texts: How are the precepts of common law known? Is common law written?

texts:
The first paragraph of the Wikipedia article on common law:

  Common law (also known as case law or precedent) is law developed by
  judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals that decide
  individual cases, as opposed to statutes adopted through the
  legislative process or regulations issued by the executive branch.

From this description, it sounds like there can be no authoritative written laws in common law systems because the only source of law is what has previously happened in court rooms. On the other hand, users on this site seem to agree about the specific details of common law systems without the need for citing cases.

In common law systems, are there specific laws? Are they written down? Or are there only previous court rulings?

The Wikipedia article does refer to laws written by common law legislatures:

  For that reason, civil law statutes tend to be somewhat more detailed
  than statutes written by common law legislatures—but, conversely, that
  tends to make the statute more difficult to read (the United States
  tax code is an example).

It also describes New York law regarding contracts as highly detailed, which suggests a written document. Both are these greatly add to my confusion.

My best guess is that in common law systems there are documents which describe precedents that have been set but that these documents have no legal weight themselves. I didn't think there were unwritten laws in the United States though so I'm not at all confident about that guess.


texts: When Can I report my Social Security Card as Lost or Stolen? (My Situation in Body)

texts:
A few months back I realized I couldn't find my SSN card and that the last time I saw it my ex-wife needed it for something because we were married at that time. I asked her if she had it still and she said no.

Then last month she says she found it and I told her we could exchange it when she gets her mail. I keep reminding her to bring my SSN Card to me and get her mail but she's been ignoring me or when she replies it's that she's busy.

I've been monitoring my credit to ensure she doesn't take my identity and bury me in debt but I would still feel better if she'd return it already. I'd get it myself if I knew where she'd moved to but right now I am powerless to get it back.

I wondered if it was legally valid to report it lost/stolen even though I know who has it and have some expectation that I'll get it back without incident?


texts: Can DNA on drugs be used as evidence even if the drugs weren't in anyone's possession at the time it was found? (Canada)

texts: Can DNA found on drugs be used as evidence in court or is that unconstitutional? DNA can be transferred from different sources so it doesn't necessarily mean the DNA holder has come in direct contact with the drugs, correct?


texts: If the US federal government is sued for not abiding by it own laws, can it then be sued for the legal expenses due to the lawsuit?

texts:
In US citizenship applications it's common for an application to be processed beyond the time frame set by the federal law.
In such cases, the applicant may file a lawsuit with a federal court, requesting the court to issue and enforce a writ of mandamus in order to compel the federal government to process the application within the time frame set by the federal law.
Does the applicant have the right then to sue the federal government for his legal expenses?
After all, it's the government's dereliction that caused him to sue the government.
Otherwise, what would prevent the government from always abusing its power? It may decide to process applications as slow as possible, and only process an application in a timely manner if a lawsuit is filed against the government (at the expense of the applicant); but without any further financial consequences to the government.


texts: Privacy Policy if App's internal data, probably containing private data in terms of GDPR, is automatically backed up in Google Cloud

texts: If I develop an Android App, the per-default setting is that the App's internal data, probably containing private data in terms of GDPR, is automatically backed up in Google Cloud (unless the phone has blocked this feature). Should I mention this in my privacy policy with a link to Google's policy? Or is this done already somewhere in the Google Play Store when I submit the App?


texts: Working online from abroad in a USA organization

texts:
Which states in USA have legislations that allow organizations in that state to recruit people living abroad (they are hence not authorized to work in USA) to work online for that organization?

Or, which states have the least restrictions for hiring online workforce from abroad?


texts: What happens to confidentiality agreements after company dissolves?

texts:
I worked as a consultant for a company that dissolved. I signed a confidentiality agreement that ended with "This Section shall survive termination of this Agreement." Out of curiosity am I still bound by it?
I guess the contract was between me and the company, and since the company doesn't exist anymore there would be no one to complain of a breach. OTOH when the company dissolved, someone may have bought something that was considered confidential so would the new owner be entitled to confidentiality?
When a company declares bankruptcy doesn't most of it's information become public anyway?


texts: Is it legal to create automations of websites in India?

texts:
Is it legal to create automations of websites in India using Python?

There are Flash Sales on every E-commerce sites nowadays, and ordering manual fails to receive goods as they get out of stock in just a second!

So, can we create automations for them and sell this automations to users?

There are many automaters in India which do that, but is it legal?


texts: I am confused by this story. Someone fired a bullet, but it was stopped by a cop's belt. The shooter was not charged with attempted murder. Why might that be?


texts: Can I use a game to earn "support money"?

texts:
Can I use the game to earn the "support money"? Even I not own the game copyright?

For example, I use one game to build and made a screen or some character, then I share it, after that I post a link (e.g.: Paypal, Patreon) which can earn the  "support money", the supporter can send me some money to support me, just like a tip.

Is that legal?

It mean I use the game which I not own the copyright, to make some artwork, then I use those artwork to earn the tips and gratuity of fans. Is that legal?


texts: Marrying a US citizen without applying for a green card

texts:
I am on a J1 Visa but will marry a US citizen in December, 6 Months before my J1 expires.

I do not want to apply for a Green Card afterwards, instead I want to go back home to study.

Will I legally be allowed to remain in the States for that?


texts: Can a Pediatric Dentist Require Conscious Sedation or Refuse Treatement?

texts:
Pediatric Dentists regularly administer oral sedatives ("conscious sedation") to perform dental work on young children or toddlers because it makes them "cooperate" better.
If a parent is reluctant for his/her child to undergo conscious sedation due to the inherent risks and side effects associated with this procedure and wants the physician to perform the dental work using nitrous oxide or just a local anesthetic, can a dentist refuse to treat the child?
I think it's noteworthy that insurance does not cover the cost of conscious sedation (even in young children or in children who need a lot of dental work done) which suggests that conscious sedation is not actually necessary for the physical and mental well being of the child. It is mostly done for the convenience of the dentist or to accelerate the procedure.
Can a dentist withhold treatment in such cases? Or can a parent force the dentist to perform treatment with a lesser invasive approach?


texts: Altering an employment contract prior to signing

texts:
So in this SE question the op has had verbal agreement of renumeration during the interview, however the offer letter and contract, state that pay info will be provided after starting with the company. Now this makes the company sound either sloppy, or suspect AF. But let's put to the side for now.

Would it be:
 1. Legal
 2. A good or bad idea to
Make an amendment to the contract?

Something like, add a clause with something like: "Annual salary will be $<Amount verbally discussed>, and going foward, can be adjusted by mutual agreement"


texts: Multiple claimants for a single act of deceit in UK law

texts:
A case caught my attention recently:

In it, person A commits both breach of contract and also the tort of deceit in lying about an asset they fraudulently sold for about 6 figures. In the civil case, the ostensible claimant is B who eventually reaches a pre-trial settlement of some amount over £30k in "full and final settlement of all claims between A and B from the transaction".

However there is also a 2nd potential claimant C (and perhaps others as yet unknown) who suffered loss due to the transaction being fraudulent. A knew that C would also suffer loss, but no exposure to a claim by C was contemplated by A at the time they settled with B. C and B kniw each other but C has mental health issues which meant they were unable to discuss their own harm suffered with B or combine the claims, and mentally also couldn't deal with their own case at that time. C's claim isn't as large (probably £5-10k), is well evidenced, and is not ruled out by the agreement of A and B. But the immediate rebuttal if C claims will probably be that the cases should have been brought together and is not able to be brought because of failure to follow court rules or combine the cases.

I'm not sure how strong a barrier this would be in UK law, and I'm curious.

Can C bring a case, or is C pre-emptorily barred by the fact that any case should have been brought a the same time and settled with A? Or is there just a penalty in costs? Was C under a duty to combine or just desirable in law to do so?  What other  arguments would strengthen C's position if the question comes up of failing to combine cases?


texts:
Background:
This story describes how a waitress told a patron a bottle of wine was "thirty seven fifty" and turned out to be $3,750. It's not mentioned but for the sake of the question assume the price is not listed on the menu and we must go by their word.

Question:
Does this constitute a verbal agreement and is there specific verbiage the law requires when stating dollar amounts? Like "three thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars" vs "thirty seven fifty"?


texts:
I read (mirror):

A total of 44 Japanese drug-related criminals were arrested by China in 2014, 33 of which have been given corresponding sentences, five people were executed, and six were given death sentence with two years' probation.

What is the point of adding a few years of probation to a death sentence?


texts: Window Tinting rules and laws in visiting jurisdictions

texts: If someone has a car registered, licensed and insured in a given U.S. state, and intends to travel across state and province lines, are they supposed to make sure that they're in compliance with the window tinting rules and laws in all such states and provinces, or is it sufficient that the car is in compliance with the laws in the U.S. state where it's coming from?


texts: Intellectual Property Ownership as an Employee

texts:
I am a final-year college student entering the software industry as an engineer. My job will probably require me to write code all day for a company, using company resources and hardware (company provided laptop, etc.).
Suppose I also write code outside of work hours, on a personal computer, and the code is completely unrelated in any way to the product(s) that I work on, and to any of the product(s) the company develops. I use no company resources to develop this code.
Let's say some of this personal code starts to make me money, in the form of a business I incorporate. If it was not specified in my employment contract that the company owns all employee code, personal or otherwise, does my employer have any justifiable claim to my intellectual property, or to the profits from my business? Does this claim extend to time beyond my employment at the company (like, after I quit, and they learn I made money through an entrepreneurial side project while I was working there, can they sue for money)? Do the answers to any of these questions change if I did not incorporate a business, and just sold my IP as an unincorporated sole proprietorship?
In the United States (and, specifically in California), is it even legal for companies to have an employment contract where they own IP developed outside of company time? If it is, are there any legal loopholes around it (besides getting a new job, of course)?
I sincerely apologize if this is a known question or is inappropriate for this site.


texts: Can a family member break into my room and can I take legal actions against it?

texts:
Here is the situation.

I still live with my family like my brother (we are both of legal age) . We never had a good brother relationship. We always try to avoid each other as best as we can. In the past there where several incidents where he would unallowed just enter my room and steal some of my money or my things. Because of that our parents gave us different keys for our bedrooms. Everything worked fine. And nothing like that ever happend again. We are both a little bit on the aggressive side. After a very heated and very aggressive dispute which involved a girl we both are on the verge of fighting each other. My parents are on vacation and I thought that there could be no better time for me and my new girlfriend to also leave and travel somewhere nice. My worries are now that he could break into my room while I’m gone.
So my question. If he breaks into my room...could I take some kind of legal action?
I wouldn’t do it. I just want to know if I could take legal actions. Because if I could, I would let him know that to scare him off.  If He knows that I could take legal actions against him for breaking into my room, then he wouldn’t do it.

Thank you for reading everything and sorry for my bad English.


texts: In what year was Massachusetts Chapter 186 Section 23 General Law put into effect?


texts: I was wondering for a long time if a stateless person is found in the EU under 18 with no documents at all, claim to be born in the US can be deported to the US ? I searched in US laws and conventions but I can't find anything on this particular position ! If this stateless person (under 18) is born and lived in the US for is entire life is found by the EU (local police of the country like France, Germany...) authorities can be automatically or ask to be deported to the US with no documents/proof that this person is born (and normaly a US citizen), will be deported to US soil or US ambassy/consulate ? Can the US denied acces to the child to go "home" or he has to stay in the EU country (even if he don't want to stay in the EU) ? I'm at my first year in foreign laws college in France and that would really help me if someone can respond to this particular case.


texts:
What does the following mean exactly?

  (Matter of Freeport Union Free Sch. Dist. [Freeport Educ. Off. Assn.], 31 PERB ¶ 4021 [1998])

From part 1.1 of the NYS Law Reporting Style Manual, I see a case title, and then it kind of looks like a cross between a "volume + report" like a case citation, and a “section + statutory provision” like a statutory citation.

What is 31? What is 4021? Why the section symbol?


texts: Can a company director simply appoint another company director?

texts:
I found the following article in my company constitution:

  The directors of the company may appoint a person as a director of the
  company. The company must confirm such an appointment by resolution
  passed at a general meeting within 2 months after the appointment is
  made. If the company does not confirm the appointment, the person
  ceases to be a director of the company upon the expiration of 2 months
  after the appointment was made.

Does this mean any director can appoint another director and that director can serve for 2 months without approval?

Won't this provide avenue for a board coup? Meaning a director can simply elect directors to support him and make changes to the company constitution.


texts: What are levels are court sanctions for "frivolous" actions?

texts:
Under the "American rule," both sides pay for their own lawyers and court expenses in a lawsuit. (This differs from the British "loser pays" rule.)
But there are exceptions for frivolous claims or actions. My understanding is that "court costs" may be imposed on a litigant for one level of "frivolity," and "opposing attorneys fees" for another level.
What are the monetary sanctions that a court might impose on a litigant, and for what reasons, that is, for what level of "frivolity"?


texts: What can be done about unlawful garnishment?

texts:
A debt collector claims that you owe a debt. You dispute the debt. The debt collector "garnishes" your debt without the requisite court order. Your employer agrees to do so, and deducts the amount from your paycheck.
What can you do? Can you sue the debt collector? Can you sue your employer for improperly cooperating? More to the point, what needs to be done to halt this process until the matter is sorted out? Is is possible to accomplish this pro se, or would you need a lawyer?


texts: how common are federal misdemeanor charges?

texts: According to https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/hollywood-man-arrested-on-federal-charge-after-his-drone-crashed-with-an-lapd-helicopter/2466525/ a man was recently arrested on a federal misdemeanor charge for unsafe operation of his drone. My question is: how often are people arrested on federal misdemeanor charges? I get the impression the federal government typically only brings charges when the crime exceeds some minimum criteria.


texts: Are collaborative forum posts protected by copyright?

texts:
There is an online dataset that is freely available (though the licence and copyright situation is unclear). Users are actively (and voluntarily) contributing minor corrections and additions via forum posts. These users are not explicitly claiming any copyright, but nor are they explicitly dedicating their contributions into the 'public domain' or similar. The posts are collaborative in nature - users are deliberately contributing corrections with the hope that they make their way in to the master dataset for the benefit of others (similar in spirit to how people make contributions to open source software).

It's clear that these contributions are being 'given' to the public domain (in the general sense), but does that mean that they are in the public domain (in the legal sense)? Are these corrections/additions convered by any copyright?

(if relevant I think the appropriate law in this case would be UK law, as the users and website are all UK-based)


texts: Who owns the Intellectual Property of this Device?

texts:
I am working on a device which is in the prototyping stages. We may at some point decide that we have proven the concept of the device, and then we would need to sort out intellectual property. I am trying to determine who or what owns this device, and whether I would receive any part of future royalties.

I was studying X as part of my PhD thesis work. I showed X to a visiting colleague and he suggested that X could be turned into a device with a specific and useful purpose. I am a graduate student at a university. We sent a proposal to a government institution requesting funding to prototype this device. The proposal was shot down, but they did provide useful feedback regarding what they would like to see proven to verify that the device would work.

I am now working as an intern at another government institution which has good facilities and people for building devices. We are building a prototype of the device in order to test the concerns the previous government institution had. The place I am working is providing some funding for materials.

Assuming the tests go correctly, we will apply for a large grant from a 3rd government institution.

So I finally mentioned all parties, and I am would like to know who will own the intellectual property of this device (or will it be split). Will it by my school? The colleague who proposed the device? The first, second, or third government institution? My Adviser? Anyone and everyone who contributed in some part? Or finally, can I get a piece of the action myself?

All of this took place in the United States


texts: Follow up to "I would like to blow a whistle but don't want to face retaliation"

texts:
I asked the question a couple weeks ago:

I would like to blow a whistle but don't want to face retaliation

The advice that was given was to contact an attorney who would typically represent the other side.

I did this, and the attorney told me, "hey I can't get involved in this.  If the people in my circles find out that I was involved in getting one of our own in trouble, nobody will want to work with me."   He gave me the name of some other firms, but told me that they would probably say the same thing.  This was precisely the "conflict of interest" to which I was referring.

Any further suggestions?


texts: Can the layout of a printed work be subject to copyright?

texts:
This is a follow-on to How can I determine what elements of a work are covered by a copyright mark? which dealt with sheet music for public domain compositions that, nevertheless, claimed copyright protection.  The current answer points out that editorial decisions and modifications to a public domain work are certainly subject to copyright, but intriguingly suggests, "Even the layout and typography or engraving are subject to copyright...."

If all "layout and typography" are subject to copyright then any writing or printing of otherwise public domain content is protected.  But it seems unlikely that the "threshold of originality" can be surmounted so trivially.  (Answers to related question Copyright status of restored works indicate that mere "restoration" is only afforded protection in countries that follow a "Sweat of the brow" rule.)

So, disregarding essential creative content like words or notes that we normally consider as subject to copyright (and which can pass into the public domain long before interest in a classical work fades): What visual elements of a printed work are eligible for copyright protection?

Consideration of the following examples might illuminate the question, but need not be explicitly addressed in an answer.

If I hand-write a verse of Shakespeare, can I claim copyright on my manuscript because my handwriting is original?
If I type a chapter of the King James Bible can I claim copyright on my pages because of where I decided to put carriage returns or tab stops?
Can I claim copyright in my transcript of John Locke because of my "original" selection of font, pitch, and typographical layout?
If, as suggested above, I transcribe a composer's original score, is my transcription protected without satisfying any other creative criteria?  If not, what criteria suffice?

If I make it more legible and alter the layout simply because I use computerized notation software?  (This would seem to be analogous to using a word processor to transcribe words written or printed more than a century ago.)
If in some place I use a different but musically equivalent notation?  (This could be considered analogous to using a more modern spelling, or writing "e.g." instead of "exempli gratia.")
If I make changes that are literally different but practically insignificant – e.g., where the composer wrote "Lento" I write "Adagio?"  (One might equate this to substituting synonyms for some words in an essay.)
If I make changes that qualify as corrections?  (In the writing analog, I correct typographical or grammatical errors.)
If I add or modify notation that is musically significant – e.g., slurs or ornaments?
If I annotate musical dynamics – which may have been implied and even widely understood among modern performers – not found explicitly in the original score?  (E.g., forte, crescendo, ritardando, staccato.)
If I annotate fingerings or bowing instructions, which when significant are generally obvious to an experienced musician but which can be helpful to a less skilled player?


texts: How do U.S. lawyers meet file retention standards?

texts:
U.S. lawyers have to keep clients files for (six?) years.

What are accepted standards of file/document retention? Suppose they keep all their files in locked cabinets in an office building and there's a fire or earthquake that destroys the files. Has the lawyer done enough to protect the files despite "losing" them? Or are they required to add offsite and/or electronic backup?

Put another way, are U.S. lawyers held to "strict liability" for file retention or is it more of a "reasonable efforts" standard?


texts:
Context: I currently live in India and working remotely as a Software Engineer for a Dutch company since August 2018. I have got a residence permit for the Netherlands starting next month and was about to migrate for the company. During the last 4 months, I have been working over 60 hours a week and completed the must-have features of the product.

I had signed an employment contract that states:

  Parties are free to terminate this agreement prematurely taking into
  account the statutory notice periods. Notice of termination will only
  be valid if it is in writing.

  The term of notice of termination to be observed by the Employer is, when the employment agreement on the effective termination date
  has lasted: (a) shorter than five years: one month; (b) five years or
  longer, but shorter than ten years: two months; (c) ten years or
  longer, but shorter than fifteen years: three months; (d) fifteen
  years or longer: four months.
  The term of notice of termination to be observed by the Employee is one month.

Further,
Article 15 - Governing law and jurisdiction

  This agreement, and all non-contractual rights and obligations arising thereto, are governed by and will be interpreted in accordance
  with the laws of The Netherlands.
  All disputes related to this agreement, or the agreements concluded in the performance of or in connection with this agreement, will be
  submitted exclusively to the competent court of Midden-Nederland.

On the 3rd of December 2018, I have been verbally laid off and had been given a two months notice period to find a new job until 31st January 2019. Recently, my employer sent me an NDA with the clause below. He has provided me with no incentive to sign the NDA but he will end my work straight away without any notice period. This would hamper my chances of getting another job in the same field(AI & Software) as the company has a very generic business description and a variety of products.

Non-Competition

  Unless with the prior written consent of the Company (which shall not
  be withheld unreasonably), the Partner shall, for a period of 1 year
  following the last disclosure to it of Confidential Information not be
  directly or indirectly involved in any activity (aimed at) competing
  with the Business.

What are my options here? Can I take legal action if he decides to let me go without notice if I refuse to sign the NDA? Further, no written notice has been given yet does that mean it is still not valid?


texts: Hunting rights to land but do not own the land

texts: If a person inherits the hunting rights that are deeded and recorded, can the land owner force one to give the hunting rights back to him just because he wants to sell the land?


texts:
Let's say I give someone a bitcoin and then they give me a phone. Could the IRS — or a similar organization, if outside the U.S. — say I bougth the phone and take a chunk of the bitcoins?

What if they set up an inventory of phones, and gave a phone to whomever gave him a bitcoin? Would the IRS get involved?


texts: Licencing restriction and first sale doctrine UK re. secondhand book

texts:
Does a geographical licence restriction hold after resale as secondhand item?
I have a book (in UK) that is no longer of any use to me, that I now plan to sell on, and notice that there is a restriction printed both inside and on the cover "This edition is licenced for sale only in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal.  Circulation of this edition outside of these territories is unauthorised and strictly prohibited."
Does the doctrine of first sale hold such that I can sell this on, even though that would effectively be circulating the book outside the stated territories?  As I bought the book secondhand, does that serve to exhaust/limit copyright and licencing restrictions, or would any contravention of copyright/licence continue to be attached to the book, regardless of how many owners it has had?


texts: Can background screening companies be forced to remove stored personal data under GDPR?

texts:
I understand that a background screening company requires a certain set of personal data to deliver a service. One typically consents for this data to be processed when completing associated paperwork.

Once the check has concluded, would the company be obliged (if requested by the subject of the check) to purge all personal data that was gathered prior to and during the check? Furthermore, upon receiving the request, would any third parties with which the screening company shares the data also be obliged to purge it?


texts: Registered Agent for Service of Process for California Corporations?

texts: May a California Corporation, such as S Corp or C Corp have its Registered Agent located outside California ? Please provide a cite.


texts: Shooting victim taken off life support. What crime would be charged?

texts: About a week ago a girl was shot in a Maryland school. Soon after that, a police officer shot and killed the gunman. The girl was critically injured, and on life support. After a few days, the family decided to take her off life support and she died soon after. Suppose the killer didn't die. What crime would the killer be charged with? The girl has died, but technically she would probably still be alive if her parents didn't take here off life support. I think in some cases, a jury could be convinced that it would be extremely unlikely that a victim would ever regain consciousness. Many would regard this as worse than attempted murder. Do some states have a crime that is appropriate for that situation?


texts: Can I use LGPLv3 version of Qt on Android iOS in my closed source application

texts:
I want to use LGPLv3 version of Qt in my closed source application on iOS and Android. In order to give the users the possibility to re-link with another version of the Qt I can do the following:

Provide .apk for Android users so they can repackage with their own version of Qt.
Provide object files and XCode files for iOS users so they can re-link with their own version of Qt and deploy to their local devices.

Is it OK?


texts:
I am currently reviewing our company's NDA templates and came across the following term:

  This Agreement shall remain effective for six (6) months from the Effective Date.  All obligations of the Recipient with respect to the
  use and disclosure of Confidential Information hereunder shall
  terminate three (3) years from the Effective Date.

If I'm reading this right, it is saying that the NDA is binding for 3 years after the date it is signed. But how does the first part, "This Agreement shall remain effective for six (6) months from the Effective Date." apply in lieu of the second part?


texts: EU Data Retention Directive and the Draft Investigatory Powers Bill 2015

texts:
Was the EU Data Retention Directive ever transcribed into English law?

If so, the Draft Investigatory Powers Bill 2015 would appear to be somewhat moot?


texts: Is one liable if illegal material is found on one's own server?

texts:
This question was prompted by a news article I read earlier today, in which a person described the dilemma they faced on discovering illegal material had been stored by an unidentified third party on their computer system:

  He called the police, who told him to print it out and bring it to them. However it is illegal to possess images of child abuse, digitally or in print.

The crime is based on knowing possession, so once a person knows their computer contains such content, and decides not to delete it (or not delete it yet), they are probably fall within the law - there is no exception carved out for any "good grounds".

So this made me think. If someone does find illegal material, what can they do?

Even to keep it long enough for police to be notified and attend would still be keeping/possessing it.
Knowing it's been stored in various backups might mean having to destroy important backups, as some of the most widely used backup and snapshotting systems don't have selective delete capability, you can only keep or delete the entire backup. (ZFS especially, widely used in many file servers for its utter reliability, is designed this way to preserve snapshot integrity: you can delete snapshots but not specific files in them).
Copying to a device such as a USB stick, even by or with police, may be a concern since in law, this creates a copy on the PC in order to copy it from server to USB stick.

I'm in the UK but interested in other jurisdictions as well. Clearly if you do something like any of these under direction of the police, who you promptly notified, it's not likely you'll be prosecuted, but it would make me (and perhaps many people) very uneasy even so, because it is against the law and there isn't any legal exception created for good cause or "because police told me to".

Also I can imagine in a worst case scenario, a bad file could have been there for months before coming to light, so copies may exist on effectively all data backups that exist - every company backup, and all of them immutable and critical.

So... What exactly is the position, and the appropriate action, and what is the position with critical backups that can't be modified by their nature?


texts: Can I use this other code in my own commercial projects?

texts:
I asked a legal question about the code earlier. In this other code, there are no copyrights. It even says this:

This is the Readme File

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced or copied in any way, stored in retrieval system of any type, or transmitted by any means or media, electronic or mechanical, including, but not limited to, photocopy, recording, or scanning, or replication in whole or in part without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

  ...

  All brand names and product names mentioned in this CD-ROM are trademarks or service marks of their respective companies. Any omission or misuse (of any kind) of service marks or trademarks should not be regarded as intent to infringe on the property of others. The publisher recognizes and respects all marks used by companies, manufacturers, and developers as a means to distinguish their products.

  CHARLES RIVER MEDIA titles are available for site license or bulk purchase by institutions, user groups, corporations, etc. For additional information, please contact the Special Sales Department at 800-347-7707.

  LIMITED WARRANTY AND DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY THIS PRODUCT MAY BE USED ON A SINGLE PC ONLY. THE LICENSE DOES NOT PERMIT THE USE ON A NETWORK (OF ANY KIND). YOU FURTHER AGREE THAT THIS LICENSE GRANTS PERMISSION TO USE THE PRODUCTS CONTAINED HEREIN, BUT DOES NOT GIVE YOU RIGHT OF OWNERSHIP TO ANY OF THE CONTENT OR PRODUCT CONTAINED ON THIS DVD. USE OF THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE CONTAINED ON THIS DVD IS LIMITED TO AND SUBJECT TO LICENSING TERMS FOR THE RESPECTIVE PRODUCTS. USE, DUPLICATION OR DISCLOSURE BY THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT OR ITS AGENCIES ARE LIMITED BY FAR 52.227-7013 OR FAR 52.227-19, AS APPROPRIATE. CHARLES RIVER MEDIA, INC. ("CRM") AND/OR ANYONE WHO HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THE WRITING, CREATION OR PRODUCTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING CODE ("THE SOFTWARE"), OR THE THIRD PARTY PRODUCTS CONTAINED ON THIS DVD, CANNOT AND DO NOT WARRANT THE PERFORMANCE OR RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED BY USING THE SOFTWARE. THE AUTHOR AND PUBLISHER HAVE USED THEIR BEST EFFORTS TO ENSURE THE ACCURACY AND FUNCTIONALITY OF THE TEXTUAL MATERIAL AND PROGRAMS CONTAINED HEREIN; HOWEVER, WE MAKE NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THE PERFORMANCE OF THESE PROGRAMS.THE SOFTWARE IS SOLD "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY (EXCEPT FOR DEFECTIVE MATERIALS USED IN MANUFACTURING THE DISC OR DUE TO FAULTY WORKMANSHIP); THE SOLE REMEDY IN THE EVENT OF A DEFECT IS EXPRESSLY LIMITED TO REPLACEMENT OF THE DISC, AND ONLY AT THE DISCRETION OF CRM.

  THE AUTHOR, THE PUBLISHER, DEVELOPERS OF THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE, AND ANYONE INVOLVED IN THE PRODUCTION AND MANUFACTURING OF THIS WORK SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF(OR THE INABILITY TO USE) THE PROGRAMS, SOURCE CODE, OR TEXTUAL MATERIAL CONTAINED IN THIS PUBLICATION. THIS INCLUDES, BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF REVENUE OR PROFIT, OR OTHER INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THE PRODUCT.

  THE USE OF "IMPLIED WARRANTY" AND CERTAIN "EXCLUSIONS" VARY FROM STATE TO STATE, AND MAY NOT APPLY TO THE PURCHASER OF THIS PRODUCT.

But later,  in the "About the CD-Rom" File,  it says this at the top (this is not the whole file, as it is just about system requirements to run the code):

  About the CD-ROM

  The companion CD-ROM to Programming an RTS Game with Direct3D contains all examples referred to in the book. You can use any of the code and/or art found on this CD-ROM in your own projects.

I'm pretty sure this means I can use it commercially, as the code does not have any copyrights.

Thanks.


texts: How can a license agreement or terms of use be enforced on a minor?

texts:
Since a license agreement/terms of use document is a contract between the publisher and the end-user, and since minors are prohibited from entering into legally binding contracts in most U.S. states, how can any sort of terms be legally enforceable?

The inability to agree to license terms has all kinds of potential legal ramifications.  For example...

App store agreements from Apple, Google, Amazon, etc. specify that parents are responsible for the in-app purchases of their children.  Can parents be held liable if their child creates their own account without their parents' consent?
Can a company seek damages arising from an activity where such an activity is otherwise legal, but prohibited by the license (e.g. video game modding or publishing cheat software)?
Can a parent seek damages against a company for using data that was obtained under a waiver of rights by a license agreement (e.g. children uploading content to social media sites that would otherwise be protected by other laws)?

Also, would the story change at all if the person in question were of legal age, but legally incompetent?


texts: In the US has anyone ever been prosecuted on the state/federal level after being pardoned on the other level?

texts:
As I understand it, assuming that an individual's actions violated both state and federal laws, there is nothing legally preventing a state for prosecuting an individual for the crime after the President pardoned the individual of the same action on the federal level.  Despite this Federal pardons are generally respected by the states for the same reason that Federal trials are usually respected by states, in deference to the concept of double jeopardy.

I'm wondering if this tradition has ever been violated?  Is there any precedent for either a state prosecuting someone for an action that they were federally pardoned for, or of the federal government prosecuting someone for an action after a state pardoned an individual for the same action?


texts:
If my ex-intimate partner decides to send our intimate/couple pictures does that count as defamation act?

If he does something like that, my relationship between me and my current boyfriend will end.

Me and my current boyfriend have been in relationship for 2 years. I heavily regret what i did. I only saw this person for 3 months in summer break, but after 6-7 months he is threatening me to leak my pictures to my current boyfriend because he found out I have a boyfriend. Between those 6-7 months he was in relationship with another women too. I had never told my intimate partner about my boyfriend but whether I tell him or not it is my decision right?


texts: Is "hi-speed internet" the same as "broadband"?

texts:
FCC.gov regulates broadband in the United States, and as of early 2015, they define it as 25 Mbps download with 3 Mbps upload (up from 4 and 1, respectively, that it used to be prior to 2015).

But a lot of people generally refer to non-dial-up internet as "hi-speed internet", you don't really see "broadband" in any promotional materials.

Is "hi-speed internet", legally, the same as "broadband"?  Or is it a loophole word that's non-regulated and means nothing?


texts: Liability for damage in rendering aid in case of mistaken danger?

texts:
This example is entirely fictional.

One morning whilst walking to my car, I notice that my elderly neighbour who lives alone is laid out on the floor of her living room.

I knock on the window, but get no response. I bang on the door, still no response.

Then I try the door, and the door is locked so required physical force to open. I kick the door in to find that my neighbour had fallen to sleep watching TV and her hearing aid had ran out of power.

Would I be liable for the damage as a concerned citizen?


texts: Who's liable for storage fees after car declared total loss?

texts:
My car got into an accident and is at an auto shop. The claims adjuster came and deemed my vehicle as repairable. Then through more investigation, a supplement was requested and now my vehicle is deemed a total loss. I was contacted by my insurance representative to inform me that my car is a total loss and that I should release my car to be moved to their storage yard.
Am I required to move my car even though they didn't offer me a fair market value for the car?
If I do decide to keep my car at the auto shop until they offer me a price for my car, am I or my insurance responsible to pay the auto shop for any storage fee?
What if they auto shop gave me a signed document stating that they will not charge me, personally, any storage fees? Can this be used legally if they were not to abide by their word, on the document?


texts: What legal authority does a lifeguard have?

texts: I was swimming in a college owned pool with my girlfriend and We were the only ones around. The rules of the pool do not prohibit physical contact and the only thing my girlfriend and I where doing was holding hands and then the lifeguard told us that we cannot touch each other. We are both over 18 and I feel that the lifeguard does not have the authority to force us to not touch each other. Vermont state law is wonderfully ambiguous on the subject of what authority lifeguards have, so I am curious. What legal authority does a lifeguard have over adults in a public pool?


texts: Can creative element owners claim copyright on Machine Learning models or its output?

texts:
In this question if the ML model is trained using TensorFlow (C - software) and TacoTron or TacoTron 2 (B - algorithm), which both are free for commercial use, can the owner of that creative work (A) claim copyrights on the model and its output?

Aside: I'm of the opinion that if voice actors aren't subjects to copyright claims when they do voice imitations (take Donald Duck's voice for instance), then IA voices shouldn't either.

Update: My purpose for training a ML model with some voice data set is to have some text input and  make the output indistinguishable of a human voice recording. My intention is not to impersonate whoever those recordings belong to, nor hint somehow that it could be the case.

In fact, down the road I'm sure it will be a way to tweak some parameters to make the voice sound completely different of the one used to train the model.


texts:
We have a business client who is a non-payer and we've had enough.

Is it legal to share details of this non-paying business to other businesses like mine?

It wasn't mentioned anywhere in the contract that we'd share any info about them or the money owed etc.


texts: Bob occupies Anna's parking lot. How could Anna prove it?

texts:
Anna owns a parking lot. However Bob frequently uses it as his guests' parking lot for two years. The average rental rate for a parking lot is about $40 a month, totaling about $1000 for the two years period. Bob denied everything.
How could Anna prove this?
Here are the possible options:

Send Bob a bill. But, without proofs, Bob could simply refuse it.
Spend about $1000+ dollars to install a surveillance system to record how Bob's guests parked in that lot. However, Bob could deny that the car is affiliated with his guests.
Take pictures or call the police. However, this can only prove that Bob used the lot on a specific date.

After a lengthy research, I found that it is very very hard for Anna to recover any money for the lot-usage in the past and in the future.


texts: Can police search people and vehicles on my property based on third-party report of drug use?

texts:
Someone called the police to report someone doing drugs in a vehicle on my property.

What right does the officer have to ask questions and search people and vehicles?


texts: Would revealing/storing whether or not an EU customer uses a service violate the GDPR?

texts:
Some web services will notify the user if the account name they are entering exists or not. However, I am wondering if this would be legal? For example, if someone entered the email address of someone in the E.U., you would inadvertently be leaking their personal data by saying whether or not they use the service.

The GDPR even places restrictions on what personal data you can store. This seems to imply that you would need consent to store whether or not someone uses your service. It is easy enough to get consent to store who is using it, but how to get consent from every EU citizen who doesn't use your service? After all, according to the GDPR, personal data are "any information which are related to an identified or identifiable natural person." If someone does not use the service, it is pretty easy to identify that fact by looking at the user database.

So, would revealing or storing whether or not an EU citizen uses your service constitute a GDPR violation?


texts: Does a free video game distributed on the internet require age verification or restrictions?

texts:
If a free, completely non-commercial video game distributed online contains mature content or themes (such as cartoon violence and cartoon nudity, but not pornography), is it legally necessary to include some kind of age verification or mature content warnings when distributing it through the game's own website and/or the Steam platform?
Being a free game it has no specific target demographic, but since realistically likely at least half of the players will be either from the US or the EU, those legislations are of particular interest.


texts: Must the reason for a permanent ban for a paid online game be provided?

texts:
Suppose that a fully automated anti-cheat system (claimed by a company to be 99.99% accurate) wrongfully and permanently banned a player from a game that requires a one-time fee to begin playing, offers further optional in-game microtransactions, and has no offline functionality.

The support team for this game refuses to provide any specific information for the ban, such as

the time "foul play" was detected by the automated system,
computer information (e.g. modules injected into the game) that was relevant in the detection process, or
other factors that caused the anti-cheat system to ban the player.

Furthermore, the support team refuses to investigate the ban in order to lift it or provide any monetary compensation for the player's loss despite the fact that it was entirely wrongful and absolutely no cheating was committed.

In the player/customer's perspective, he has just lost access to content he paid hundreds of dollars for for absolutely no reason whatsoever.

If no explanation is given for the ban (other than "you were cheating") and it was entirely wrongful, can the player take legal action by accusing the company of fraud until it can provide either compensation or an accurate explanation of what caused the system to trigger a ban?


texts: During an investigation, can a US law enforcement officer say something is legal if it is not?

texts: When investigating something that has already happened, can a US law enforcement officer say "x is perfectly legal" to get someone to confess to having done x (which is not actually legal and someone will be prosecuted for x if they (or a co-conspirator) confess to it).


texts: How is 14th amendment applicable to tourists and illegal immigrants?

texts:
14th amendment states "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States...".

Given this wording how is it that foreign diplomats' children born in United States do not have birthright to US citizenship because they are not "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" and children of tourists and illegal immigrants do have the birthright to US citizenship?

In other words, how is it that these two categories are "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" and therefore their children have the right to US citizenship by birth?

Edit:
As mentioned below, according to United States v. Wong Kim Ark, Ark was granted citizenship by birth although his parents were foreign nationals and this is cited by many as a precedent for birthright citizenship for tourists and illegal immigrants. However, according to the same article, Ark's parents "were legally domiciled and resident" in United States at the time of his birth and tourists and illegal immigrants are not so can this decision really be used as legal precedent for birthright citizenship for tourists and illegal immigrants?


texts: Am I allowed to use my university's logo?

texts:
After graduating from college I am more than relieved to be done.

What I am curious about is if it is ok to feature the logo image from my school on social media or perhaps on my personal website legally?

I assume that I am not allowed but could probably get away with it, though I don't want to be doing anything that is technically illegal.


texts: What are the legal implications of "finding" money?

texts:
What luck! You found $1M in a suitcase while hiking in the wilderness. Because you are a law abiding citizen, you diligently report all your found money to the IRS. No one, including yourself, has any way to prove that you did or did not cause this money to be where it was or that you did or did not know it would be there.

Are you within the law?

Being more serious, is unexplained money in and of itself illegal if you report all your income to the IRS? If an explanation is required, are "I found it", "anonymous gift", or "I decline to explain" a sufficient explanation?

On face, it sounds draconian and absurd to outlaw finding money. On the other hand, it's likely that someone who regularly "finds" large amounts of money is an inept money launderer and engages in other illegal activities. It wouldn't be too surprising if simply having large amounts of unexplained money in and of itself was illegal.

Does the situation change if instead you find a bag of diamonds (or any other asset) while on your hike? What if this happens on a regular basis?

I'm interested in US law.


texts: Do you owe money to a company who is trying to charge a disabled/expired credit card?

texts:
A disposable credit card company from the US wrote 'recently' on their twitter

  Canceling a subscription can be difficult, time consuming, and frustrating. Or it can be as easy as clicking a button and closing/pausing your [...] card.

Source: https://twitter.com/PrivacyHQ/status/1083048623678672900

So the way this works is that you have one virtual card per merchant/transaction and you can easily disable the card from the application (e.g. you sign up for a Netflix free trial and disable the card straight away).

My understanding is that if you fail to pay the company they can sue you for failure to pay and still demand the money in question. The one thing I can imagine affecting this is whether the company continued to provide the service in question (e.g. in the case of Netflix they will block your account when the payment fails), but I can't think of any legal basis how that would make a difference (as you still have a legal agreement to pay).


texts: roofing contractor contingency agreement

texts:
I have signed a contingency agreement with a roofing company here in Colorado. Am I bound to anything here? It seems like a 'good faith' agreement that I will contact my insurance company. If I don't follow up with the roofing company with a claim number, which is what they would need, am I in violation of anything?

The contingency agreement that states:

Insurance Allowance Agreement:
I/we agree to retain [roofing company] to contact my insurance company and meet with their representative (adjustor) as our Contractor of Choice to discuss the scope of necessary repairs. Upon our receipt of the insurance estimate we will meet with a representative of [roofing company] to review the paperwork and discuss the scope of the project.

By signing below, you agree to:

(A) call your insurance company to obtain a claim number
(B)
authorize a representative of [roofing company] to meet with your
insurance adjustor to discuss and review the required repairs as your
contractor of choice.
(C) meet with a representative of [roofing
company] when your insurance paperwork arrives to discuss the
production process.


texts: Court appoints executor; the will found in safe box names a different executor (USA)

texts:
Someone dies and their will cannot be found. Two people petition the court to be the executor. They do not get along and do not want to be co-executors.

The court appoints one of them to be the executor. That person accesses the safe box at the bank. The will inside the safe box names the other person (or possibly someone else not yet involved) to be the executor.

What happens next?

If this is dependent on the state, the state of interest is Utah.

Note: This question was triggered by another thread that mentioned the perils of safe boxes for storing wills, Prevent a will from being overlooked


texts: Must a defense be given if a plaintiff's accusation is nonsense?

texts:
In court what happens if a party makes a nonsense accusation, almost as if they aren't thinking straight? For example if someone launched the case against you "he must have stolen the banana loaf bread because he was wearing a blue shirt and the time was 4:20" would you even need a defense or is there a word for when this happens?

My ex-landlord is withholding all of my damage deposit and the only explanation is a couple of vague text messages saying he had to pay a fine to the ISP due to copyright infringement on a day I was the only one home. I can say a lot about this, but despite my request he has not given me any details or shown me any official documents. So is there a way in court to say "this rebuttal doesn't even deserve consideration?" I can't even prove that I wasn't home on that day as he hasn't specified the day. The way I see things happening is me filing against him for my damage deposit, his defense being he got a fine for (allegedly) my misuse of the internet, what should my rebuttal be in the sense that upon filing against him he had never even provided details?

Even if this was true, a person normally isn't sitting in front of their computer watching a download so just because they weren't home wouldn't mean anything. Plus the landlord is in a different city, and I can show he has held prejudice against me, and would not know I was the only one home. Further, it's my understanding the notices aren't even legally enforceable in Canada.


texts: Can employer deduct minutes worth of pay for clocking out few minutes early?

texts:
I started working in a retail store. We are scheduled to work for 30 minutes after the store closes to finish the closing procedures (such as turning off lights, locking doors etc). For example if the store closes to customers at 10PM, employees are scheduled to work until 10:30PM. Normally the closing procedures don't take a full 30 minutes and I was trained to leave as soon as they were finished.
My pay stub had fewer hours than expected. I believe it was because of the leaving slightly early. I asked the manager if we are paid per schedule or paid per clocking in and out and he answered clocking in/out.
Is this legal? Is it legal to count to the minute without rounding? It seems to me the employer agreed to provide me with an 8 hour shift, would it be within my rights to wait until the last minute to clock out even if the closing procedures were finished?
If I clocked in a few minutes early would they have to pay me for it?
Must they tell me how they round, for example round to the nearest 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes etc?


texts: Is there any legal protection for actions that later become illegal?

texts:
For example, lets say that being a software developer is a legal occupation right now. But 2 years from now, it becomes illegal to develop software.

Can you be prosecuted for work that you've done in the past that has only recently become illegal?
Are there any legal protections / immunity currently in place to prevent this type of situation?


texts: Can non-employees ask prohibited questions of a job candidate?

texts:
This answer on Academia gave rise to a legal question.

Situation:

Academic employer is hiring for a position
As part of formal process of hiring they allow students (not employer's employees) to ask the candidate questions.
Students ask questions which – if asked by a real interviewer – would be in violation of protected status (gender, family status, pregnancy, etc.).

Does the fact that the question is asked by students (albeit ones participating in formal hiring process) protect the employer from being sued for hiring discrimination, the way they could be if an official interviewer employed by the employer asked the same question?


texts: Is it allowed to use the Spotify Web API for commercial projects?

texts:
I have a simple question concerning the Spotify Web API.
Is it legal to retrieve data from this service as a base for my app which then should be commercial?
Without going too much into detail: I use the information to present the user an extra service based on this information.
The relevant paragraph on the terms & conditions is the following:

Unless you receive Spotify’s written approval, the following are the only commercial uses of Non-Streaming SDAs permitted under these Developer Terms:
sale of advertising, sponsorships, or promotions on the Non-Streaming SDA or Website;
sale of, or sale of access to, a Non-Streaming SDA (including any e-commerce initiated via the Non-Streaming SDA);
For the avoidance of doubt, you may not offer the metadata, cover art, or Audio Preview Clips or any other Spotify Content for any separate sale or charge or standalone product. For example, you may not offer access to metadata or cover art conditional on the purchase of tokens or credits or any other in-app payment feature. Further, you may not sell the Spotify Platform, Spotify Content, or Spotify Service or access to any of the foregoing.

Source: https://developer.spotify.com/developer-terms-of-use/
Since I'm not a lawyer I'm a bit unsure, but I think the last part is interesting:

For example, you may not offer access to metadata or cover art conditional on the purchase of tokens or credits or any other in-app payment feature.

Since I'm selling an app offering access to metadata (as a base at least), is that critical?
Any help is highly appreciated!
Bye


texts: What is meant by a litigant insuring a judge's life?

texts:
'Lord Scarman' The Telegraph (10 Dec 2004).

  Scarman was assigned to the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division (moving to the Family Division when it was abolished) and presided over the longest probate case ever heard: his judgment ran to 24,000 words and his life was insured for £300,000 by one of the parties involved. During the case, he commented sagely: "Darkness and suspicion are common features of will cases. Truth too often is the secret of the dead or the dishonest."


texts: Is it legal to use a Similar item of another Person's work in your own Work?

texts:
I'm going to use Ketchapp's Basketball App as an Example.
In the Game, you can have Unlockable Skins for your Basketball,
and some of those Skins are recognizable icons or things from other games like they have a Pokeball Skin, its not perfectly like a Pokeball but you can clearly identify it as a Pokeball.

So my Question is, is it legal to have something like that said Pokeball Skin in a App (or any of your work)?


texts: The jurisdiction's name is England & Wales: but is the law English or English & Welsh?

texts:
The jurisdiction covering much of the UK is named England & Wales.  How should one refer to the law of that jursidiction: as 'English law' or 'English & Welsh law'?
A few notes:

The jurisdiction's name is unquestionable, and judicial titles and courts (eg, the Lord Chief Justice) are plainly for 'England & Wales'
The historical development of the law used in this jurisdiction is entirely and overhwelmingly (notwithstanding the excellent contributions of Welsh lawyers and judges and MPs ) the law of England which was colonially imposed on Wales in a series of acts from the 13th to 19th century; it seems like eliding this history to call the law today 'English & Welsh law', and trying to whitewash a legitimate grievance that a Welsh person might have about historical issues
The historical and canonical texts—like Maitland; Dicey, Morris & Collins; Street, etc., etc—all refer to English law, which has not been changed in new editions of these books then (even if the content of that law has changed continuously)  Major professorships, such as at the University of Oxford held by Lord Burrows JSC, are of the Law of England, and have not had their titles altered.
However, now that there is an effort to be inclusive, and a recognition of the Welsh contribution to our shared law (especially with the semi-official 'Welsh' seat on the Supreme Court now held by Lord Lloyd-Jones JSC), English & Welsh law could be, if slightly inaccurate, more appropriate
There is a body of distinctly 'Welsh law' arising from Acts of the Sennedd, which is entirely distinct from this question, and may lead, as Lord Thomas called for, to a separate Welsh jurisdiction in the near future, which could resolve all this mess

I am asking about the standard set for describing the law set by leading academic or judicial bodies (eg, from OSCOLA or the Cambridge Redbook or the Administrative Court style guidelines), which can be considered as close to a 'correct' description, rather than opinions, in accordance with SE's rules on factual questions


texts: In Arizona, Common Law Marriage is not recognized.  I heard if a couple has a common law marriage and has kids, if the man dies without a will, the kids/wife don't end up inheriting his possessions.  If both the parents died, the kids would be left to the state to take care of.  Is this true?  I did not find this situation explained in my Google searches.


texts: To what extent can you be cross examined for "showing," rather than "telling" about a crime?

texts:
My question was inspired by this question.
Suppose I see some "suspicious" activity on a New York City subway. I film this activity and report it to the police. The police decide on the basis of the film that someone was committing a robbery. They identify and arrest a suspect, identify and present a victim, etc.
I am introduced in court as the person who took the film. I take the stand and testify that I did so. I then disclaim knowledge of any actual crime, and claim only that the activity looked "suspicious," and I took it and handed the film to the police.
I would expect the defense to cross examine me about the film. "Where did you take this film? When did you take this film? At what angles/lighting, etc. did you take this film? How long have you had the camera? How much experience have you had operating this or similar cameras? How did you operate this camera?" etc.
But suppose the defense goes into other areas: "Do you feel that a crime has been committed? Why did you go to the police? Do you know if the defendant is the same person as in the film? How about the victim? (I did not introduce any of these topics on direct examination.")
What then happens if I say, "I don't know whether a crime has been committed? or "I don't know whether the defendant is the same person as in the film?." etc. and, "all I can say is that I took this film and the film speaks for itself." and "After receiving the film, the police acted independently of me, because I told them nothing else."
Is the defense allowed to question me on those grounds? Will my answers stand up if they are true?


texts: Is it legal for American politicians to accept donations from foreigners (non-American citizens)?

texts:
In recent years, several laws have been passed in Russia, which make it harder for foreign organizations to influence Russian politics. The critics of those laws regard them as undemocratic.

Their proponents claim that they cannot be undemocratic because

most of these laws were copied from American ones,
the United States is the most democratic country in the world,
hence, by doing the same thing the US does, Russia gets closer to the American democratic ideal.

If item 1 of this logic is correct, it must be illegal for non-American individuals and organizations to exert influence on American politics. The probably most important way to do so is to give donations to politicians.

Therefore my question: Is an American politician allowed to receive donations from a non-American citizen living outside the US?

In other words: If I as a Russian citizen wanted to make a donation to, say, Donald Trump, could he legally accept it?


texts: How could a mistrial trigger double jeopardy in the O.J. Simpson murder trial?

texts:
The People v. O.J. Simpson is a series telling how this famous trial went.
In the 9th episode, after Judge Lance Ito states that another judge should determine if the case can remain before this court or not, the prosecution figures have this conversation :

CHRISTOPHER DARDEN : So... what should we do?
MARCIA CLARK : Chris, I've been thinking about this constantly. The problem is, it's too risky. If it's perceived that we pushed for mistrial, it would trigger double jeopardy and it that version, O.J. walks. Can you image the public reaction?

Is this dialog actually plausible? How could double jeopardy be triggered if the first trial wasn't completed?


texts: What is meant by 'place of first publication'?

texts:
I am currently trying to get my head around the various Laws and Regulations, surrounding Copyright and Public Domain, when it comes to Literature.

My initial question opens the discussion, where one responses is:

  Also, if a work has entered the public domain in its place of first publication, it is in the public domain everywhere.

What exactly in meant by place of first publication?  Are we talking about the date and place of publication of a First Edition or some other form of publication such as with a Copyright organisation?


texts: Must I pay new employee for reading the safety manual?

texts:
I live in California.  Soon I will hire a household employee to cook meals for me in my home.

Per California OSHA law the employee must be given and read a kitchen safety manual.

Must I pay the employee for the time spent reading the kitchen safety manual?


texts: Is there a precedent for a lawsuit against someone for making a decision that goes against public health?

texts:
So I live in a city that has these organizers who are newspaper owners that are about to go forward with a huge event that brings people from all over despite the fact that I just saw the coronavirus numbers increase by 18 in the past 24 hours here in the United States.

If this event results in an outbreak in my city, is there a legal precedent for a lawsuit against these organizers? Has anything like this been done before?


texts: Liabilities without explicit consent in contracts

texts:
I have been wondering for quite a while now about the following question and have been unable to get a definitive answer. I have asked lawyers who do not know for sure (and this is their field).

My question is if a User of some Service can be held liable for a legal infringement that the Service commits. That sentence was a bit confusing, so let me explain/elaborate:

In the case of Kazaa (I think it was called), a file sharing service, some users were held liable for the illegal downloading of music from this service. The users had to pay horrendous fines for in essence using the services which facilitated these actions. I am not sure if the Users signed a contract that says that they are liable for (knowingly or unknowingly) illegally downloading music from the Service. If a contract was signed, then that would definitely justify the fines to the Users, not the Service.

Here is a theoretical example: A company sells a service which allows users to mask their IPs so that it seems that they are in the continental US. A user, "Bob Doe", is using this service. The user does not have to sign any contracts or sign their consent to anything. This user attempts to use an unaffiliated service which is only available in the continental US (and a couple other places) and prohibits its use outside of it (a service such as this one is Netflix, I think). Bob Doe uses Netflix in Uzbekistan (definitely not a place where Netflix is available) through the first mentioned service that masks his IP. Is Bob Doe held liable for any legal complications resulting from his use of Netflix through the IP masking service or is the IP masker shielding him too (is this IP masking service held liable)?

I have also heard the argument that the User is causing the Service to commit an illegal act, hence the User is responsible (even though no contract was signed by the user).

My question basically is: If a User does not sign a contract saying that they are held liable for any illegal act which they 'cause the Service to commit', then who is held liable; who has to pay the fines?

Thanks a lot for any responses! All are welcome and greatly appreciated!


texts:
Let's say a judge issues an order; 'deadline for any defendants to file a motion to dismiss plaintiff's first amended complaint is on xyz date.

Then let's say a defendant files a motion to dismiss plaintiff's first amended complaint and does so 2 days after having received plaintiff's second amended complaint and almost a year after the judge ordered deadline for defendants to file their motion to dismiss.

Then what if a judge issues order a week after motion to dismiss is filed stating the motion to dismiss is moot, however not because it was time barred by previous order setting deadline, but because plaintiff has filed a second amended complaint.

Could the defendant be attempting to maneuver a second chance at a motion to dismiss?  If so, what could be done to stop such an abuse?


texts: Can a government sue its citizens for "libel"?

texts:
If a citizen of a nation is deliberately spreading lies against a given government of a country (let's say U.S. federal or state government) to undermine its capacity to act properly then can the government sue its own citizen for libel?

Has it happened before?


texts: Did United have the right, under its Contract of Carriage, to remove a boarded passenger?

texts:
I recently watched a short Youtube video where a copyright lawyer (thus, not his area of expertise) was discussing the United Airlines incident where they had a passenger removed by force when he refused to deplane voluntarily.
The point of the video was to review United's Contact of Carriage, which as I understand, is the contact you agree to whenever you purchase a ticket from United. There are three sections in the Contract which seem like they might be relevant:

RULE 21 REFUSAL OF TRANSPORT

discusses the reasons for which United has the right to remove a passenger from its plane. There is a list of them, but most notably, "overbooked flight" is not one of those reasons.

RULE 5 CANCELLATION OF RESERVATIONS
G. All of UA’s flights are subject to overbooking which could result in UA’s inability to provide previously confirmed reserved space for a given flight or for the class of service reserved. In that event, UA’s obligation to the Passenger is governed by Rule 25.

specifies that United may overbook its flights, and as a purchaser, you're agreeing that you may not get to actually use the ticket you bought due to overbooking. However, in the event of an overbooking, it refers to:

RULE 25 DENIED BOARDING COMPENSATION

which goes through the procedure by which United will attempt to solicit volunteers to forfeit their tickets in exchange for compensation; then, if needed, resort to selecting passengers to involuntarily forfeit their tickets, etc.
However, point was raised that Rule 6 and Rule 25 talk about denial of boarding in the case of overbooking. In this specific situation, the passenger had already boarded – United had already given the passenger his "reserved space", and was now asking him to "give it back".
Is there any real difference between those two events? Does the fact that the Contract of Carriage talks about "boarding", but not "removal after boarding", make any legal difference as far as United's rights in this case?

Just to clarify: I realize that overbooking itself is a legal business practice, as it's called out specifically in the Contract. But the Contact also lays out specifically what happens when overbooking occurs, and this event doesn't appear to be covered.
I also recognize that United's airplane is ultimately private property and remaining in your seat after being told to leave is probably trespassing in some sense. And once security was called and the passenger disobeyed, he was clearly in the wrong. But that doesn't mean UA didn't breach their contract in having him removed in the first place.


texts: In Houston, Texas, do you need a DBA if you only conduct business in the LLC's name?

texts:
I was reading an article on Houston's local government site about starting a business.

The article states:

  Limited Liability Company (...) files with the Texas Secretary of State. (...) This department keeps records of business names in a searchable database. Keep in mind you will still need to file a DBA within the county you are in.

Note the part about still needing to file a DBA with your county.

I am seeing conflicting information in 71.003(b) of the Texas Commerce Code:

  This chapter does not require a (...) limited liability company (...) or its (...) members to file a certificate to conduct business or render a professional service in this state under the name of the entity as stated in the certificate of formation, application filed with the office of the secretary of state, or other comparable document of the entity.

This Dallas law firm says the same thing in their article What is a DBA and when do I need one?

  Business owners who wish to conduct business under a name other than the trade name legally registered with the Secretary of State (SOS) during the formation process must submit a DBA (also known as an Assumed Name Certificate or Form 503) with the county clerk where their business is legally located.(Texas Business & Commerce Code [TBCC] § 71.103)."

Is the information on the houstontx.gov site correct?

If it is, what law or ordinance is it that requires the registration of a DBA for an LLC with the same name?


texts: Is membership in the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property required for other special agreements such as PCT?

texts:
I am currently studying for an exam in intellectual property rights and read that the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property is a umbrella agreement, whereas agreements such as PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) or MMA (Madrid system for the international registration of marks) are special agreements (within the umbrella).

Therefore I wonder if membership in the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property is a requirement for any of the before mentioned special agreements and if not why?

Special agreements are mentioned in Art. 19 of the Paris Convention.


texts: At what I age could I sign a contract in Europe?

texts:
I am 16 years old and interested in selling a website. After creating a thread in stack web development I wanted to ask a law question and that's why I got redirected here.

I live in Albania, Europe and I would like to know; Am I able to sign a contract such as a buy-sell agreement by the age of 16 in Europe or in my country in specific?


texts: What if I hit a pedestrian and killed him? what are the steps in both cases?

texts:
I'm an engineering student taking a course called traffic safety. A project in the course gives a problem to solve which is:

A cousin of yours have accidentally hit a pedestrian while getting out of the parking lot. The pedestrian, a man in his 70s, was taken to the hospital with serious injuries (internal bleeding and fractured rib) with the help of the Red Cross.
You came to the hospital and knew that the injured person is dead.
Kindly list the steps that your cousin should follow from the moment he hit the pedestrian to the
moment of death. You should mention who should he called, who should come to the hospital, who should write the accident report and what should the report include and what will happen to your cousin if:

Case A: The family of the victim have decided to prosecute.
Case B: The family of the victim did not decide to prosecute.

What i did so far is:
I stated that my cousin should first move his car away to prevent further collisions, then instantly call the ambulance and the police. He should also ask for any witness to remain in the scene. When police arrives, the officer collects the information such as ID, road condition, age, gender, driving experience, phone number, location, time... Then he should call insurance company and report the accident to them. Finally, call the attorney.
My question is how can i elaborate further in discussing this, my instructor requires it to be 3-4 pages. I'm barely being able to write one page. Any idea on how can I elaborate more on this? what should i also mention, should I search for traffic laws in my country and mention them?
Not asking to solve my entire homework, just some hints or tips maybe?


texts: Do ship captains have the authority to solemnize marriages?

texts:
I have seen some works of fiction portraying marriage ceremonies happening on ships, officiated by sea captains (such as a famous scene in the Disney movie At World's End).
Is this a tradition outside fictional works? Or at least based on some tradition? Can ship captains legally marry people aboard a ship?


texts: How does the U.S. legal system control for definitional changes?

texts:
Some laws on the books date back to the 18th century. But definitions of even very common words change significantly over time- words like "against", for example.
That being the case, how do courts reliably ensure they're using the same definitions for all the words that the original authors were using?

Connotations, of course, will be lost, be even just denotation. Some words are still in use but have definitions that have changed in slight and insidious ways. How is that accounted for?


texts: Is it legal for the President of the United States to order a wiretap on a citizen of the United States?

texts:
In light of President Trump's allegations against the Obama administration: Is it legal for the President of the United States to order a wiretap and/or other federal surveillance of a citizen of the United States?

Are there any qualifications needed to be met in order to request such surveillance?


texts: Copyright implications of creating transcripts?

texts:
I'm playing around with the idea of transcribing some of my favourite podcasts and recorded talks, putting them up on a website and accepting donations from users to hopefully help support some of the costs.

What are the legal implications of doing this? Am I even allowed to publish the transcriptions without permission?

I'm in Aus but happy to hear US advice as most of the content I'm interested in is from there anyway.


texts:
I'm curious about a hypothetical case. Let's say I were to develop custom software for a closed system on a car, and released it under a standard open source license that had all the typical disclaimers about liability and such. This software replaces the infotainment system giving the user custom apps like a GPS app using open street maps.

Now, obviously you're not supposed to be messing with the software on your car and the end user could void warranty, but that's not my concern. Imagine somehow, some way, this custom software causes the vehicle to fail resulting in an accident. Could the developer of the custom software be held liable, even though the license says all the usual about liability?

Region is Canada but answers covering other regions would be of interest.


texts: Legality of manual counterattacks vs counterattacks executed autonomously by a self-defense bot

texts:
There is a new twist on the DDOS (distributed denial-of-service) attack vector which has been used for taking down servers on the internet.

This newest version sends data packets targeting memcached software that is utilized on many servers.

Now an article in thehackernews.com describes a possible solution to this form of attack. Paragrah 5 in the article 'Kill Switch' to Mitigate Memcached DDoS Attacks — Flush 'Em All (available here) says that

  However, the good news is that researchers from Corero Network
  Security found a technique using which DDoS victims can send back a
  simple command, i.e., "shutdown\r\n", or "flush_all\r\n", in a loop to
  the attacking Memcached servers in order to prevent amplification.

This solution would essentially amount to sending commands back to the server that is attacking your server.

I have a couple of questions I would like to ask about this:

Are there laws in USA against attacking a server that is attacking
your servers?
If such laws exist, do they include attacks executed by humans or
would it be legal for a "self-defense" bot to autonomously undertake
such attack?


texts: Can you plead the fifth to avoid revealing the identity of someone you were accused of being?

texts:
This is a question for the sake of a story, I'm not seeking legal advice to use in court, just fact checking general laws.  Any elaboration on interesting facets that may be useful for story writing is always welcomed as well :).

Let's say that there is an individual whose actual identity is not known: he goes by the alias Kal-el.  Another individual, Clark Kent (yeah, I decided to get geeky with my names), has been accused of being this person in the past, and has told everyone that he is not this person, but he does know this person, and his real identity, but won't reveal that identity.

Later Kal-el is somehow related to a crime (accused of doing it, or a witness, whatever), and the police need to know who he is as part of their investigation, thus they talk to Clark.  Let's say that Kal-el is a different person, but Clark does not want to admit this.

Could Clark ever be put in a position where he is forced to admit Kal-el's actual identity?  I assume he usually wouldn't, but if he is aware of Kal-el's involvement in a crime at some point he becomes an accessory by not revealing it?
If there is a point at which Clark would usually be compelled by the court to give Kal-el's actual identity could Clark refuse to do it on the grounds that he has been accused of being Kal-el?  Arguing that if he is Kal-el he would be bearing witness against himself to admit it and is thus protected by the fifth amendment.  He has previously claimed he isn't in an unofficial capacity, but he is not going to make that claim legally, instead refusing to admit rather he is Kal-el or if Kal-el is someone who he knows.

If you only allow him to plead the fifth if he is Kal-el then the act of pleading the fifth still bears witness by implicitly stating he must actually be Kal-el, thus the only way to protect him from having to reveal the truth is by allowing him to plead the fifth even if he isn't actually Kal-el without this being considered lying to the court.  Obviously you therefore can't force him to reveal the actual identity of Kal-el without implicitly forcing him to bear witness against himself as to whether or not he is this individual.  Does this argument work?


texts: What happens if bad lawyer advice causes irreparable harm?

texts: Let's reduce the question to Canadian lawyers in immigration practice. Bad advice can cause loss of residency, lifetime ban and more. What's your recourse?


texts: What powers has a police to question or search males of age 18-21 who are smoking tobacco in a high crime area?

texts:
The event in this scenario takes place in England and is based on an experience from a number of years ago.

The time is 2300.

4 Males (ages between 18 and 21) in two cars

decide to drive out to a remote industrial estate which is usually empty at night,
are all out of their cars smoking tobacco and talking. The vehicles are locked.
know their being in a 'high crime area'.

A lone Police officer pulls up in his vehicle and starts to question what the males are doing in the area.

My question is what powers does the officer have to question or search the males, and the cars?


texts: Do police have a more extensive file on a person than can be obtained from the DMV?

texts:
Do police have a more extensive driving/traffic file on me than I can obtain from the DMV?

I just called the DMV headquarters in Oregon, my state of residence. After I answered two simple security questions, the agent pulled up my driving record and said there was nothing on it.

In actuality, over the past ten years I have received three moving violations, one parking ticket, and have been pulled over at least a half-dozen other times. Two of the moving violations are not supposed to be on it since I attended traffic school both times. The third moving violation was three weeks ago.

I told the agent all that, but the agent insisted that my driving record is 'squeaky clean'.  Do police (or the state) have all these occurrences in some database? If so, what is it called? How can I request a copy of it?

I'm asking for two one reason. I'm thinking of pleading not-guilty to the recent ticket, and requesting a trial by affidavit. Second, my friend just added me to her insurance, at which time the insurance agent said I had two items on my record (EDIT: I've since found out that the two items are claims for vandalism on my car, not law infractions).


texts: In the United States, do pedestrians always have right of way?

texts:
There appear to be three types of pedestrian crossings in the United States:

Marked: an "official" crosswalk with some sort of markings or indication that it exists.
Unmarked: According to wikipedia, "Unmarked crosswalks generally exist as the logical extensions of sidewalks at intersections with approximately right angles"
None: when there is no crosswalk - "jaywalking"

Source: Wikipedia

When pedestrians cross in a location where there is no crosswalk or disobey pedestrian traffic signals (i.e., jaywalk), what responsibilities do drivers have to those jaywalking pedestrians (if any), and what would (likely) happen were there to be an incident - especially, who would be culpable and what factors would influence that culpability?

This may be rather broad; if so, comment and I'll edit. Thanks!


texts: How is Lyft not infringing on Uber's patent?

texts:
Uber owns several patents, many of which are for systems that Lyft has as well. As such, how is Lyft not infringing on Uber's patents?

For instance, just to pick an example, "providing on-demand services through use of personal computing services."


texts: If a legal document references another legal document, does it "annex" the other document?

texts:
There are probably numerous examples but I'll go with the one with which I am most familiar.
Let's say a debt buyer is trying to prove that it owns your debt. The "normal" type of proof is the Bill of Sale. But most of the time, the Bill of Sale references a Purchase Agreement which most debt buyers don't want to show (because it usually contains numerous disclaimers that may hurt its case).
But if the Bill of Sale references a Purchase Agreement, then it is not complete without it, right? Is it true that if the defendant asks, the debt buyer has to produce the Purchase Agreement as a matter of law, because of this fact, or else lose the probative value of the Bill of Sale?


texts: Can the police arrest me for marrying an underage (17 year old) girl?

texts:
I live in Mumbai, India, and am married to a 17 year old girl from Mumbai. Recently, we had to file a police case against a man who was misbehaving with my wife. After knowing my wife's age, the police was suggesting me not to file a case as even I might get arrested, if the case reaches court, because I am married to 17 year old girl. Though I have filled the case and the culprit is under arrest, and the court hearing is after a month.

Can I even get arrested for marrying a 17 year (underage) girl?


texts: Do you need to obey an obstructed traffic sign?

texts:
If a traffic sign is obstructed (for example, due to being overgrown by kudzu or because a telephone pole was placed in front of it) to the point of unreadability, do you still need to obey it?

What if the sign is so obstructed that there is no longer any indication that the sign even exists?


texts: What happens if parties do not honour a settlement agreement?

texts:
Say a settlement agreement was reached where a shopper sued a grocery store over food that gave her food poisoning. If the terms of the settlement agreement were

grocery store shall pay shopper $100
grocery store shall give customer a free steak
customer will remove her negative review from Yelp
both parties release each other and won't bring legal action for anything relating to this subject

Assume all terms must be executed within one weeks time. If the week past and the shopper didn't receive $100 what would be her next course of action? Would she just go back to court or would it somehow be easier? If they go back to court, can the shopper sue for other things, especially considering term 4? For example if the shopper had claimed $300 but agreed to $100 in term 1. in the event of breach could they sue for the original $300 or some other claim they had waived?

If the shopper did not remove the negative review from Yelp, would the grocery store still need to execute their terms (1. and 2.) or would they somehow be exonerated?

Must the shopper execute 2. even though it's to her own benefits? For example if she decides she doesn't trust the grocery store enough she doesn't want another steak from them.


texts: Can a judge deny bail for a failure to appear warrant arrest?

texts: If you have failed to appear to court for a civil case and get arrested for failure to appear, is that reason enough to be denied bail until the FTA hearing?


texts:
According to the media a former ambassador from the Vatican to the Dominican Republic is being put on trial in the Vatican for being in possesion of child pornography. This makes me wonder how the legal system works in the "country" of the Vatican State.

What, for example, is the penalty for what this person is accused of doing?

In what way, for example, is the Pope involved in the judicial proceedings in the Vatican?

Are there any good references on this?


texts: If a party says something about interpretation of contract, is it binding?

texts:
Contracts can be complicated and lots of companies prefer to use boiler plate. If someone is asked to sign a contract and then asks a question about it, does the answer given by the drafter have legal weight and would be enforceable?

For example, if Company A emailed person B a contract and person B asked a clarifying question about the interpretation of a term in the contract, if Company A replied by email would their response be legally binding or at least valid evidence in court?

Specific example: if a contract says "no consumption of alcohol at work" and before signing it a person asks "if I am off the clock can I drink in the staff room", if the reply is "ok", then could the company still fire for just cause the employee for drinking in the staff room off the clock? (assuming it wasn't employment at will, the employee wasn't intoxicated and was doing the job well, etc.)


texts: How do various factors affect the legality of streaming?

texts:
I was wondering whether watching a video that was uploaded without permission from the copyright holder was illegal. Also...

Which country’s laws apply if a lawsuit were to arise? For example, if a person in Country A accessed content owned by a company in Country B using software from Country C, which country would the person be legally liable to, in case of a lawsuit?
Does it make a difference whether the site is legal or illegal? It seems reasonable to expect pirated content on an illegal site, but on a site like YouTube, it would be difficult for users to know whether the copyright holder is okay with the file being uploaded.
YouTube actually runs on a download system, storing the file in the browser cache. How would that affect legal complications?
What is the expected maximum penalty for streaming privately? I read that it was $750 per clip, but I am not sure if this is correct.
How much of a video clip could be considered Fair Use, approximately? Clearly, taking a few minutes of a movie is generally considered Fair Use, but a full movie being uploaded is probably not. Where is the threshold approximately?


texts:
Are there laws restricting polls, similar to laws restricting advertisements?

Polls can ask questions that contain false premises, or an hypothetical assumption that is so unlikely that just saying "what if" is in itself a claim that the hypothesis is not absurd on its face, which could be seen as a lie. They can present options that don't exist in the real world, or can't possibly exist or inherently don't make sense and are logically absurd, to the point of "duh, it isn't a thing" (like paying for "renewable" energy).

Are there laws either restricting the question, or forcing pollster to at least propose as an answer "your assertions is false" or "your assertion is not even wrong" or "I reject your question" or "you don't even make sense" or "your terminology is confused" or "you need a crash course on X".

Note that "I have no opinion" is categorically not a rejection of the question. It suggest that the person answering the question gave little thought to the issue, not that the person asking gave no thought to the issue what-so-ever.

Other possible lies in polls are list of politicians you will vote or either voted for that are incomplete and without an option "other".

This is especially critical in connection to elections, but not limited to election campaigns or things politicians campaign on. The issue is implicit advocacy in a biased poll later used to say "most people push x or say y or reject z".

(I guess in the US, this could either fall under FEC, FTC, FCC... any agency that regulates any form of communication.)


texts: Ownership percent change if co-founder gets funding from family

texts:
I recently had a business agreement with my co-founder to split our business 70-30. 70% for me and 30% for my co-founder. We filed the LLC and two days ago my co-founder called me and told me that his family is giving us 40K with no ties for him and our business. I am tonight going to talk to my lawyer about the ownership, but want to know if giving him more equity is the best decision.

I thought about treating the money as a loan and he would get repaid the money plus gain a percentage back once our company starts generating revenue. I just would like to know if their is anyone else out their that has been down this route and might know a great way on going about this.


texts: Zoom Bombing - What specific law is being broken (US and Canada)

texts: In "zoom bombing" (teleconference hijacking) what specific law is being broken? Youtube's reporting feature asks to cite the specific laws are being broken? The class I witnessed being zoom bombed was in the US (California). The streamer who did it lives in Canada (British Columbia).


texts:
What is the difference if any between pirated, contraband and counterfeit goods?
"Smugglers usually smuggle contraband into and out of a country for commercial gain"
 a shipping line can as well be notorious for shipping contraband goods

According to The Advanced English Dictionary and Thesaurus  (online);

  contraband (noun)
  noun
  1. contraband goods whose importation or exportation or possession is prohibited by law.


texts: What are the criteria for being considered a British citizen by descent?

texts:
I am a British citizen who was under 18 when my father applied for naturalization in 1979. I (as well as my father) was then given citizenship when the naturalization came through in 1982.

Am I a British citizen by descent or not?


texts: Can a minor negotiate their own contract?

texts:
Let's say Jill wants John to sign a contract. John is a minor, therefore, John will have to get a cosignature from his mom Janet. John has some concerns about the contract, he knows that his mom Janet can negotiate the contract, but can John negotiate his own contract although is a minor?

Thanks, please cite your sources.