired.

Since I made a mistake and cosigned a lease I am on the hook and in the process of negotiation with the landlord hoping to reduce $4k burden since it is a lot for me
My question to the community is whether I can come after the person who took over my lease and sue them.
I am currently residing in CA, and the apartment is in IL. I do not know much about the person that took over my lease except their name. Can I file a suit against that person in a small claim court and if so, how can I manage this if I am in CA and the court is in IL?
What are my options?


texts: Does one have legal recourse if one's spouse lied about wanting to have children?

texts:
I recently read about a man (Bob) who married a woman (Alice) who already had a daughter from a previous relationship. Bob wanted more children, and Alice was happy to oblige. However, after several years of trying, they never managed to conceive. They approached doctors, who tested Bob for infertility; when those results showed that Bob was fertile, Alice would insist they were incorrect because she knows she's fertile (she's already given birth to a daughter after all). After 13 years and still not being able to conceive, they split up.

18 months after they split up, Bob found out that Alice was lying: she was infertile, and she knew she was infertile, because she had undergone tubal ligation (a surgical procedure which permanently renders her infertile) before they married. Needless to say Bob was infuriated.

Question: does Bob have any legal recourse in this case? Does it matter if genders were reversed (since with genders reversed, the woman could have passed menopause and therefore have no chance of having children)?


texts: My past employer is talking openly to my boyfriend about my leaving the job

texts: I walked out on my position as a medical assistant. My boyfriend is still a patient there, and during his last apointment, the doctor openly talked about how wrong I was to walk out on my job. Does he have a legal right to talk to others about how I left my employment? They're already making it impossible to use as a reference as its left me with nothing but dead ends.


texts: Small Claims court fee in the USA as a plaintiff — is it acceptable to ask for a refund from the defendant?

texts:
I was a tenant, and I have a dispute with a landlord (a leasing corporation) over the security deposit. Based on the facts alone, it seems to me that the law is on my side (however I do know that in the USA this does not guarantee a win).

Originally the landlord claimed that I am responsible for a damage, therefore they would keep the whole deposit to fix it. However, after some correspondence with the landlord, they said they were willing to keep from my deposit only an amount that happens to be just slightly higher than the local Small Claims court fee (if I choose to file a claim there).

For example, the landlord is willing to take only $100 out of the deposit, while the court fee is $95.

Essentially, the landlord makes it useless for me to file a claim to defend myself.

But if I do file a claim and win, is it normal in a Small Claims court in the USA for the plaintiff to ask not only for a refund of the money that was taken unduly, but also for the defendant to refund the court filing fee the plaintiff had to pay, and maybe other expenses of the plaintiff like a compensation for the time lost on corresponding with the landlord and filing a claim?

Otherwise, it is an incentive for landlords to steal small amounts from deposits whenever they just think they have an excuse.


texts: What does UK law say about "sexual suggestions" to a 14 year-old when I am 16?

texts:
I, 16, have been accused by a 14 year-old of "sexual suggestions", such as:

Touching her breasts
Telling her I "want to go to bed with her".
Telling her "I want to sleep with her".
Telling her she has nice breasts.
Threaten to post an instagram post of her "bending over".

Just as clarification, this is simply the parents accusing me here, no court battle or stuff yet, but the parents have accused that the social workers may attempt to take me to court.

There were eight sexual accusations in total (some of which I can't remember). All are either complete fabrications or non-sexual comments portrayed in a sexualized fashion (for example, if a depressed person said they were ugly, would you tell them they were pretty? Of course you would).

Now of course there are some things to consider about her, such as:

She is severely mentally ill, and has been in multiple psychiatric hospitals, and still is in one.
These things that she has "supposedly said" are pretty much all what the social workers have interpreted us as saying, rather than what she actually said.
She herself has said that things like putting my arm around her was perfectly fine, and only today after I have been banned from speaking to her have I learned that "She is in an unable condition and anything she says might not be true".

So, as a forum for topic-based questions here, I guess I am asking the following:

Let's take the theoretical situation that all of the sexual things listed happened, with consent. What is the law on a 16 year-old doing the things listed above with a 14 year-old?
Same as the above, except what would happen if it was made out that there was not consent?
With no call recordings, what would be the best way to go about disproving (in a court scenario) that I did all of these things? I have some text history with her which would prove that we are good friends.

For clarification, the "most extreme" accusation here appears to be that I apparently touched her breasts. All of the other accusations are that I have verbally said things to her that are sexual.


texts: When awarding damages in a wrongful death suit, what criteria are used to determine the "value" of the person's life?  Does the plaintiff and/or defendant have any input into this process?


texts: Does information related to client IP address is been allowed as per GDPR policies. Without asking user's location

texts:
We need implement user's nearby store locator. Where we have code to get user's ISP location from where the client request is been triggered.
But getting lat-long & city details by checking client browser IP address. Even if user don't allow website to share user's current location.
Does above doing violates any of GDPR policy?
Please share your views.
Thanks.


texts: Is my father a dual citizen of Venezuela?

texts:
I needed to know whether or not my father is a dual citizen of Venezuela and I would 100% appreciate if you guys could help me the answer.

So landmark events are:

He was born in Egypt but his parents were of Venezuelan citizenship and living (in which I assumed he would have inherited theirs)
He migrated to Australia and obtained Australian citizenship in 1973 (aged 16)
He still currently lives in Australia and possesses an Australian citizenship.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venezuelan_nationality_law Wikipedia’s information states that he is still likely to be a dual citizen as born or naturalized citizenship are only revoked voluntarily or by a criminal court order.

https://www.multiplecitizenship.com/wscl/ws_VENEZUELA.html This site states he would not be a dual citizen as it is not recognised unless he is younger than age 25.

I did call up the embassy and try to ask but they weren't very helpful.

Could you tell me what is correct?

EDIT: From the looks of this official source:
Dual citizenship is recognised as it says (Aritcle 34) that nationality is not lost when gaining another nationality.

I need to know the laws that were current in 1973 but I cannot find it.


texts: To what extent can mental illness create a defence or mitigation against liability in a civil case?

texts:
I'm thinking here of both UK and US law, which I assume will differ.

Suppose a defendant in a civil case (type of case unspecified) would ordinarily have no defence against the plaintiff/claimant's claim, and would be ruled against in damages for a large sum. The defendant had a confirmed mental health condition (also of unspecified type) which is agreed overwhelmingly likely to have been a (or the) cause of whatever action(s) gave rise to the case.

In what circumstances and to what extent will this change the ruling, or the amount ruled against them, in US or UK law?

Some examples, although I'm really after general principles, these just illustrate the situation. (In each case assume the incident was unexpected and either no other person helps/cares for them, or any such people could not reasonably have foreseen/prevented it and would not be liable). I haven't numbered these because I'm really looking for principles and generalities rather than answers to these hypothetical examples:

Person has "walking insomnia". While sleepwalking one night they commit an act against a person or property which would usually result in a valid civil claim for damages.
Person has trauma and cannot always control their reactions when it is triggered; they run out of a shop when something triggers it and knock over numerous people and displayed products/shop fittings.
Person has cancer in part of their brain that controls self regulation. Nothing happens until one day they attack somebody, an act for which they have no prior history, and agreed to be due to their medical condition.
Ditto but the issue is a congenital or regenerative neurological condition, and their family do not knew or cannot react in time to prevent an actionable incident.
Person has ADHD (ADD) or OCD, and is functional in society but medically it is agreed they will never have good or even usual control of attention wandering or forgetfulness or compulsive behaviours, there simply is no way to gain this. Damage results.
A reluctant parent with a bad parent-child relationship hears a rumour on the internet that mental health is no defence against civil damage claims, and decides to sue their offspring for massive damage caused to their house on the night of their 18th birthday. Because of the stress they had also not recognised their parents who arrived, and believing themselves attacked by strangers, slashed at them with a knife in panic, causing life-changing injury.  Their condition had never remotely been like this before and there was no realistic way to anticipate it might happen, nor any incident previously requiring precautions. Conveniently on that day the youngster also inherited the kind of sum that would be needed to pay any damages if the claim were successful.


texts: What is the legality of making a new game that is essentially the same as another, without using trademark names? For example if I make an obviously knockoff iOS game that is essentially something like Angry Birds? Can one patent games?


texts: Resell a packet of cookies without tampering the packet

texts:
In the US, Can I simply buy a packet of cookies in a store and resell it without tampering the packet, but simply putting it inside my own branded box to a consumer at a different location in the US.

Points to note:

I am not tampering the packet
I am letting the end consumer know who
actually made it (as I am not tampering packet)
I am putting the
packet in my own box
The value I bring is that I expand the reach of
that cookie to my audience

What are the laws surrounding it?


texts: Can a lawyer ethiclly have a person in a 3 way call attempt to gain bank account information?

texts: A lawyer in a 3 way call used my sister-in-law to gain information from my bank accounts. The lawyer kept quiet and had my sister-in-law ask questions. My bank told her that they could not help her. Can a lawyer do this? Ethically?


texts: Why is Pirate Bay charged but not Kickass Torrents?

texts:
Why is only Pirate Bay charged with copyright infringement, and not other sites?

Because, for example, Kickass Torrents (KAT) also does the same things as Pirate Bay and it's not charged. Why so? KAT is also as popular as Pirate Bay.


texts: Who owns the logo of a company after the company declares bankruptcy? For example who owns the logo for toys R'us after they declare bankrupt?


texts: Why are in-house counsels not allowed to defend a defendant?

texts:
In the last John Gotti trial, the prosecutors successfully argued Bruce Cutler was an in-house counselor for John Gotti. The result was Cutler was not allowed to defend John Gotti at trial.

Why are in-house counsels not allowed to defend a defendant at trial?


texts: Do 'questions come from the jury after they have retired to consider their verdict, when they can't be answered'?

texts:
Source: pp 185-186, The Art of the Advocate (1993) by Richard Du Cann QC (called to the Bar of England and Wales).

    Juries have no rights on questions of evidence at all, except as
  the final arbiters of fact. It is one Of the contradictions Of English
  legal procedure that those who are required to decide questions
  of fact have no power to require fact to be laid before them. They
  can, of course, ask questions. But they cannot require witnesses to be called to answer them, or even insist that witnesses Who are
  called do answer them. (Grand juries had power to do
  both.
  They were abolished in 1933.) This may be a shock for
  layman who believes in the infallibility of the jury system without understanding what a jury undertakes to do. Their oath
  return a verdict, 'according to the evidence'. Their oath is not to
  return a verdict, 'according to the evidence which We think
  should be called'. so, if the question they ask requests information
  which by the laws of evidence is inadmissible (for instance, in a
  criminal trial, 'has the defendant done this before?'), then it
  cannot be answered. Put more shortly, they cannot ask questions
  which could not be asked by the Judge or either of the advocate.
  [1.] As a rule questions come from the jury after they have retired to
  consider their verdict, when they cannot be answered. This may
  seem harsh. But the line must be drawn somewhere.
  There must
  be a point when no further evidence can possibly be called by
  whatever name it may be known. That point is reached when the
  Judge finishes his summing-up.

Is 1 wrong? Does 1 contradict the jury's option to pose questions in writing only to the Judge per this and this article of 2012 Nov 17 by English barrister Dan Bunting?


texts: GDPR article 20, portability of future data

texts:
Article 20.2 of the GDPR states: "In exercising his or her right to data portability [...], the data subject shall have the right to have the personal data transmitted directly from one controller to another, where technically feasible."

Does this only apply to existing data? If technically feasible, does the data subject have the right to request that all future data is transmitted directly from one controller to another?


texts: How to identify whether our organization is subjected to the juridication of federal trade commission (FTC)

texts: our organization is registered in the United States. By registering the company in the US means, are we under the jurisdiction of the FTC? or is it something else? because we are planning to get the privacy shield certification. For that, it is mandatory to be subjected to the jurisdiction of FTC, but I don't know how to find our company's status. I am not familiar with US laws and regulations since I am new to this area.


texts: Can I initiate a civil lawsuit in order to get the answer to a legal hypothetical?

texts:
Suppose that I and a friend of mine are interested in resolving a particular legal hypothetical within the realm of civil law. The exact details are not important here, but no party of the hypothetical has a liability except to each other -- say, it's a breach of contract between the two parties, or a copyright violation.
Suppose then that my friend and I actually set up the hypothetical in real life -- we enter the contract, and then one of us violates the contract in exactly the way we discussed. The other one of us starts a lawsuit, we each get a lawyer, etc. Neither of us reveals that this case was deliberately set up by us to answer the question, at least not until such a question is asked directly.
To which stage of the judicial process would such a case go? Could it go to trial? My intuition tells me that if it becomes known that we have colluded in this manner, the case will be thrown out for lacking consideration. Thus, it will stop at or near the discovery process, as it will become clear that no damages have been incurred by either of us.
This is related to How can we resolve a bet on a question of law? -- the difference is that here, we have created the material dispute to go to court about. It is also related to Can a contract to kill help someone avoid murder charges? but in that case there is criminal liability involved, and criminal cases have the prosecution represent the interests of the state.


texts: In the United States, what constitutes illegal "doxing"?

texts:
"Doxing" is a neologism, describing the act of publishing identifying information (or 'docs'), typically personal identifying information, on the internet. It's usually done with the intent to bring indirect harm against one individual, and is typically associated with "hacktivism" or vigilantism, but is sometimes an isolated individual act (retaliation against an unfaithful spouse, for example).

Doxing is illegal, per state and common law, but not federally, as far as I know. It also typically violates Terms of Service agreements for many types of internet services.

However, I'm interested to know what would constitute "doxing" as it's defined in case law or state laws, generally. What information would be legal or illegal to publish publicly?

Some information is publicly available. Full names, names of spouses or other family members' addresses and home phone numbers are published in phone books and on voter registration databases I can't understand how it would be illegal to essentially "re-publish" that information, but obviously information not publicly available like social security numbers or cell phone numbers.

What constitutes "doxing", as defined in the law?


texts: Can my orthodontia provider legally take my claim payment?

texts:
I am currently getting Invisalign treatment through an Orthodontia Provider in California.  I paid for the treatment up front at $3,000.  I was told by the provider that it was unlikely that insurance would cover any of this. A few months into the treatment, I checked with my insurance and discovered that they do cover this.

When I called my provider, I was told that they would file the claim and it would take 6-8 weeks for me to receive a check. 7 weeks later I called my insurance and discovered that they had the payment sent to them and it was electronically deposited immediately (7 weeks ago)!  When I called my provider and asked why it would take 6-8 weeks for me to receive a check, they said "Management has to approve it".  This honestly sounds very sketchy to me and I'm worried I will never receive my claim payment.

So two questions:

1) Why would an Orthodontia provider want to receive this payment at all in the first place? I was thinking maybe tax reasons.

2) If they never end up sending me the claim refund, do I have any legal power to fight against this?  I have all of the original receipts and an EOB report.


texts: GDPR: can we ask the building owner to share and/or destroy data about one's RFID activity?

texts:
this is a follow up of https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/84184/do-rfid-key-cards-track-the-user-through-entry-ways

It seems most buildings store the activity of one's RFID key activity.

In the era of GDPR, I was wondering whether I would be allowed to ask for that data or ask for that data to be destroyed?


texts: Browse all Trademark images as an image return

texts:
I have a logo design that I want to trademark, in addition to trademarking the design of an invention (as additional IP protection in addition to a patent). I started with a reverse Google image search, and came up empty (good!).

Next, searched the PTO site (http://tess2.uspto.gov/tmdb/dscm/dsc_26.htm#26), found a few possible Division IDs. However the number of results were around 8k each.

My question: Is there a tool that can return long pages of images from the PTO site similar to a Google image search? I found WIPO (http://www.wipo.int/branddb/en/), and though I can upload an image as a filter, I can't seem to wildcard the text field to be empty in order to just search the images. Has to be an easier way, but my searches have come up empty.


texts: Is it legal to auction land without telling bidders it's landlocked?

texts:
I am looking to purchase some land in Texas that is being auctioned for back taxes. It was made clear that the auctioneers will not be telling anybody that the property is landlocked, and they will falsely assume that the land has access to main roads because of a pre-existing road built that is technically not on that property and no easement has been given.

I was also told that it's illegal to tell others at the time of the auction that it's landlocked because that's "cooling the bid."

Is it legal to auction the property without disclosing the VERY relevant detail that the land is landlocked?


texts: Which supersedes the other, laws or treaties?

texts: The Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution states that the Constitution, laws and treaties are the supreme law of the land. Obviously, the Constitution supersedes both laws and treaties, but which is given more importance, laws or treaties? For example, if the Congress passed a law in violation of a treaty, would that law be valid? If the Senate ratified a treaty in violation of federal law, would that treaty be valid?


texts: Does the current ban on evictions apply to expiring leases?

texts:
My friend is currently in a pickle. Their lease expires in a couple of weeks and they were originally planning to move to a different property. However given the lockdown in California, moving is no longer allowed as it is not an "essential" activity, so it is impossible for them to arrange a moving truck.

Given the situation, would the ban on evictions apply once the lease is expired?


texts: Liabilities of countries as members of the Universal Postal Union

texts:
Bob, in country A, sends Alice, living in country B (one of the most corrupt countries in the world) a gift by air mail: some non-prohibited good stuff of a total weight 10 kg which will make Alice very happy. The customs declaration/consignment note lists all items/weights diligently. The parcel is insured — Bob will get compensated by country A's post if something goes wrong.

The tracking shows that when the parcel left country A it was still 10 kg. But the very first record in country B (at the customs) shows now only 5 kg. There are no tracking events while in transit between A and B.

Alice, upon receiving the parcel, demands that it is weighed, opened and the contents are documented on an official report. This is done and now she has legal proof of the loss.

Now, whereas the items could have been stolen anywhere in transit between A and B, there is a pattern of incidents like this occurring in B. Allegedly, and according to some insider's info, the corrupt customs of B feel free to open parcels, take whatever they like without an official record, and then weight and register the incoming parcel.

Bob files a claim with A's post and gets his compensation.

As for a member of the Universal Postal Union, what repercussions will occur for country B? Are they allowed to keep stealing stuff at the sender insurer's expense? Will they face any penalties (e.g. banned from the Union) that would encourage them to hold their customs to account?


texts: Am I allowed to distribute Creative Commons movies to video streaming services that use DRM

texts:
Let's say I want to distribute a movie of a fireplace I found on the internet, released under CC BY 3.0 to Netflix. Am I allowed to do that?
As far as I know, Netflix uses DRM.

The license summary page says:

  No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits

Is DRM a technological measure? Using DRM doesn't change the experience for the end-user and end-users are still able to visit the source video by the attribution.


texts: Legalities of making a documentary/biography about a person's life

texts:
I just read an article about how Mike Tyson is calling for a boycott of Hulu over a documentary they are making about his life.
He says the documentary is 'unauthorized' and that an 'authorized' life story is in development.
This got me wondering about the legalities with regards to making a documentary about a person's life.
Is it illegal to make a documentary/biography without the subject's permission? I would think not, otherwise Tyson would have other options than only calling for a boycott.
Are there certain guidelines that must be met? I would think that libel and defamation wouldn't be legal in a documentary/biography.
Does the subject have to already be well known to the public? For example, could Hulu make a documentary about my life (I am not famous at all) even though my life details are still private for the most part?
I live in the USA but I am curious about other places too.
(Sorry I couldn't think of any better tags)


texts: Contract I signed appears to have contradictory statements

texts: I signed a contract with a company that was going to do some work on my house.  I have already put money down on the job.  However, the agreement states that the job WILL be completed between date A and date B.  But, I saw a later statement in the contract that says the job will be completed approximately between date A and date B.  The date has already passed for when the job was to be completed.  Am I obligated to stay with this company based on the confusing terms in the agreement?


texts: Can you record someone who is speaking in a language you don't understand without their consent?

texts:
To my understanding Canada is a single party consent when it comes to recording a conversation i.e. if your a party, you can record it without the other parties knowledge. What if someone near you is speaking a different language?

For example if someone close to you is trying to exclude you from the conversation, is it legal to record it then get someone else to translate what was said?


texts: Do you have to provide the name and email address of your data protection officer?

texts:
Looking at Steam's privacy policy, they don't provide an email address to reach the DPO nor do they name them:

  You can contact Valve's data protection officer at the address below.

  While we review any request sent by mail, please be aware that to combat fraud, harassment and identity theft, the only way to access, rectify or delete your data is through logging in with your Steam User Account at http://help.steampowered.com and selecting the menu items -> My Account -> View Account Data.

  Valve Corporation
  Att. Data Protection officer
  P.O. Box 1688
  Bellevue, WA 98009

  European representative for data protection questions:

  Valve GmbH
  Att. Legal
  Rödingsmarkt 9
  D-20354 Hamburg
  Germany

Is there any requirement for them to provide an email address or name the DPO?


texts: Differences between Dismissal with Prejudice, Summary Judgment, Directed Verdict, JMOL, and JNOV?

texts:
What (if any) are the particular differences in U.S. courts between dismissal with prejudice, summary judgment, directed verdict, judgment as a matter of law (JMOL), and judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV)?

My understanding is that:

The effect of all these rulings is the same: The judge decides the outcome of the case, there is no further trial, and the only way to change the outcome is through an appeal.
A directed verdict and JNOV only apply in jury trials, with the former only available before a jury returns a verdict and the latter only after.
Otherwise: Are all of these rulings available in both civil and criminal cases?
Can all be made sua sponte, or do any require that a party move the court?
Can all (but JNOV) be made at any point a case is brought (prior to a final verdict)?


texts: Commercial usage of photos of extreme close-up of popular electronics

texts:
Let's say I make a photo of iPhone screen through the microscope, so field of view of the photo is just several pixels and individual RGB components of the screen are visible - so it's not possible for a non-specialist viewer to know this is from an iPhone. And I want to use this photo commercially (for example, by selling merchandise with it).

Can this infringe Apple's or the screen manufacturer's rights? (copyright, trade marks, design patents, etc.) Does it matter if I label the photo as iPhone screen?


texts: During the current protests, there have been numerous reports of unknown/unidentified law enforcement personnel. Do these people have to show credentials if asked? If they give orders (without identifying), can I legally refuse to comply? Understanding that these people are armed, with military gear, so one assumes they are law enforcement, but what are my rights?


texts: Does vehicle information count as personal data?

texts:
Does a car’s registration number count as personal data under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation?

How about the VIN? (Vehicle Identification Number)


texts: Are Christine Blasey Ford's lawyers in legal jeopardy?

texts:
On September 27, 2018, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testified before the US Senate Judiciary Committee about her memory of an alleged sexual misconduct, which occurred in 1982, by someone she remembered to be the SCOTUS nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
This is not a question about the misconduct, her credibility, or the quality of her memory.  So, please, don't jump to answer it as if it were.  The question is exclusively about her lawyers' role in that testimony.
Here's a few facts related to her travel to testify:

It came out during the testimony that she traveled to the destination of the testimony by air.
She testified that she did not know that there was an offer for the Senate committee to come to hear her story  in California (her state of residence).
It's been widely reported that her testimony was delayed by 4 days to a week because her lawyers indicated that she was afraid to fly.  This delay produced a one-week delay in the confirmation process of a SCOTUS judge.
During the testimony she characterized this as a miscommunication, and the delay, as a misunderstanding.
Her lawyers tried to shut down this line of inquiry as protected by the attorney-client privilege because it was related to what her lawyers told her of what was told to them by the Senate functionaries responsible for arranging the testimony.

My question is in what legal jeopardy would the lawyers be if Dr. Ford were given a transactional immunity.  Since the attorney-client privilege is with the client, it does not spread to the lawyers if the client is immunized, or does it?  If it turned out that they misled the client (deliberately or not) about the Senate's offer to expedite the testimony, this would have been an act of obstructing a nomination of a SCOTUS judge.  Should this result in a delay in the confirmation (assuming the confirmation does go through), this delay may result in judge Kavanaugh not being one of the presiding judges on one of the cases heard by the SCOTUS.  Would this not be an obstruction of justice (quite literally)?
And while Dr. Blasey Ford characterized this as a misunderstanding, this is her view on the facts.  But if this results in an indictment, wouldn't the judgement of how to view the facts be with the jury (rather than Dr. Ford -- a witness)?  She would be an immunized witness compelled to testify, would she not?


texts: Shops are stealing my images but I never registered copyright. How can I takedown thieves sellers?

texts:
For the last 10 years, I’ve run my own shop with Zazzle where I have over 3000 different designs. During the last few years, I found at least 5 different shops who are stealing tons of designs from me, plus a lot of ebay sellers who are doing the same.

The problem is that I have never registered my images for copyright, and I don’t plan to. It would be way too much money and time wasted to register 3000+ designs

However some shops are stealing HUNDREDS of my designs.. A single eBay seller have around 2000+ stolen designs from me. I really need to do something.

Also, I have lack of legal experience and legal battles really makes me anxious, so I would prefer to hire a company to send the takedown notices for me. I found websites like ImageRights and ImageProtect but the problem is that their FAQ seems to be telling that you have to register copyright in order for their service to be effective.

Just to be clear, I don’t care about seeking legal damages or whatever… I just want the thieves to stop stealing my images and I don’t want to pay thousands of dollars just for this.

I tried contacting eBay myself but they never helped me, they were just asking for the trademark/copyright details.

Most of the shops stealing my images are running on platforms like Shopify and eBay. Is there some service that can help with the takedown notices? Any suggestions?


texts: Selling my own second hand product that I bought off Amazon, using original Amazon images (UK)

texts: I had bought a giant bean bag from Amazon that I would like to sell on Gumtree. Am I allowed to use the original images downloaded from Amazon, for my ad on Gumtree, in the UK? It feels illegal because I'm using someone else's images for my own financial gain, but I'd just like to clarify. In any case, I'm selling it for like £10, are they really going to press charges? If they do, how much fine would I have to pay?


texts: Client has no right to have services similar to the Services performed by Client’s staff - is it legal?

texts:
Can this provision "The Client has no right to have services similar to the Services performed by Client’s own employees or subcontractors or by other third parties." be illegal?

For example, a contractor has to create a computer program and it means that a client has no right to order similar programs, doesn't it?


texts: Address search at work not related to work

texts:
My wife has had letter through our door regarding a scrape in a car park (between cars) at our local vets. The other car belonged to an employee of the vets. At the time both parties were happy and it was left unactioned. The letter was asking for repair costs to be paid.

That's the background.

The letter in question was addressed to Mrs X Watson XXXXXXX. "Watson" is my dog's name and Mrs X Watson XXXXXXXX is how the vet links the dog to the OWNER. The X's refer to an initial and surname.

My question: is this lady allowed to use her works database to look up my address for a matter unrelated to work?

Many thanks in advance


texts: Manager-managed vs member-managed standards of conduct in WY LLC law

texts:
Wyoming LLC law 17-29-409 says:
(g) In a manager-managed limited liability company, the following rules apply:

    (i) Subsections (a), (b), (c) and (e) of this section
          apply to the manager or managers  and not the members;

Note that this specifically says that it applies to a "manager-managed" LLC, (and thus by definition not a member-managed LLC).
However, subsections (a), (b), and (c) that are referred to by this, explicitly state that they apply to "a member-managed" LLC, (thus not a "manager-managed" LLC).  For example:
(a) A member of a member-managed limited liability company owes to the company and,
    subject to W.S. 17-29-901(b),
    the other members the fiduciary duties of loyalty and care
    stated in subsections (b) and (c).

...

Is there a possible mistake in this Wyoming law?  Because I think as it is for example, (a) is for a member-managed LLC, so how can (g)(i) apply to it?
Did they possibly intend to say that in (g)(i) that subsections (a), (b) and (c) now also apply to a manager-managed LLC?
OR,
when they say to essentially substitute 'manager' for 'member' does this also include inside the term 'member-managed' to change it to 'manager-managed'?  I just assumed that 'member-managed' and 'manager-managed' were terms unto themselves.


texts: I want to be forgotten according to Art. 17 GDPR. What is the correct procedure?

texts:
English
I want to send someone a letter:

Dear Sir or Madam,
In accordance with Art.15 GDPR, I ask you to inform me whether you are storing data about me.
If you do this, I ask you (and third parties with whom you have shared data about me), in accordance with Art. 17 GDPR, to delete this data about me.
In accordance with Art. 19 GDPR I ask you to inform me about the progress of this action.
Regardless of whether you had already saved data about me or not, I ask you (and third parties with whom you have shared data about me), after you replied to me, to delete the data I submitted in this letter, that is, my address and my name, in accordance with Art. 17 GDPR.
MFG Nils Lindemann

I am doing this for the first time, is that correctly worded, or do I have to proceed differently in order to be forgotten?

Deutsch
Ich möchte jemandem einen Brief schicken:

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,
Entsprechend Art.15 DSGVO ersuche ich Sie, mir Auskunft darüber zu erteilen, ob Sie Daten über mich speichern.
Falls Sie dieses tun, ersuche ich Sie (und Dritte mit denen Sie Daten über mich geteilt haben) entsprechend Art. 17 DSGVO, diese Daten über mich zu löschen.
Entsprechend Art. 19 DSGVO ersuche ich sie, mich über den Fortgang dieser Aktion zu informieren.
Unabhängig davon, ob sie bereits Daten über mich gespeichert hatten oder nicht, ersuche ich sie (und Dritte mit denen Sie Daten über mich geteilt haben), nachdem Sie mir geantwortet haben, die von mir in diesem Brief übermittelten Daten, sprich meine Anschrift und meinen Namen, entsprechend Art. 17 DSGVO ebenfalls zu löschen.
MFG Nils Lindemann

Ich mache das zum ersten Mal, ist das so korrekt formuliert, oder muss ich anders vorgehen, um vergessen zu werden?


texts: can police officer advocate for the state or argue underlying law in a civil infraction with no prosecutor

texts:
Can a police officer advocate for the state or argue underlying law in a civil infraction with no prosecutor?
I recently came across this statement by an attorney and was wondering its origins in case law rules or proceedings.
here it is in full context and is it true?

Can a Judge act as a judge and prosecutor for the same case? Does anyone know if Florida has judicial notice on laser/lidar?

I ask because in the state of Florida traffic tickets are treated as civil infractions. I have been told there will not be a prosecutor at my hearing. Does this mean the judge or hearing officer will be acting as judge and prosecutor? If it does is this against my 14th amendment right to due process. Would this also mean if the hearing officer is acting as judge and police officer is a witness, then no-one can enter evidence against me? If so is this cause for a dismissal? Just asking because these are things I have read and wonder about the validity of the statements.

James B Countess
Posted on Aug 2, 2011

This question is well beyond a general discussion of applied law -- if you are thinking on this level you are going to love law school.

Most traffic tickets are civil infractions, but it can be a criminal infraction in some circumstances.

In civil infractions, the police officer is more akin to a plaintiff than a prosecutor. The officer files the complaint via the citation and has the responsibility to establish a factual basis via testimony or evidence that you committed the infraction. The officer should not be advocating for the state, or arguing the underlying law, but merely providing the relevant facts for the trier of fact (Hearing Officer) to weigh and determine if the allegation has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.


texts: How can I determine if a person filed a case against me?

texts:
A person in a different state claimed to have filed a case against me for posting something on Twitter (cyber bullying).

That was 6 months ago. In the meantime I was out of the country and did not receive any documents from the cops or courts.

Does this mean they didn't really file a case?

I got a background report on me and it does not show any record against me.


texts: What does Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. mean by 'continuity with the past is only a necessity'?

texts:
Preface: I first encountered the bolded on p 220, Is Eating People Wrong? Great Legal Cases and How They Shaped the World (2011) by Allan C. Hutchinson.
Source: p 185, The Essential Holmes: Selections from [...] Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., edited by Richard Posner.
Original Source: Law in Science and Science in Law,
12 Harvard Law Review 443 (1899).

       This process of historical explanation has been applied to the matter
  of our profession, especially Of recent years, with great success, and
  with so much eagerness, and with such a feeling that When you had
  true historic dogma you had the last word not only in the present but
  for the immediate future, that I have felt warranted heretofore in
  throwing out the caution that continuity with the past is only a necessity
  and not a duty. As soon as a legislature is able to imagine abolishing the
  requirement of a consideration for a simple contract, it is at perfect liberty to abolish it, if it thinks it wise to do so, without the slightest regard
  to continuity with the past. The continuity simply limits the possibilities
  of our imagination, and settles the terms in which we shall be compelled to think.

I do not comprehend the bolded: How is continuity even a necessity for the law, much less a duty? As Holmes himself states in the last sentence above, a legislature can ignore the past and create something entirely new; I also know that some activist judges can do so.


texts: Can I serve my ex spouse an eviction notice before he signs a quitclaim deed?

texts:
My divorce is finalized and I was awarded the house. Obviously I will need to refinance it and pay him his share of the equity to get the deed solely in my name, which will take time. My ex is dragging his feet about moving out, and our divorce decree says nothing about occupying the home. Can I serve him an eviction notice now since the house was awarded to me, or do I have to wait until I complete the refinance and get his name off the deed?

If for some reason I can't refinance, the house would be sold. He has no interest in staying in the house either way. That's not documented anywhere though. He's also perfectly able to afford to live elsewhere.

I found lots of info about getting temporary orders for occupancy during the divorce (which doesn't apply because it's already finalized), and evicting someone from a home if it's solely in your name, but nothing about the time period between those two events.


texts: Use of aliases in contracts between parties

texts: Aliases were used in the infamous hush agreement involving Donald Trump and Stephanie Clifford. The alias for Donald Trump was David Denison and the alias for Stephanie Clifford was Peggy Peterson. Did the document state who the aliases stood for? How could the agreement be enforced as an agreement between Trump and Clifford if it seems the agreement involved neither of them?


texts: USA: Does a user who has falsely stated that he/she has read an EULA or similiar agreement risk liability solely for the false statement?

texts:
Many software products and Internet services require that users agree to an EULA or terms of service agreement before the product or service can be used. The user is often required to state that he/she has read and agrees to the terms. However, many users don't even read the terms and blindly agree to the contract.

Does the user of the product or service risk liability solely because the user falsely claimed he/she read the agreement, even if the contract is never breached? Can the company providing the product or service take legal action on this cause alone?


texts: My car insurance company is taking a very long time to evaluate damage on my car -- What are my rights?

texts:
I had an accident (not at my fault) about a month ago with my car. The car stopped working, and I had to tow the car to a shop. The insurance company said they would do their best to quickly evaluate the damage and get back to me in a few days. For about one week the shop was closed, but for the next 3 weeks the insurance has not finished damage assessment. I just know that about 2 weeks ago the insurance people went to the shop and looked at the car but could not finish evaluation since the engine does not start. So they told me they are waiting for the shop to let them know what's wrong with the engine. A few days after that I called the shop, and they said the engine is broken since the accident has caused the oil to leak, and some parts inside the engine have got melted. They also told me they have let the insurance company know about this, but the insurance company has not followed up with them for anything. I emailed the person in charge at the insurance company and told him that the shop has already let them know about the engine failure, and I expect them to get back to me.  I got an automatic reply that he won't be able to respond to emails until Dec 30th. Today is Dec 30th, but I still have not got anything back from him.

So, to summarize, it's basically about a month that I do not have a car, and I don't even know what to do as it is taking an extremely long time for the insurance company to do damage evaluation. I had holiday plans, and I was certain I'd have my car back a few weeks after the accident, but it seems impossible. Given that the new year starts in less than 2 days, I assume I have to wait yet another week for them to get back to me (making it almost 5 weeks by then).

So I wonder, do I have any legal rights to ask the insurance company to compensate me for this extremely long and unjustified time that is taking them to only do "damage evaluation"? Or basically, is there any law to protect my rights in this situation? Please note that my insurance plan does not cover for rental cars, but what frustrates me is that the insurance company is careless about my time and my situation, and I'm just sitting here without my car. I'm also wondering if I can somehow sue them legally because of their ignorance/carelessness? I appreciate your advice in advance.


texts: Panama Papers Scandal: Is a salary "withdrawn?"

texts:
The Prime Minister of Pakistan is facing an inquiry under a constitutional petition praying that the PM should be disqualified under sections 62 and 63 of the Constitution where a Member of the National Assembly must be, among other things, honest. Here is the full text of the April 20th judgement (which ruled 3-2 in favour of further investigation opposed to disqualification). http://www.supremecourt.gov.pk/web/user_files/File/Const.P._29_2016.pdf

Further investigation, among many things, discovered that the Prime Minister had an employment visa in the UAE. On the visa application made by a UAE company he is a "marketing manager" and the chairman of a company (owned by his son) with a salary of 10,000AED.

The PM was required to disclose his income sources as "assets" on his election nomination papers. In a written reply to the Supreme Court, just after the Court has reserved its judgement, he says that he did not withdraw any salary and therefore was not required to disclose it.

None of the five judges have said many good things about the PM in their original judgement. However, the only power to disqualify the PM the Supreme Court has in this case is if they believe the PM was dishonest. The Court has already made it known that a criminal trial for corruption, forgery, fraud and perjury against the PM and family will follow but everyone (including the judges themselves) have reservations about the conduct of institutions that will eventually prosecute them.

The judges have already concluded that a false or missing declaration on the ECP form suggests dishonesty. Was the PM dishonest by not disclosing a salary that he was not withdrawing?


texts: The Second Amendment is oft quoted as the reason that guns cannot be completely removed from American society, at least not without some sort of further amendment to the US Constitution. But what about attacking the problem in another way? There is no right reserved to the people in the US Constitution that prevents gunpowder, bullets, or other projectiles from being totally regulated. In other words, people can buy all of the guns they want, but possession of any form of ammunition for the guns could be made totally illegal or regulated as a state sees fit (barring federal legislation). Would this hold up in court? Has any state attempted to do this beyond limiting the amounts that can be purchased in a given period?


texts: Where is it written that the House must deliver the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate floor before a trial may start in the Senate?


texts: Unresponsive landlord not providing lease renewal

texts:
I am renting an apartment (not rent-controlled) and my lease will be up at the end of the month. My current lease states the landlord is supposed to provide the renewal lease at least 60 days before the end of the current lease. There are 16 days until the end of the lease and I have not received the lease renewal.

I have tried emailing and calling the landlord multiple times over the last several weeks (leaving voice messages). I did once manage to reach them a couple of weeks ago and they said they would get it to me.

I have tried contacting them since for an update, but have not heard from them. Aside from any legal action I might be able to take against them, what should I do in the meantime if my lease ends and they so not respond? Should I attempt to send rent?


texts: I got a speeding ticket. What can I expect in court?

texts:
I live in Illinois and I was driving on a 4 lane highway when I got a ticket for driving 83 in a 40. At the time I had a permit but not my license yet, so I got a ticket for the speed, and for not having a license.

My first court visit I got an extension to get my license before returning to court. I came to court without an attorney the first time, and the judge even recommended that I come with one next time. My court date is soon, and I have gotten my license but I was not able to secure an attorney due to lack of funds.

Going off of all that what can I expect in court? Any help is appreciated.


texts: Is the user agent string considered personal data?

texts:
I have a website. I would like to store the user agent string, current time and opened url (not the IP address or something else) in a database for each page visit to be able to build some statistical measurements.
The user agent string looks like:
Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Ubuntu Chromium/83.0.4103.61 Chrome/83.0.4103.61 Safari/537.36

Is this considered storing personal data? Do I need user's consent?
Thank you!


texts: Is it ok to post a clone of a famous game up for review or in a website?

texts:
I recently wrote a clone of the famous Jeopardy! game. It is copyrighted but I believe that if I my copy was made for educational and recreational uses only (no commercial) it falls under FAIR USE, am I right? If so, can I publish it on the public internet?

I am using the main screen and concept of a game, the name is the same, and the audience will just be me and the code reviewers. I am in the EU. (Something like 10 people will play the game so might it count as private use?)


texts:
In the movie/book The Martian there's a NASA astronaut on the Mars named Mark Watney.
He's arguing that the surface of the planet is juridically considered sea.

Because he takes control of another (empty) space ship without explicit permission, he considers himself a space pirate.

Is that reasoning correct?
Does the law of the sea really apply to other planets?


texts: What are my rights to have structures on my own land if I live off-grid?

texts: I have converted a shed into a home and have been living in it for the last 2 years. Recently, the county building officials said they are cutting power off to it because it is an illegal structure (which I did not realize when I moved in). If we live off grid, with our own power, septic and well, and we own the land, is there anything else the county or state can say or do about it? I have neighbors who live in similar or worse structures and nothing has been done to them. What are my rights in this situation? What am I allowed to do if I live off grid?


texts: Dealership does not want to give me the loan contract agreement and maintenance package detail signed?

texts: I purchased my car on April 17,2020, after signing paperwork and waiting 2 hours for the car to be ready to go, I expected my contract agreement and my maintenance package details to be printed and emailed to me as requested. I've called numerous times and when to the dealership and when ever I go there is no one to help me when I get there. I went to get an oil and filter change for my vehicle, and i ended up having to pay for everything out of pocket when i was informed by dealer that maintenance was included in the deal. I was also informed that my payments for my vehicle was $750 monthly, and when I went to make my first payment it stated 850 monthly. I was given $2000 to help with first 7 months car payments, then I can return and refinance. I was told to put up $500 and $250 from the 2000 dollars given to help with monthly payments. I need some help figuring out what to do next.


texts: What does Justice Anthony Kennedy mean by 'you're recused'?

texts:
I refer to 71:31.

  71:31 And Hugo Black stands up and stalks out
  71:34 of the room, which is our polite way of saying, you're recused.
  71:38 And so, the argument went on.
  71:41 And at the end of the argument, the attorney
  71:43 said, now, I don't know why Hugo did that,
  71:45 because he's my cousin.

Did Kennedy J misspeak by using the personal pronoun 'you're'?
Isn't the Justice who 'stands up and stalks out of the room' the one who's recusing himself (no female justices then)?
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but is Kennedy J implying a conflict of interest between the lawyer and Black J as they're cousins?


texts: Is it okay to use pictures from another shutterstock account?

texts:
I want to use a bunch of images from shutterstock on a (not yet published) website. I know somebody who has a company and a shutterstock account, which means they can download a fixed amount of 750 high quality pictures/vector artworks per month. They wouldn't mind if they download some pictures for me.

Can I use the pictures legally on my website when they are downloaded with another shutterstock account which is not used by me?


texts: Is it legal to sell a software which will scan user files with multiple antiviral engines located on remote server?

texts: I have an idea for a software, which will allow users to upload their files for antivirus scan, receive scan results and perform corresponding action on user end. Is it legal to do so, taking that the antiviral software itself will not be distributed (i.e. i will buy and install it only on my server)?


texts: Thailand; relationship between defamation lawsuit and criminal defamation procedure

texts:
Bangkok Post's

The Sea View Resort released a five-page statement on Saturday after news of its legal action against Wesley Barnes attracted widespread attention. The statement was posted on the Twitter account of Richard Barrow, a British expat travel blogger with 167,000 followers.
Under Thailand’s tough criminal defamation laws, Mr Barnes could face up to two years in prison if found guilty.

The first paragraph seems to describe a civil lawsuit while the one that directly follows seems to describe a criminal issue.
While the results of, or thing brought to light by one might impact the other, my understanding is that in many countries these are separate processes.
Question: Is that also true in Thailand (with perhaps the sometimes perceived exception of it's Lèse-majesté law), or are they more closely linked so that the the second paragraph following the first is more than simply listing two related but different things?
I don't usually see "found guilty" in a discussion of a civil lawsuit.


texts: Can I cut down a neighbor's tilted fence that overhangs my yard?

texts:
I have a hypothetical question about property rights and structures overhanging the property.

In New York state, let's say I have a neighbor with a wooden fence built slightly back from the border between our two properties. The base of the fence and the posts are on his side. The many years old fence is now leaning over at an angle, and leaning into my property. Let's assume that of a six foot fence, about four feet or so overhangs my property.

My understanding is that I have the right to trim a tree or bush or similar up to the property line. Does the same hold true with fences? If so, could I just cut it down, or would I need to give notice so he has a chance to fix it first?


texts: Tree parts (leaves, twigs) naturally falling into neighbor's yard

texts:
Situation:
Property is within the jurisdiction of a Nevada Homeowners' Association

Problem:
A neighbor left a message on my doorstep to trim my flora due to debris landing on his property; otherwise I will be billed for professional trimming.  Specifically an overhanging American Pepper (species: Schinus molle) tree.

Question: Does the neighbor have the legal right to charge me for professional trimming?


texts: What happens to the mortgage on property which has been 'Adversely possessed'

texts:
So if property has not been utilised by the original owner, and another person starts to occupy and utilize it for a reasonable period of time (i.e., 20 years), the new occupier can lodge for the property title to be transferred to themselves. This is know as 'Adverse possession' or 'Squatter rights'.

Let's assume the property has been successfully 'adversedly possessed', but there was a mortgage on the property. Is the original owner still responsible for the mortgage, or does it transfer to the new owner?

I am interested in NZ/Aus law, but feel this is an interesting question, so am happy for answers pertaining to other locations as well


texts: Licensing an image that contains a licensed image

texts:
Suppose I collect three or four public domain images, modify them, build upon them and put them together to form an image that I can claim as my own.

Then I purchase an image from some online site like DepositPhotos or Adobe Stock, modify it and add it to the larger image.

I can no longer claim copyright because my image includes an image licensed by someone else (e.g. Adobe Stock), even if they don't require me to give credit.

So how can I protect the rest of the image - the portion I created? Can I say "This image is copyrighted by me EXCEPT for the gold star, which belongs to Adobe Stock"?


texts: Has a food donor been sued for giving away spoiled food?

texts:
Regarding food waste, on John Oliver's series "Last Week Tonight" he states:

  That's a common misconception. We all think that if someone gets sick you could get sued. I thought that until earlier this week. But we looked into and couldn't find a single case where a food donor has been sued. It doesn't happen.

While this may be a better question for the skeptics, is this a true statement? Is it true that there has never been a single case where a food donor has been sued acting in good faith after the 1996 Emerson Act?


texts: My lease front page states $1045 the start of second year but page 5 show $1145

texts: The front page when I pull up my lease states that on my second year my rent will go from $1095 to $1045. Once my second year hit it states that rent due is $1145. So I call and the tell me that the front page has a typo and down on page 5 it states that the rent will be $1145 starting my second year. I told her that the typo is their fault so I’m prepared to pay the $1045. They are telling me that the front page is just a cover sheet not my actual lease agreement so the typo is basically void. What should I do?


texts: How to find where to serve process on a company with a non-unique name?

texts:
Suppose I transacted with a large business (perhaps a chain store or a hospital) that has a publicly-facing name "ABC", in the U.S. state in which I live, and wish to sue it for whatever reason.

How do I find out the correct entity named "ABC" out of a list of several potential matches that represents the legal person with which I transacted (absent any paperwork that indicates which)?


texts: Are principles of judicial interpretation subject to legislative control?

texts:
In the news you often read about differing philosophies of judicial interpretation, especially when important cases are decided (like several recent US Supreme Court decisions).  I recently browsed through a book by Antonin Scalia in which he outlines a number of specific principles he endorses and does not endorse, with citations to earlier case law.  Apparently there is some debate about the merits of such principles and how (or whether) judicial interpretation of legislation comports with legislators' understanding of what they are doing.

It is clear that many of these "canons" can be overridden on a per-law basis by including language in the law that explicitly goes against some judicial principle that would otherwise apply.  However, my question is, are the principles themselves subject to legislative control in a broader sense?  Can legislatures pass "meta-laws" which define how other laws are to be intepreted?  For instance, could the US Congress pass a law saying "Wherever ambiguity arises in statutory interpretation, the statute in question shall be understood as to favor the least powerful party in a dispute"?  Or "No special deference shall be given to interpretation of statute by administrative agencies" (i.e., to curtail Chevron deference)?  Or more generally, can a legislature pass a law saying "The law shall be understood as X", where X is some principle of intepretation that is not specific to the law in which it is contained, but is meant to constrain interpretations of all other laws (or some subset of other laws)?  Would such laws be valid?

I'm interested mostly in the situation in the US, but would be interested to know how the issue could play out in different countires, or in particular US states.


texts:
I have a simple question...If a client asks a developer to develop a penetration testing / security related software and that he is ready to accept the EULA which comes with the software...does that protect the developer ? if the client misuses the software and violates the terms in the EULA is the developer safe and not held responsible ?

thanks guys, i chose this topic for an assignment and I would be most grateful for some professional help.


texts: Use of trademark related domain with permission

texts:
I have a domain (and a website) that is closely related to the very very well known product. If that product was name Foo, my domain is foofaq.com and provides faq and news about Foo.

At the beginning, the Foo was brand new product and they liked that people write about them. I was in direct contact with one of their official representatives and they were even doing moderation of comments on my website! They started that contact and they offered me cooperation.
I have all emails preserved, and all comments they done on my site are still there.

After some time, they become huge and they got bought by some other company (hundreds of millions $). Foo is still on market, working well but now they want me to shut down my website so that end users do not confuse thinking that my foofaq.com is an official website.

So the question is: Can they just change their mind like that?


texts: Executive/Judiciary Separation of Powers: Weaknesses?

texts:
Suppose there is open conflict between an executive administration and the federal judicial branch.  The executive branch wants to curtail judicial power, but is hopefully limited by the Constitution in what it can do.  Presumably there is also a certain precedence and decorum that discourages such conflicts from escalating.  That said, were such a situation to escalate, would the executive have actions they could take that would weaken the judiciary?  Likewise, does the judiciary have any proactive defenses against such measures?

My understanding is that Article III judges are fairly well protected from retaliation by their lifetime appointment.  Rude remarks aside, are there actions that could, in practice, weaken their powers or imperil their jobs?


texts: Is it legal for a firm to time their announcements based on the stock sale times indicated in the pre-established 10b5-1 plan?

texts:
I understand that SEC Rule 10b5-1 aims at reducing insider trading by having major shareholders and insiders of exchange-listed corporations trade a predetermined number of shares at a predetermined time (refer to as the "pre-established 10b5-1 plan").
Following the recent case on  Pfizer CEO made $5.6 million stock sale on same day as COVID-19 vaccine update: filing, I wonder the following: is it legal for a firm to time their announcements based on the stock sale times indicated in the pre-established 10b5-1 plan?
E.g., if an announcement is expected to boost the stock price, then make the announcement on the day of the sale, and conversely if an announcement is expected to shoot down the stock price, then make the announcement on the day after the sale.


texts: Can I embed "public available" scientific data in my app?

texts:
I have written some (smallish) scientific apps which I would like to make public (open source). They use scientific data sets from NIST such as this.
It would make sense to add a (slightly cleaned up) copy of the data set to my code. I plan to reference the source in comments and in the readme. Suppose an alternative would be to download the data every run from NIST - but as programmer I would really dislike this approach.
Being tiny hobby projects I don't want to employ a lawyer, so into how much risk am I getting?
Are there best practices that I should follow?
I tried researching on my own - but I somehow couldn't find any reasonable resource. There are some tools around that I suppose get their data from this source (e.g. chemical suites that calculate molecular mass) - but I can't find out how and if they got rights for the data. Consider sisweb - it does very similar calculations but I can't find anything about the data they use. On the other hand I notice that NIST themselves don't include any citations to the researchers that contributed to the table.


texts: Can someone explain to me the distinctions between the various EU legal instruments, particularly "regulation", "implementing regulation" and "directive"?


texts: Can a company sue the employee of another company on the basis of property right?

texts:
To clarify the title:
let's say company ABC has entered into a contract with company XYZ, where it has ordered, and paid for a server farm. But 2 weeks before delivery an employee of XYZ destroys the server farm.
Can ABC sue the employee on the basis of infringement of a property right?


texts:
I administrate an Internet forum that is available to anyone who register to it (and anyone may register).

Can I legally create a dump of the forum data and share it publicly? The dump would only contain, for each post: username, timestamp, post title and post body.


texts:
So I have had a short term lease (Dec-August) that costs me $X

2 months ago, I was offered, and accepted (signed a new lease), to renew the lease for a full year for the same price. However I was told few days ago that the property manager has made a mistake and that they shouldn't have renewed it because the owner needs it from August till December.

I demanded compensation because all rentals around me cost higher, and because good deals are now off market (university area).
However, the Leasing office is not willing to pay anything, and they are arguing that this is because I shouldn't have been offered this lease in the first place, and that the reason why my lease is actually just $X is that it is a short term lease. So the fact that I am going to pay $200+X is just because $X is too low for a comparable apartment.

Does their argument make any sense? is there a chance that I would lose the case if I brought it to court?


texts: Connecticut, USA: Spousal right to use vehicle purchased before marriage?

texts:
Hypothetical situation in CT, USA:

Before A and B are Married...

A owns 2 vehicles.
B owns 0 vehicles.

During marriage...

A is the sole source of income. B did not have a job when they met, and has not had one since.
A adds B to auto insurance for both vehicles.
A provides B with keys to both vehicles.
A allows B to use a vehicle. Whichever is convenient at the time.

A plans to file for divorce, and has notified B of this verbally.
B has moved out and is living separately.
A wishes to revoke B's permission to use one (or both) vehicle(s).

Questions:

Does B have the right to continue driving one (or both) vehicles until the divorce? If B has intentionally damaged property out of spite in the past, would this give A better footing to withdraw permission to use the vehicles to protect them?
Can A remove B from their auto insurance and force B to get their own?
Is the answer to 1 or 2 different if B has custody of an infant from a prior relationship? (Could the use of a vehicle be deemed a necessary "support" if there is an infant involved?)


texts: Lab provider says I owe them money, insurance company says I don't. Who is right?

texts:
tl/dr: My doctor told me some lab work would be fully covered, but the doctor didn't do the work themselves.  They sent it off to a 3rd party lab
service.  Turns out that one particular test wasn't covered by my
insurance and it tripled my bill.  The insurance company says I don't
have to pay for uncovered services in this circumstance.  The lab
service naturally disagrees.  I don't have any agreements with the lab
service.  Who is right?

So here's the situation:

Visited a new doctor for a "new patient" visit.
Doctor ordered some blood work
I asked if the blood work would be covered by my insurance
Doctor came back and said everything was covered and I owe no money
The blood work was sent to/performed by a 3rd party lab service
A few weeks later I got a letter from my insurance company informing me of a bill that will show up from lab service
There were about a dozen labs ordered total, all of which were a few hundred dollars.  However the "negotiated" rate for services covered by the insurance company was on average ~$10
There was one uncovered lab with a cost of $200
The total bill was therefore ~$300 (~$100 total for covered services, $200 for a non-covered service)
The insurance company insists that I am not responsible for uncovered services if I was not told about them before hand (I asked and was told they were covered, so this is definitely the case)
The lab company of course disagrees, and says that according to their policy I must pay full price for uncovered services

As I was discussing this with the lab company one item struck me.  A rep said that, "Obviously the insurance company has a different policy than us, but our policy is that you must pay the full amount for uncovered services".
It occurs to me that the use of the world "policy" may be important here. I don't really care what someone's policy says unless I've actually agreed to them in writing.  Of course I have signed agreements with my insurance company, and signed agreements with my doctor, but I expect that I don't have any signed agreements with this lab services provider (I'm checking to see if something about this may have been signed while filling out intake paperwork with the doctor).
While I don't object to paying my bills, I get very tired of my inability to figure out what health care will cost beforehand.  This is not the first time I've asked about costs before hand only to get a much higher bill later, and my patience for it is low these days.  Therefore, presuming I have any legal ground to stand on, I would really like to push back more with the lab service provider and insist that they discount this uncovered test.
Therefore I need to know what laws/regulations may be applicable here, and whether or not this lab services provider can charge me arbitrary prices for uncovered services despite my best attempts to find out the cost of services before hand.
Is their "policy" legally binding?  Are there any laws/regulations that influence my responsibility in cases like this?


texts: Is it commercial use to use someone picture on pdf's product for sale?

texts:
I'm selling pdf's product using pictures that someone drew for us. We want to use some free pictures available on Internet.

So when the website says we can use images for commercial use does it mean we can sell it in our pdf product? We always specify who created the image or provide a direct link.


texts: Why can't newspapers be held liable for publishing information given to them in violation of an NDA?

texts: In the United States, information that is protected by non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) are more and more frequently appearing in newspapers and news publications. Why can't the news publication be held liable for the disclosure of that information?


texts: Does prospect of sale price being paid in full determine validity of sale?

texts:
I’ve been offered to sell my business to another business in what appears to me as a lease or licensing agreement with royalties, but the contract’s language says “purchase”.

In short, the buyer wants to obtain ownership of my business and pay the full purchase price of USD X to me gradually over time, by paying me 25% of the monthly profits each month until USD X have been paid in full.

Regardless of whether this sounds reasonable or not, my only fear is that the buyer may not operate the business successfully enough to pay USD X to me in a reasonable time. Without a time limit or minimum payment per month defined in the contract, would the sale be “valid” if I had not received more than, say, USD 100 after two years?

To put this differently, could you argue (after two years) that the purchase is not valid or has no effect (anymore) since it is not realistic that the purchase price will ever be paid in full in a lifetime?

(Location: California, USA, or New York, USA)


texts: Help with interpretation: must I comply or not with COPPA?

texts:
(This is a follow-up question from How to make sure my website complies with things like COPPA?)
Quoting FTC's COPPA FAQ:

The Internet is a global medium.  Do websites and online services developed and run abroad have to comply with the Rule?

Foreign-based websites and online services must comply with COPPA if they are directed to children in the United States, or if they knowingly collect personal information from children in the U.S.  The law’s definition of “operator” includes foreign-based websites and online services that are involved in commerce in the United States or its territories.  As a related matter, U.S.-based sites and services that collect information from foreign children also are subject to COPPA.

I am Brazilian and my website would be hosted in Brazil. I am not sure about the section "if they are directed to children in the United States" - if my website is not directed specifically to children in U.S. but directed to any children in the world, do I have to comply?
If yes, does this mean I have to comply with all similar laws that might exist anywhere in the world?


texts: Is There a Deadline for Forming Political Parties before a US Presidential Election?

texts:
Can I legally, with respect to the FEC, form a political party such as Kanye's "Birthday Party" just before a national election as he has?  This article suggests not:
"... you can only register a political party at certain times of the year. For instance, you may not be able to register a new political party shortly before an election."
https://www.unstrippedvoice.com/4286-you-can-create-a-new-political-party-heres-how-to-do-it/
The FEC website does not state a specific deadline:
https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/registering-political-party/


texts: How does the US legal system prevent successful evidence tampering from reducing total punishment?

texts:
Flavor text:

You're suddenly startled by the feds knocking on your door. Someone must have squealed about the methamphetamine operation you've picked up as a hobby to try and save some money for your family. You quickly Google the punishment for evidence tampering and find some law firm's webpage.

  Under U.S. Code 18 Section 1519, federal evidence tampering can be
  charged as a felony and is punishable by up to 20 years in federal
  prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

That doesn't sound so bad compared to the life sentence you would surely face as the convicted kingpin of a meth empire. Before opening the door and welcoming in the DEA, you quickly destroy documents that are crucial for a successful conviction. How does the US federal legal system deal with such a scenario?

Does the US legal system have specific mechanisms to ensure that evidence tampering does not allow one to reduce total punishment? As examples, can proof of evidence tampering be used as evidence of the original crime? Can a sentence for evidence tampering somehow scale to be at least as great as any crime it successfully covers up?

Alternatively, are there scenarios in the US legal system where destroying evidence could be the rational thing to do (assuming you will succeed in covering up the original crime but be convicted of evidence tampering)?

Assume US federal law.


texts: What is the point of administering prolonged field sobriety tests, and aren't the tasks unreasonable?

texts:
I've just watched this video of a police officer in Miami administering a field sobriety test on a person suspected to be driving under the influence. The test takes over ten minutes.

There are two confusions I have. The first one is that, as I've learned on Wikipedia the whole point of the test is to establish probable cause for which to arrest someone. As you could see from the video this takes so much time, and the instructions aren't very clear for someone performing this for the first time. Would a breathalyser test not also establish probable cause?

Also, as I've seen on Wikipedia there is controversy over the use of such tests, and rightly so, as there have been studies that have shown how accurate or useful they are:

  "After viewing the 21 videos of sober individuals taking the
  standardized field tests, the police officers believed that forty-six
  percent of the individuals had 'too much to drink'".

And there are other studies of the same sort.

Finally, I'm of the opinion that many who have never touched alcohol would fail this test for reasons such as that some tasks are quite demanding, the mental stress and intimidation felt by the subject, and also that the instructions aren't all that clear. For example one requires you close your eyes, look up, count to 30, and then stop the task while the police officer times you. I don't believe all people would count thirty seconds consistently, I certainly wouldn't be accurate in this. Nor would I likely be able to place one foot in front of another so stringently, or maybe stand on one foot under pressure.

Many of the people commenting on the video have expressed exactly what I feel, that even 100% sober I would fail this test.

So my question are:

1) What's the point of spending so much time going through this procedure if the main point of it is to establish probable cause, which can also be established with a 5 second breath test, which is also preliminary test to establish probable cause.

2) Isn't it unreasonable to expect normal people to pass these tests? Walking a straight line and counting the steps while remembering which foot to start from seems overwhelming to me, as does counting 30 seconds, and many of the other tests.


texts: Are there legal reasons to maintain addresses for my clients?

texts: If I'm opening a hosting company and would there be any legal reason or requirement to obtain the home or business addresses of my clients?


texts: I was looking for an apartment, and you have to contact them if you are interested, which I did. Then I talked to the lady on the phone and paid a non-refundable fee. A day later she sends me the application acknowledgment about the non-refundable fee and security deposit, but by that time I changed my mind and decided not to get the apartment. Since I haven't signed the application acknowledgment and haven't signed any lease, can I get my money back?


texts: Is male child circumcision legal in the UK

texts: My Muslim friend didn’t even have to sign any document prior to the ceremony. It was done at home.


texts: Is marital status from another country valid in the US?

texts: If someone with F-2 visa status comes to the US with his/her spouse then wants to get married a US citizen, or green card holder in the US, should he/she get divorced from his/her spouse? Or is it not necessary because the previous marriage was not conducted within the US?


texts: ISP is not hashing the password I log in with online. Should I take any action?

texts:
I just phoned the customer support number for my ISP for the first time and was surprised to be asked the fourth and fifth characters of my password, specifically the one I used to log into my account on their website, not a special password for use over the phone. The fact that they know what the fourth and fifth characters are shows that they are not hashing the password.

I believe the GDPR requires them to store the password securely, and if they're not hashing it then I'm sure it can't be considered secure, so should I report them to someone?

The only thing that makes me think this might be acceptable is that it's common for organisations to ask for certain characters of a password over the phone. I think they normally set up a different password specifically for this though, rather than using the website login.


texts: How much of a copyrighted book can I display in a web app?

texts:
Google Books and Amazon both display significant portions of copyrighted material for free. In the case of Google, there is an option to select books based on the qualifications

Any books
Preview available
Google eBooks
Free Google eBooks

Some texts like Early History of Wine Production in California have no eBook available but provide Snippet view. Others, like History of Wine Words: An Intoxicating Dictionary of Etymology and Word Histories from the Vineyard, Glass, and Bottle provide no preview at all, and have no eBook available.

This stimulates the questions:

Is this difference of previewing dependent on copyright or technology (i.e., have they not scanned the text or can they not get permission)?
More importantly: what are the legal ramifications of digitizing a text and making it searchable? How much of the search results can I display without being affected by copyright law?

I very much want to allow the users of my web app to be able to search for lines in any text on my platform. If they search "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen." I would like for the result to be the first line of Nineteen Eighty-Four and display some context (i.e. the surrounding lines).

What do I need to be legally aware of for this?

Clarification: I am not using Google or Amazon's services. I will obtain the books myself, even digitize them myself if I have to.

My question is specifically about fair use. I brought up Google and Amazon to describe similar web behavior.

Issues I see:

How many lines of context around an indexed line can I display within fair use guidelines?
Is there a problem with the fact that a user could do the following:

Search the first line of a book.
Read the context blurb (say 5 lines, if that is legal).
Search the last line of the context from the previous search.
Read that context blurb.
Search the last line from the previous search.
Continue until the end of the book?

It is an unrealistic case, but is it legally problematic for my app to not prevent this?


texts: Would a non-complete clause apply to oversea job searches?

texts:
A few years ago I signed a NDA with a non-compete clause when joining my current company in the United States. The NDA is stated to be enforceable where permitted by law.

Since then I’ve moved to Japan and am currently working for the  same company. But my current contract is with its Japanese entity. I didn’t sign a second NDA when on-boarding here.

My question is would my previous NDA apply if I were to look for another job here in Japan or in a third country, say, China/Hong Kong?


texts: Are buyer contingencies still needed if no Ernest money

texts: A seller and I have agreed that no Ernest money will be paid in the contract. However, there are no financial or appraisal contingencies in the contract to void the contract if I can’t get the loan or the house doesn’t appraise for at least the purchase price. My questions is, are these contingencies needed if there is no Ernest money put down?


texts: What is the difference between enacting and promulgating?

texts: What's the difference between promulgate and enact?


texts: Can the US Government assert copyright on a government work internationally?

texts:
From what I understand, large swaths of US Government works are considered  "public domain", but this unrestricted status applies only within the United States,

For this question I am assuming the work is unambiguously a US Federal Government work that would otherwise be public domain to someone within the US.

Can the US Government claim copyright to this work internationally?

and optionally:

Has there ever been an instance of the US Government defending the copyright of such a work internationally?


texts: Can a U.S. President undo an act of clemency or a pardon of his predecessor?

texts: Can the next U.S. President undo the current President's pardons?


texts: Why is it in TV shows and Movies you never see logos of main stream stores?

texts: Why is it in TV shows and movies you never see popular chains, like McDonald's or Starbucks? I'm assuming it has to do with Copyright. If something does show a brand, does the band pay them or does the maker pay the brand? For example I remember seeing a Spiderman TV show where they had the Starbucks logo in it. Did the producers pay Starbucks for the right to use their logo, or did Starbucks pay the producers for the publicity?


texts: What are my options legally if NYC company is not paying salary?

texts:
UPDATE:

I was just let go today, May 8. After being let go, 2-3 hours later I was asked to sign a general release. Obviously I declined. I told them I cannot sign a general release as I have a claim to unpaid wages.

Original Post:

I asked a question over at Personal Finance and I was advised to ask for legal guidance here. A brief summary (please checkout full question for details) is below:

  My company, based in NYC, has not paid salary for the month of April
  2019. There is no update for when salary will be paid out, but it looks like it might happen until shortly after May 20, 2019. I'm
  optimistic, but also skeptical about this. I'm also expecting a bonus
  payment for 2018 that has not been paid yet either. It is a long
  story, but apparently the funds are currently frozen in another
  country due to the firm being a 3rd party in an ongoing investigation
  that is coming to a close.

What legal options do I have here? Do I have a claim to salary if I quit? I'm nearly positive I would not have a claim to the 100% discretionary bonus. But I am thinking it is best if I quit, move back in with my parents, get a different job, and then await the payment of previously earned salary. This is unless of course I have no legal claim to accrued wages unpaid.


texts: Are there any legal theories under which New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation state primary law could be upheld or struck down federally?

texts:
With the 2020 Democratic primaries underway, the role played by the early states (particularly Iowa and New Hampshire) is again under scrutiny.  Let's suppose that in 2028, one of the parties decides to give another state a chance to go first.  New Hampshire's Secretary of State looks at the state's election laws, and notes that they require him/her to hold their presidential primary at least 7 days before any other state's primary:

  The presidential primary election shall be held on the second Tuesday in March or on a date selected by the secretary of state which is 7 days or more immediately preceding the date on which any other state shall hold a similar election, whichever is earlier, of each year when a president of the United States is to be elected or the year previous. ... The purpose of this section is to protect the tradition of the New Hampshire first-in-the-nation presidential primary.

So New Hampshire holds its primaries first anyway.  The party's national committee decides to play hardball, and says that the New Hampshire delegates will not be seated at the national convention if New Hampshire jumps the queue.  (This was done to Democratic delegates from Florida & Michigan in 2008, for example, after those states held an earlier primary than the Democratic National Committee wanted them to.)

What happens next?  Are there any legal theories under which the state of New Hampshire could sue to enforce the seating of their delegates at the national convention?  Would such an action need to happen at the state level (in New Hampshire), in federal court, or somewhere else entirely?  Or are political parties private organizations who can make their own rules about who they allow to vote at their conventions?

Ignore, for the sake of this question, the political aspects of whether any party would be willing to play hardball with the state of New Hampshire over this issue.  Feel free to bluntly correct any misconceptions implicit in this question.


texts: Is it legal to use textures from another game, but not provide those with the new game installer?

texts:
The situation is there is some very old bugged mmorpg game that left without any improve since 2008. I doing remake of this game (with different name), but I am programmer, not graphics designer.

I came to idea what if only the exe file of the new game was distributed, and players must put the new exe into existing game folder and run it, so the new exe can use existing textures of original game? It could be called a "compatible graphics environment".

So the site of the new game will have something like that: "To play this game you need to put downloaded exe file into folder with compatible graphics environment. I do not provide anything like that. You should figure out by yourself what is compatible graphics environment for this game."

Is this legal?


texts: Contract requiring the signing of a statement that may not be true when signed

texts:
I found an employment contract, in which the employee promises, upon termination of employment, to sign a "Termination Certification" and present it to the employer. The text of the certification is attached to the contract as an exhibit.

The termination certification contains assertions, ostensibly made by the employee, about the state of the world: things along the lines of "I certify that I have complied with the agreement to disclose all relevant inventions to the company", and "I certify that I do not currently possess and did not fail to return any company-issued computers or devices".

It seems to me that it is possible that, upon termination of employment, some of these statements the employee is supposed to certify might not be true. For example, if the employee is fired for losing a company laptop, they obviously will have failed to return a company-issued computer, yet they will have an obligation, from their employment contract, to sign a statement saying that this is not the case.

Does this amount to the employer potentially paying the employee to lie to them, to no ultimate legal effect? Or will the employee have a problem if they end up with an obligation to sign a statement that is not in agreement with reality?


texts: Is it legal to upload short, publicly available, source files on Stack Exchange to ask about them?

texts:
I once asked a question on tex.SE about a (LaTeX) title page template that my university provides for master's theses.

Since the people over at tex.SE require Minimal Working Examples, I uploaded a short document containing the title page template and showing what problem I had with it (you may follow my profile to find the question).

Was this allowed by copyright law? In particular, to my complete layman's mind, it seems like this could be covered under Fair Use.

The university's homepage provides the template without any login, license or copyright notice.


texts: Are records for Right To Know requests maintained, and are they publicly accessible?

texts:
This is specifically concerning the Right to Know law in Pennsylvania.

If a person claims they have filed a Right to Know request with an agency (e.g. a police department), can evidence of that request be obtained by a third party?

If so, what is the proper method of obtaining this information? Is the agency to which the request was made responsible for keeping a log of requests? Are they obligated to release this information?


texts: Are companies at sexual discrimination risk for using whiteboard interviews during the job interview?

texts:
Background
Currently, many companies hiring software development engineers use a whiteboard algorithms interview technique. This involves asking the job candidate to code a solution to an algorithm question on a whiteboard while the hiring manager and other team members watch and critique.
This interview technique has long been criticized as making the candidate uncomfortable, as ineffective, and perhaps at least a little demeaning. Many in the industry believe it is little more than a hazing ritual. See the following links for more information:
Why is hiring broken? It starts at the whiteboard.
Tech Hiring Has Always Been Broken. Here’s How I Survived it for Decades.
!Whiteboard: A better way to hire the best developers
So, even though I and many others don't believe in the effectiveness of whiteboard interviews, I have supported the right of companies and individuals to legally use them, at least until a few weeks ago when I happened across a university study of whiteboard interviews.
Does Stress Impact Technical Interview Performance Study
This is a study out of North Carolina University conducted last year. An article titled You're testing them wrong: Whiteboard coding interviews are 'anti-women psychological stress examinations', published in July of last year by the Register says about the study:
As a consequence, whiteboard interviews may fail to assess coder competency. Rather, the researchers argue, they measure how well job candidates handle anxiety.
The researchers found that stress hinders interview performance, with participants in the traditional technical interview exhibiting higher cognitive load, lower scores, and higher stress levels. In essence, social anxiety took otherwise qualified job candidates out of the running because of the circumstances of the interview.
What's more, whiteboard technical interviews appear to favor men over women.
'We also observed that no women successfully solved the problem in the public setting, whereas all women solved it correctly in the private setting,' the paper says.
This is a link to the study. There is also another article published by the university that summarizes the results of the study.
Currently, just 14% of software developers in the US are women. This study suggests that one of the primary reasons for this poor representation is because of sex discrimination.
So, is this new study enough to encourage legal experts representing large corporations to at least worry about sex discrimination lawsuits from women that have failed whiteboard interviews? If you are a corporate attorney and it was your job to minimize legal risks to that company, would you recommend to human resources that whiteboard interviews are now too legally risky and the company should avoid them, or do you believe instead that it is nothing to worry about and it is okay to do business as usual?


texts: The VW emission scandal, what laws or regulations were broken?

texts:
I'm a programmer trying to understand the minutia of the case more, but I'm having a hard time finding information that isn't simplified for sound bite eating public or thick legalesse.

What laws or regulations were broken by VW with their 'defect device' firmware? Were any of these broken by the deception rather then simple not making the emission grades?


texts: Is translating a computer program from language A to B, the same as a normal translation?

texts: I understand that if I translate a book from English to French, my French translation is a derivative work. But, if I translate something such as Ruby on Rails from Ruby to Java is it a derivative work?