texts: Is it legal to hire a Private Investigator in Korea? If not, what's the closest alternative?

texts:
I'm writing a story and I'm asking for factual accuracy in the storyline. (Not asking for suggestions in hiring an actual PI.)

I know for a fact that it's now illegal in Korea to hire a Private Investigator ("Detective") for purposes such as tracking your spouse to see if they're cheating, etc.

However, is hiring a Private Investigator for a CRIMINAL TRIAL possible? To collect evidence and maybe track down a potential witness or suspect. In the US it's not only legal, but common, to hire a Private Investigator to collect evidence and interview people.

If hiring Private Investigators is not allowed, then what's the closest option besides the police? Is the police the only other option for collecting evidence like so?

My story really needs someone to do the evidence collecting, witness interviewing, and suspect-tracking-down job.. How can I make this work? I heard that attorneys don't really do jobs like these.. Do I need to make it so that the police takes care of these things?

Thank you, I don't know where else to ask. I might ask over at /r/legaladviceofftopic or something..


texts: Is there a legal system or theory where punishment is proportional to the probability of an offence?

texts:
In common criminal law in order for a defendant to be punished, they must be found guilty beyond all reasonable doubt. Hence, there is a threshold for the probability of guilt, beyond which the punishment is proportional to the offence and/or consequences.

I want to know if there is a legal system where punishment is proportional to the probability of guilt. For example, Alice and Bob are equally likely to have committed a known crime and one of them must have committed the crime. Hence, each faces 50% of the normal penalty. Such a legal system could be from anywhere in the world at any point in time, from modern roman legal systems, to small systems governing tribal communities. Any of these are interesting to me if researched.

I am also interested if such a punishment system has been investigated theoretically. Primarily, what the benefits are, but the ethical side is also of interest.

If anyone can help that would be most helpful, I have not been able to find any scholarly or other types of article. I am interested from a mathematical perspective, but I'd like to know whether such systems exist in reality.

UPDATE

Just to be clear, I am not asking whether there has been implemented a mathematically precise decision procedure, weighting level of punishment proportional to probability of guilt. But rather, if there is or has ever been an informal (i.e., imprecise) system.

There are good reasons for there not to be, I am asking whether there has been or is such a system.

Thanks for the answers so far, I just wanted to clarify that.


texts: Is a partially-visible California Proposition 65 Label "Clear and Reasonable"?

texts:
Given that it is possible to identify a California Proposition 65 label on a picture of a product used in a web store even if it is only partially visible and at angle, can that be construed as reasonable in this context?

An example of this can be seen on this web store page where only one image includes the California Proposition 65 label and then only partially visible and at angle:

  Health Plus Colon Cleanse, Regular Jar, 48 Ounce

I found this document from 1988 explaining the regulations but it is not entirely clear about this case.

REVISED FINAL STATEMENT OF REASONS 22 CALIFORNIA CODE OF REGULATIONS DIVISION 2 section 12601. Clear and Reasonable Warning

  There are two elements to any warning: the manner in which the warning is presented, and the message by which the warning is communicated. The term "reasonable" appears to have been intended to apply to the first element. The manner of transmission must be reasonable. The term "clear", on the other hand, appears to have been intended to refer to the message which the warning must convey. Therefore, in order for a warning to be clear and reasonable, the manner of transmission must be reasonable, and the message employed must be sufficiently clear to communicate the warning.

Does a clue to the existence of the label in the image reasonably present evidence that there is such a label on the product?


texts: May NH police legally keep secret the number of bullets purchased

texts:
I asked a few questions of my government and phrased it as an open records request. I got an answer on half of them and a response on all of them.
The police claim they cannot answer the question, 'How many bullets did the police purchase for 2010 and 2020?'. Here is the phrasing used in the denial of my public records request: "The release of how many bullets purchased in 2010 & 2020  may not be releasable per RSA 91:A.  It could constitute the disclosure of investigative techniques or procedures. " I found, RSA (Revised Statutes Annotated) 91-A. One concern I have is whether or not they may secretly use "emergency" powers and lie about it claiming they can deny requests to discover police procedures.
I couldn't find language that allows hiding procedures or general investigations by citizens of the police. Are the police legally allowed to hide basic information like the number of bullets purchased? If they aren't, what legal recourse is open to the citizenry denied such public records?
-- UPDATE --
"Your request in the amount of bullets and purchase has not been denied at this time.  I was stating that it is possible that it could constitute the disclosure of investigative techniques or procedures."


texts: Is it considered homicide if an armed robber causes an accidental death? (WV, USA)

texts:
My friend posted me this scenario:

An armed man robs a bank. As he's exiting the building, he accidentally bumps into a lady, and her gun misfires, resulting in her hitting her femoral artery and dying.

Is this considered homicide? I assumed that the fact that he created the situation that resulted in her death, it would be manslaughter.

What is the answer?


texts: Could one become stateless by first renouncing one's native citizenship, and then having one's naturalization revoked?

texts:
This is a follow-up to similar question on Expatriates SE, based on an answer I got there.

The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration can revoke previously issued naturalizations, if they were based on fraud. It turns out that Norway is not the only country that can do this. Other nations may also revoke naturalizations, for example the US, Canada and Finland. I am sure others can as well.

Now, this got me thinking. I know that having a citizenship is a human right, so that leads me to assume that only dual nationals can have their naturalizations revoked. Otherwise, revocation would render the person stateless.

So, let's say someone was under investigation for something serious enough to potentially lose them their naturalized citizenship. Could they then hurry up and renounce their native citizenship? This would then leave them with only one citizenship, the naturalized one. I figure that would make it impossible for the government to revoke it, because it would render them stateless, making revocation a violation of international human rights law. Is that correct?


texts: Does displaying the UPF value on a textile have any legal binding in the United States?

texts:
I read on https://blog.coolibar.com/whats-the-difference-between-spf-and-upf/:

  Currently, in the United States, the standards for UPF are voluntary.

This made me wonder:  Does displaying the UPF value on a textile (or its description on a merchant's webpage) have any legal binding in the United States?


texts:
Suppose person A murders person B and is charged and tried for premeditated murder. If the jury finds them innocent of that charge, can the prosecutor then try them for, say, voluntary manslaughter?
The murder part is just an example. I'm curious about the general case where someone allegedly committed multiple crimes in one act and was found innocent of one of them.


texts: Is it illegal for a European to be paid for giving financial advice to people in the US?

texts:
I live in a country in the EU in which giving financial advice, such as stock tips, and getting paid for this is perfectly legal for a private individual.
Let's say I have a friend in the US who asks me to look at his stock portfolio and says he'll give me money if I say which stocks to throw out and suggest some other stocks.
As far as I know there are some issues with giving financial advice in the US. Could this get me in trouble? Are there other countries where this could be a problem? Thank you for the help.


texts: Can a tenant be charged for arranging furniture in their rented space?

texts:
I think that's the way I want to ask it.
I am a student living on campus housing. At the start of the semester my roommate and i stacked our beds creating a bunk bed. Note, the beds are designed to do this and have in no way or form been damaged by this action. Now, according to the hall advisor(the property manager or something) I need to pay a fee for doing this. Can they legally demand this from me? I have reread the agreement that I signed when I started my lease and I can't see any mention this being forbidden in the lease.

here is my lease agreement http://pastebin.com/67xbf1LQ
and here are the housing guidelines http://pastebin.com/eVKHZqs2


texts: Redundancy notice for less than two years of employment (UK)

texts:
It hasn't been 100% confirmed in writing, but my boss has told our team verbally, that due to the lack of work in our backlog, we wont be able to sustain all of us, and that one of us will likely go in quarter 1 of 2016.

As a result, I have been trying to look into my redundancy rights. I am currently employed in the UK, and joined 20th April 2014. So my two year work anniversary will be 20th April 2016.

Due to the fact my boss said it will be likely the first quarter if it did happen, what are my rights for redundancy in terms of pay and notice.

On my contract it states:

  Once you have completed your probationary period, this notice period will increase to one month's written notice on either side...

Online though, it states:

  At least 1 week - if you have been employed continuously by your employer for more than 1 month but less than 2 years.

So is my notice under redundancy 1 week or 1 month.

Thanks for any answers and any advice you feel may be useful or any knowledge of the law which I can use for my own empowerment.


texts: What laws are being broken by publishing a non-redacted version of the Muller Report?

texts:
What laws might be broken if someone created a non-redacted version of the Muller Report?

That is, suppose they wrote a version of the redacted portions and claimed they have no idea if it's the actual wording, it was received by an anonymous source.

Suppose furthermore the individual is not a US citizen.

My reason for asking is that I'm simply wondering why that doesn't happen?

Could one claim it's a parody? Could one claim they saw the redacted texts through psychic power?

(No this is not a troll question. I want to understand how law and freedom of speech interact.)


texts: Is it legal to download movies in Canada?

texts: For years Canada has been known as a Pirates safe haven, but copyright in Canada has been going under huge reform for the past few years, and it's been hard to keep up with all the changes. With the new updated copyright laws, is it legal to download movies from a site such as the Piratebay? What's the official policy?


texts: Trademark-application denied due to company name which describes activity

texts:
I am co-founder of a company with which we want to apply for a trademark of our name in BeNeLux. We were told that this would be quite dangerous for us and would be risky as our company name also describes the activity of our company. Such trademark applications would be denied by the European Union.
I can give you an example. If a company is called "computerrepair" and their service is about repairing computers, a trademark request of the name "computerrepair" would be denied as the company name which describes the company's activity.
My question is if this is true and how much value is placed on this?
(I've searched a bit through the internet but haven't found an exact answer).


texts: Do you loose liability protection if doing work for your LLC on your personal computer?

texts:
Do you have potential of loosing liability protection if doing work for your LLC on your personal computer (ie. a computer purchased with personal funds and not accounted for as being owned by the LLC)? For example, what if had customer data like purchase orders stored in a folder on you personal computer? Does this count as

  treating the LLC as an extension of their personal affairs, rather than as a separate legal entity

since you are commingling the usage of your personal property?


texts: If a boss in office induces one of his subordinates to have sex in exchange of offering a promotion and later after having sex deny to promote, will it fall under the definition of rape?


texts:
I recently stumbled across an answer to a question stating that certain content could not be copyrighted.

I wonder if this is also the case for collections of vocabs found online. Can they be copyrighted? Are they intellectual property?

Does it make a difference if the vocab list has a title?

If the original author of the vocabs gives me permission to use them in certain ways (licenses them and grants me certain rights), am I allowed to obtain them from the platform they uploaded them to (if the vocabs are publicly available there) or does the platform need to consent as well?

Edit: to clarify what kind of lists I'm talking about, here's their "format" (if it matters):

A (quite short) title
Sorted (not alphabetically, order chosen by copyright holder) vocab and translation + eventually annotations in vocab or translation

Random example by me (in the spirit of, but not one of the collections I'm talking about):

Title: "Some Connectors for Argumentative Texts"
Vocabs like: thereafter (english vocab) (causal) (annotation): demnach/demzufolge (german vocab) (wie "because of this") (annotation)


texts: Is it legal to hire someone to witness a situation (i.e. workplace bullying)?

texts:
I'm hoping to get some insights about the legality of hiring a witness to gather evidence.

This person would be an unaffiliated third-party that simply listens in on a co-worker conversation from an adjacent cafe table, in hopes of catching an admission of guilt.

There's no case, unless the co-worker provides an admission of guilt (e.g. "Yeah, I gave you an impossible deadline so you would fail and give big boss a reason to can you.").

My goal is simply to get a witness-signed transcript of the conversation, as someone told me it's almost impossible to legally record people in California  with electronic devices.

Is it legal to hire someone to witness this or do they need legal credentials? Could I be exposed to any liabilities? ... Any gotchas?

My alternative is to pay a detective, which would be more expensive, and if I need to pay one to show up in court, it would also be more pricey.


texts: Is download Public S3 AWS Buckets illegal?

texts:
What are S3 Buckets?

An Amazon S3 bucket is a public cloud storage resource available in Amazon Web Services' (AWS) Simple Storage Service (S3), an object storage offering. Amazon S3 buckets, which are similar to file folders, store objects, which consist of data and its descriptive metadata.

ref https://searchaws.techtarget.com/definition/AWS-bucket

Are they private?

By default, all S3 buckets are private and can be accessed only by users that are explicitly granted access. ... Restrict access to your S3 buckets or objects by: Writing AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) user policies that specify the users that can access specific buckets and objects.

ref https://aws.amazon.com/premiumsupport/knowledge-center/secure-s3-resources/

What tools are required to access s3 buckets?

There are many tools that are free to download. AWS even has a CLI tool that you add your free amazon credentials to and can access their data from your home machine.

Question:

If a company were to accidentally configure an S3 Bucket to be public, is downloading their data illegal?


texts:
I want to create an app similar to the 4shared Music app that enables downloading MP3 files stored on my server.
Features

Serves all mp3 files from host server
Distributed via Google Play Store
Music library searchable by title or artist name
Annual subscription fee for unlimited downloads
Free live music streaming
MP3 files accessed from content creator or wholesale distributor via API

What might be illegal about what I have described? What might it be wise to consider when building and distributing this app?


texts: Whose instructions should be followed in a dispute - majority shareholder vs company director? (UK)

texts:
Many years ago, Contractor Fred signed a general works contract with John Smith, owner and sole director of Small Company Ltd. The contact was agreed directly between Fred and John (as opposed to being 'on behalf of' Small Company Ltd).

5 years later, Small Company Ltd sold a minority shareholding (say 25%) to Tom Jones, who came on board as a second director.

1 year later, John Smith resigned as a director but still has the majority shareholding of 75%.

Tom Jones and Fred Smith are now in a dispute and Contractor Fred is being given conflicting instructions.

Based on the factors below, do either Tom or John clearly have greater authority in matters pertaining to Contractor Fred?

The Directorship of Tom (vs the non-director John)
The majority shareholding of Fred (vs the minority shareholding of Tom)
The contract signed with John directly (as opposed to with the Small Company Ltd)

I have looked at this question, which indicates that the contract details should be followed. However the contract above was a general works contract of X hours per week, not specifiying the exact work to be done.

Update

Fred has always been paid from the Ltd Company account, which is managed day to day by John Smith


texts: Can a NDA define that, any information disclosed is incorrect and invalid?

texts:
Can a non-disclosure agreement specify that, after signing, any information disclosed or will be disclosed to any third party without permission is invalid, incorrect, and not factual, and this agreement overrules any other agreements?

Background: Alice and Bob signed a NDA regarding The Project. Without permission, Bob disclosed The Project to Alice's competitor Cindy. Cindy therefore initiated a lawsuit (for example, a patent trolling lawsuit) against Alice. Can Alice use the abovementioned clause to reaffirm that the information disclosed by Bob is not facts?
From my limited understanding, Alice can only punish Bob for breaching contract but she cannot protect herself from patent trolling suit with that NDA.


texts: Am I liable if I know about copyright enfrigement of software my collegue is copying?

texts: If I know about a colleague who is copying public available code into our software stack, infringing copyright law on purpose, too which extent am I liable under German law? Can I refuse working on the same files/project that include these copied lines of code?


texts: Does the law provide for any defense or help for defense in civil family cases?

texts:
A man and woman who are not married have a baby. During the pregnancy the two split up. The woman sues the man for shared custody of the child and he is ordered to pay child support. He regularly visits the child and there are no problems or issues with that so far.

The woman decides to sue the man or modify the order and is now asking for sole custody and to require the father to submit to paid, supervised visits of his daughter.

If someone doesn't have many resources at their disposal to fight this action, does the law in Pennsylvania allow any 'public defender' type of help - as it does with criminal actions? Or what type of remedies does the law provide in this kind of circumstance?


texts: Can I legally accept funds resulting from the tax deed sale of a house I had owned before a Chapter 7 bankruptcy?

texts:
Many years ago, I rented a P.O. box. I no longer have anything with the address on it, all I know is the address itself.

I bought a house, and then a few years later walked away from it because the roof was falling apart. Got married, had kids, sick child medical bills piled up and we had to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The house ended up selling at a tax deed sale. Even after the bankruptcy, my name was still attached to the property.

A lawsuit to quiet the title of that property was served to me last year I believe, which I let lapse because I didn't want to deal with the house at all. After the court response quieting the title, I start getting letters from a bunch of companies stating they found money that belonged to me, and that the would offer me $X for them to get it for me. I believe I was noticed of a refund of the difference.

The form DFS-UP-106 states, to claim the funds, that I have to submit my driver's license and some proof, like correspondence or a bill, that contains my name and the address on the form.

First off, is this legal? I would like the unclaimed funds if I can claim them legally; If it is, while I don't have a document showing my name and the P.O. box it came from, but these people that contacted me by mail seem to have a way to do it, so how could I find some proof of me leasing/renting that PO Box? I'm going to to try calling or visiting that branch to see if they have records, but if that doesn't work, what course of action should I take?

EDIT: I found paperwork on this so I guess I would like other users to chime in on the legality of accepting these funds in light of having a bankruptcy on record.

EDIT I have been listing the.com address instead of the.org address by mistake. I've contacted my bankruptcy lawyer, and I will post the results when I hear them.


texts: Does antitrust law allow for a monopoly that strictly benefits consumers?

texts:
Antitrust law has long existed under the premise that more competition is better for the consumer. But what if a monopoly were to eliminate competition, and then use the increase in efficiency of an empty market strictly to benefit consumers?

The two most important players in antitrust law globally are almost certainly the United States and the EU, so I'm specifically interested in the laws of both, especially in how they contrast given Europe's stronger stance against anticompetitive activities.

Say a company, Supergood Corp., were to intentionally act in such a way as to eliminate competition. Then Supergood hires all workers laid off by the bankrupt competitors, and uses the loss of competition to increase efficiency by cutting advertising (why advertise when you're the only player), consolidating supply chains for faster and cheaper goods, etc.

Supergood Corp. then passes all of the savings resulting from its actions on to consumers, lowering prices to minimize profit, and improving both price and quality over conditions before the anticompetitive activities took place.

Considering the criteria used to establish violation of antitrust law, is there a way that Supergood Corp. can avoid legal culpability under relevant laws for the above actions?


texts: Would a user expose themselves to legal jeopardy if they were paid to write a question or an answer for someone else?

texts:
Background

After reading through several policies for Stack Exchange, I could not find anything that explicitly forbids or bans a user from writing a question or answer on behalf of someone else in exchange for money.  That is, I could not find anything that states someone who is paid to log in as another user and write a specific answer, or question for them.  However, given that I have seen policies against Real World Training in websites such as Runescape and World of Warcraft, I was curious if something similar existed for Stack Exchange and its sister sites.

Question

Would payment in exchange for writing another user's question or answer potentially violate the legal policies of a Stack Exchange?


texts:
If the burden of proof lies on the plaintiff, how could the plaintiff prove the defendant didn't pay for an item removed from a store.

From what I understand a negative can't be proven.

In this case isn't it always possible that the item was paid for, but the record of it isn't brought forward?
How are we to take the word of the plaintiff on this matter that they aren't withholding evidence when no evidence exists?

I'm not actually concerned with the specifics here, but more so on how a case like this where everything lies in the absence of some event occurring is the cause of a crime is handled.


texts:
Imagine investigating a person who's a corporate executive, the head of a local union or a journalist. I think the term is public personage - a person whose picture can be legally posted on a website or in a book.

Now imagine you find this individual's photo in a 1955 high school yearbook.

If the book isn't explicitly copyrighted, would it be legal to use that photo in a book? If not, who would be in a position to sue you? The school?

I think the general rule for yearbooks is that the photographers are hired by the school, which means the photographer wouldn't own the photos.

I'm guessing the subject of the photo wouldn't be able to sue you for invasion of privacy if they're a public official or prominent in the community.


texts: Does my university employer have a claim to the proceeds from an academic book I am writing?

texts:
I am a research scientist with a state university in the United States.  I am an at-will employee, not tenured or tenure-track.
Currently I am in the process of developing an academic book in my area of expertise, which is also the area I work extensively in for my employer. The book will be developed on my own time during evenings, weekends and vacation time.
Does my employer automatically have a claim to the proceeds if this book ever gets published? How can I verify?  If they do have a claim, can I request a release and must I have a lawyer to do this for me?  Can I represent myself?
For clarification, there was no contract signed at the beginning of the employment.  Rather they pointed me to general bylaws of the university governing the type of position I am in and I was asked to verify that I agree to them.  After examining the bylaws, I have not seen anything remotely related to copyright etc.


texts:
Ive, recently had some email correspondence with a company based in Spain regarding a reimbursement for poor service received.  The company's email went to great lengths to communicate the confidential nature of their agreement to reimburse my money, which they say (unverifiable) is a-typical of them.

They also included the data privacy regulations (which in essence says that they will retain the email correspondence as part of their data unless I tell them not to in 30 days).

As I am not a citizen or resident of the EU or Spain, is any such disclaimer of confidentiality binding on my part? I have agreed to let them return my money, but didn't sign any document giving away my rights regarding this agreement.

Is there any risk to me sharing the nature of this communication with whom I choose?


texts:
Apologies in advance if this is not the correct exchange for this question.

I am a developer working for a company that owns a healthcare application. They operate exclusively in the EU.

As part of the data consent / privacy policy, users can agree to allow the company to collect additional data about their account, in addition to our standard terms.

I have been asked to implement a set of new features. Part of this implementation involves making these features inaccessible to users who have not allowed the company to collect additional data. If the user agrees to share this data, they can access the new features. However, these new features do not need to use the additional data in order to work.

I am concerned that this is illegal and am hesitant to carry out the project. I have spent some time trying to research this online but have been unable to find clear advice on the legality of leveraging feature access against data consent options. I do not think this is considered best practice, but I am unable to assess if it is illegal, or just a poor decision.

Is it legal to compel users to share data in order to access more features, when the features being accessed do not require the data being requested?


texts: What is, and is not, considered fact in the scientific and computer science world?

texts:
I am having a bit of a hard time with copyright and copyright infringement. I am thinking about writing books about many different things, such as:

How to use this software
How to be a good programmer and think like a programmer
What neural nets are, how they work, and how to codify one.

Everything is mostly based on things that I have experienced and thought I would have liked to know if I wasn't where I was now. The problem is, there exist other books which do the same thing, and some ideas might overlap, isn't this then an infringement of copyright?

This Stack Exchange post has been helpful, but I still find it a little bit vague. What exactly can I consider copyrighted and what can't I, especially in the software development community where not everything is expressly a fact, just an accepted-as-fact opinion? Much like the idea I had about writing about the different parts of artificial neural networks, how they work and how to codify them. Surely the formulae are copyright free, since the math cannot be copyrigthed, right? There are, however, many books on the matter, but not every book explains all the formulae, or even all the parts of the model that they share. If I write a book about it, then, aren't I infringing on copyright? Do I have to ask permission from every author I can find that wrote a book on it in some way or another?

I ask this since I am rather confused, and just that one answer has given me some relief, but what is a fact then in the software community?


texts: Does a stipulation in the deed of sale subvert the purchaser's title?

texts:
This article carries an instance wherein certain immovable property was sold with certain stipulation/s.

  When his parents decided to move in, in 1935, they stipulated in the
  sale that the room should not be changed for 500 years.

Does a stipulation in the deed of sale subvert/undermine the purchaser's title by placing restrictions on how the property may best be enjoyed?


texts: Legality of a Business Name inspired by fictional characters

texts:
Let's say I wanted to start a new business named "Natasha, Inc" whose core product was spy hardware and software. Or maybe one named "Howard, LLC" whose core purpose was inventing new technologies.

Both of these examples use the first names of comic book characters (Black Widow and Howard Stark) whose business purpose is related to the character's role in the comic book stories.

Neither company would ever publicize a relation between the name and the comic book character, or use any character art/stories in marketing or products, though fans (and certainly Marvel Comics/Disney) would likely draw the conclusion themselves.

Both first names above do already have multiple trademarks registered for their names, i.e., Howard and Natasha, for use in many various industries.

A real example is the company Stark Equipment who has registered the service mark for "Stark". The company name and use are obvious references to "Stark Industries" from Iron Man (first use was 1963). But maybe they are just waiting for the lawsuit.

This question is similar, but asks about a name that isn't a common name (the name was invented by the author of LOTR).

The USPTO states that "Trademark infringement is the unauthorized use of a trademark or service mark on or in connection with goods and/or services in a manner that is likely to cause confusion, deception, or mistake about the source of the goods and/or services." That is comforting, though I'm still concerned that there may be other legal risks of using a pop-culture character name in this manner.

Is there any legal precedent protecting or preventing the use of common first names that are also used in popular culture (when such use draws inspiration from the pop culture)?


texts: Delivering US Citizens to Custody of Foreign Government

texts:
Let us say that a foreign government (the Duchy of Grand Fenwick) wants to question a US citizen about something. At the time of the request the citizen in question is peaceably minding his own business at his home in Topeka, Kansas. The Duchy's government has not promised to return the citizen after their questioning is complete.
Let us also say that at the time of the request, the US administration would like very much for the citizen to leave the US and not come back and thus is more than happy to honor this request.
If the citizen is not willing to be questioned or to leave the country, what conditions must the US government meet in order to lawfully arrest the fellow and hand him over to the Fenwickian state?


texts: Do section titles in a contract have to end in a period?

texts:
While reading through contracts, every time I think to check, all the section titles end with a period.
Example:

1    Some Random Section.
(Section's text goes here)

Is this just the standard formatting style, or is there any legal requirement for it?
Is there a guide online that lists the standard contract formatting style conventions?


texts: Mailing bot illegal? [Social Experiment]

texts:
Hope I am in the right place for this type of question. I am a developer that would like to start up a little project that is kind of a social experiment.

The idea is that I setup a mailing bot with a list of emails (say a few million from a online email dump). This bot will send an email that is somewhat misleading, maybe notifying the user they may have won a prize with a link to collect it.

The idea being that I can notify the user once the link is clicked that this was a fake mail designed to spread awareness of scam emails/virus emails and how easy it is to be tricked.

I would also like to collect this information and display on a webpage how many emails are sent out and how many people have clicked the link.

With the information I could collect it anonymously (not linked to the email address) but it would be better to put it against the email so they can visit the site later and see more stats about the project/social experiment.

So the overall question is... Is this possible to do without being in any sort of trouble with laws etc? This will be a worldwide project and poses no threat other than being classed as a spam email.


texts: Landlord arguing we were a subletters and don't have rights as tennants

texts:
I'm guessing I know the answer to this but someone told me it doesn't work this way.

I'm renting a shared house. I have an individual lease with the people who told me they were the landlord, and I pay rent to them directly. It turns out the people who claimed to be the landlord are not the actual owners of the house. They are telling us now the actual owners want to move into the house so we have to move out. Someone was telling me, we are just subletters since the people we signed the lease with aren't the owners, and therefore not protected at all by the Tenancy Act.

Does it work this way? At minimum I would argue that the people we signed the lease with lied by claiming they were the landlord.


texts:
This is why I am asking such a strange question:
Europe has a law called GDPR which imposes responsibility of processing on the person who decides the means of processing of personal data.  Now, if someone posts a link, and the website on the link violates GDPR, the person who posted the link will be liable because they determined   the means and processing of data.


texts: In UK legislation, what does "reasonable grounds to suspect" mean?

texts:
In the Customs and Excise Management Act of 1979, section 161 the language "if there are reasonable grounds to suspect" appears. Practically, where is the line drawn for "reasonable," and how stringent is "suspect"?

I'm essentially trying to figure out how this compares to "Probable Cause" under the US 4th Amendment.


texts: Is publication sufficient to prevent patenting an idea?

texts:
Background
As an experienced guitarist, I have a very simple idea that I believe is worth pursuing - at least as an experiment. In case it is a successful idea, I don't want anyone (including myself) to be able to patent it. I'm retired and I'd rather simply share the idea openly.
For mainly traditional reasons, the strings of almost every type of guitar fan out towards the bridge. I suggest that precisely parallel strings would be an improvement for some styles. In the following question I published my idea.

... I am publishing this idea here. If I have invented the idea of a
parallel-stringed guitar, I don't want anyone to patent it (including
me). This will stop any particular manufacturer from benefitting over
others. I do not want any financial remuneration for myself if this
turns out to be a good idea. This would apply to classical, acoustic,
and electric guitars.

Question
Is the simple publishing of an idea online, sufficient to stop others patenting the idea?


texts: What Remedy When a judge sets an impossible standard of evidence?

texts: Is there a legal term or definition to use in an appeal when a lower court judge has set an impossible standard of evidence in his decision? In a property tax appeal,a judge has ignored higher court precedents and extrapolated other decisions to effectively eliminate the possibility of proving a non uniform tax assessment rate. I would think that such a decision would be invalid on its face.


texts: Can the law of a country be applied over a resident of another country?

texts:
Let's say for example that I am the resident of country X. I'm a hacker and I decided to hack into bank accounts of people from Saudi Arabia. However, Saudi Arabia has a law which prohibits hacking bank accounts and gives a penalty of cutting the hands of the criminal if he is caught doing that practice. My own country also has a law forbidding hacking bank accounts, but instead gives a penalty of 5 years of prison if I ever get caught.
I'm a citizen of country X, and I decided to hack the bank accounts of people from Saudi Arabia. However, due to failure protecting my identity, the government of Saudi Arabia was able to get hold of my name and my home address. Can Saudi Arabia track me down and have me subjected to their law and proceed to cut off my hands, or am I going to be subjected to the punishment of my own country's law?


texts: Is there any legal recourse in the UK if an employee leaves with sensitive company information to a third world country?

texts:
Employee x was recently fired, who subsequently took with him lists of clients and started mailing them with damaging statements about company y.

Company y spends a significant sum to get a lawyer to write a letter before action (injunction proceedings and further legal action (civil and/or criminal), which will at the very least cost another £20,000, as advised by the law firm)

Employee x responds, agreeing to all the company’s demands, but asking for a settlement agreement and 2 months’ salary (around £4000). Employee states that he will not proceed with the required undertakings unless such a settlement agreement is drafted and signed, that he has returned to his home country (with no extradition agreements to our knowledge), and has less than £1000 in his UK bank account

Do we have any realistic legal recourse in this situation, or is it likely to be more beneficial just accepting the settlement?


texts: In UK: is it a requirement by the law to carry an ID

texts: What if I get stopped by immigration officers and I have no ID on me? I am a British citizen.


texts:
When a law refers to commerce (e.g. interstate/foreign commerce), is this only a reference to economic activity? Or does it refer more generally to forms of communication?

Considering 18 U.S. Code § 1958 (the commission of murder-for-hire), the statute states under part (b): "As used in this section...'facility of interstate or foreign commerce' includes means of transportation and communication".

If another statute does not explicitly define the meaning of "facility of commerce" (or commerce in general), how would this affect the interpretation of the word "commerce"?


texts: Are phone companies liable for condoning and possibly profiting from scam robocalls?

texts:
Today I received eight scam robocalls about my social security number being suspended and only one real call. On average, 2/3 all calls in the US are robocalls, many of them scams. This is a well-known problem that the phone service companies can fix but are unwilling to do so for years. One of the possible reasons may be that the scammers are simultaneously paying customers of the phone companies, paying for the lines they are making the robocalls from.

Besides causing the huge amount of nuisance and the $10.5 billion financial loss, robocalls create a security problem to US residents. This is effectively a denial-of-service attack on US infrastructure. The leading advice on avoiding the robocall nuisance is not to answer calls from unknown phone numbers. This effectively means that you cannot call somebody for the first time and expect your call to be answered. A parent may accidentally ignore a call from a school nurse about the kid being sick; the residents of a town such as Paradise, CA may ignore legitimate robocalls from the fire department warning them of danger, etc.

It's well-known that the problem of fake caller IDs and therefore robocalls is not difficult at all to solve technically, and that the only obstacle is the phone companies' unwillingness to interfere. It's also possible that the phone companies' profit from the robocalling customers is a part of their decision.

Thus the question: is it possible to make the phone companies financially liable for the nuisance and the financial loss caused by the robocall scammers? Is something like a class action of cellular service customers v. cellular service companies possible for the amount $10.5B direct loss + lost time and nuisance?


texts: Is this a case of improper entry into the US?

texts:
Occasionally there have been televised interviews with reporters and border property owners that have demonstrated the ease of 'stepping across the border' into Mexico and then stepping back into the US. The reporter and the property owner then demonstrate that ease.

As I understand it (please correct if wrong) that is a violation of Title 9 Sec 1459 that requires immediate report of entry at a point that has not been authorized. (Assuming that the reporter and landowner failed to report to a customs inspection facility). The penalty for failure to comply is 5,000 dollars for the first violation.

Have the demonstrators just televised themselves committing the first stage of a US Customs crime?

(Note that I am using the term improper entry in it's generic meaning; a crossing at 'unauthorized location')


texts: How can I report an animal breeder who sold me mistreated animals?

texts:
I bought two German Shepherd puppies from a breeder in North Carolina. I live in South Carolina. The one puppy has a hold in her heart and both puppies have worms. The worms come from drinking standing water with animal feces in it. The condition of this breeder was horrible.

I contacted her as my vet told me and I asked for my money back, and to meet us halfway since she is very far from us (over four hours one way.) She refused.

Where can I file a complaint again her for conditions of puppies? She has several litters now that are almost ready to go again. She is selling very sick puppies.


texts: Difference between subletting, assigning and subleasing?

texts:
When a person signs something agreeing to rent a space for a given amount of time, what's the difference between the person subletting, assigning and subleasing the space? One particular thing I'm unclear on is if a person assigns their unit to a new tenant, does that mean the original tenant is completely off the hook with the landlord? If a tenant who has signed a year long lease wants to move out early and be rid of as much responsibility as possible, which option is best for them?

I'm interested in getting a general sense, but if I must specify I'm looking at residential in BC  Canada.


texts: When would it be lawful and professionally ethical in the US for a medic to sign with his sole name a medical report that the patient himself wrote?

texts: If a patient writes a medical report about himself, and gives it to his medic to sign with his sole name, under what conditions is it lawful and professionally ethical for the medic to sign it?


texts: Recusal: can someone recuse someone else?

texts:
As I understand it people recuse themselves from making decisions in a role (judge, lawyer, board member) in situations where there is a conflict of interest.

That being said, can a non-judicial party (for example a community association manager of an HOA) recuse a board member from voting or participating in a decision?  or is the decision to recuse always a self-recusal?


texts: What is necessary for a newly formed religion to enjoy first amendment protections?

texts:
Is it possible to simply declare that you have started a new religion with arbitrary rules, and expect to enjoy all applicable first amendment protections for it? For example, if your religion just happens to forbid working on Mondays, could you then sue employers who refuse to accommodate you? If an employer refused to hire you because they didn't like that you participate in this made up religion, would that be legal?

My instinct is that the answer is no: Courts would probably view the religion as insincere, even if it was. Without a sizable congregation and a substantial history, it would probably not be considered a "real" religion. However, there have been new religions which succeeded in becoming officially recognized in the US. So what are the minimum conditions required for a religion to be recognized as genuine by the government?


texts: May a college remove a degree plan without letting students graduate without that degree?

texts:
I attended an art school that is part of the UT System, and they removed my degree plan a year after I joined and started removing the classes required to graduate. They informed that I would be able to finish my degree even with the changes, but this wasn't true.
Myself and other students in this major were told to take unrelated classes which would count as credit towards that major.
Is this allowed?


texts: Do I lose anything by not responding to voicemail that I think is a fraud?

texts:
Not sure if this is a correct reddit. It looks like my phone number has been leaked somewhere and I 'won $5000 dollars' last week according to one call (yeah, right). Today I get a different voicemail from another number that I need to call them immediately ('leave your work aside') to discuss 'the matter' as otherwise they will need 'take legal action against me'.
My fraud alarm bells have rang the bells and on one hand I think I should just ignore it. After all I presume a legitimate claims would rather use more formal phase than 'leave your work aside', present themselves on who they are and why they are calling ("I'm calling on behalf of ________ to discuss ________"). They would also try to contact by post as well. The google of the phone number does not give any information.
On the other hand I'm quite nervous about legal matters and I try to follow letter of the law to the t. In the unlikely situation that this is legitimate do I lose anything if I claim that I thought this is a fraud in good faith and that's why I haven't responded?
EDIT I contacted PD and while they haven't took the report as I wasn't victim they confirmed that no legitimate business would do it over the phone.


texts: Is it legal to cut a used designer clothing found at a thrift shop and remake it into a bean bag with the original logo on it and sell it

texts: What if made out of ruined pieces of designer clothing, a new piece of clothing like a bag and sell it. As recycled clothing. Is this a legal and viable business strategy, or would this infringe upon the copyrights and trademarks of the designer? Would there be liability associated with this business plan?Because I have access to a lot of destroyed designer clothing for an inexpensive price. And there are people who would probably like to buy a bag out of recycled/unwanted material from for example NIKE, with the nike logo on it.


texts:
I'm a developer looking to create a startup. However, it's a very unique idea and something I want to protect not only as a "product idea" but also the business brand too.

I'm guessing I would require a patent and a trademark to do both of the above? Could someone confirm this and possibly shine light on some of my options?

E.g. how they work, are they international, and such. I'm in the UK but want to protect it globally if possible.


texts: Car insurance claim was denied, what are my options...?

texts: I got into an accident two months ago with a driver who was insured by GEICO. I got a call from them yesterday saying there was no way to prove who was at fault and that they are denying my claim and their policy holders claim. Is there anything else I can legally do? I need my car fixed! Also, the lady that hit me did have an attorney and now I'm afraid she will come after me!


texts: What are the rules on businesses that wish to only hire attractive females?

texts:
Many businesses feature beautiful female employees as part of their business plan and service offering. Examples include:

Hooter's waitresses
Sportclips stylists
A small chain of drive-thru smoothies in my area that feature bikini clad hotties with whom you can purchase a photo
Most all entertainment jobs

I am considering buying a franchise that falls into one of these categories and I just wanted to understand the legality of hiring only attractive women.

Is it sexual discrimination or just a legitimate hiring practice, since offering attractive female employees is part of the business strategy?

I'm in Maryland, USA in case that matters, but I'm looking for kind of a high level, general answer that might apply to anyone in the US.


texts: The stance on sentencing criminals with personality disorders in the UK

texts:
I am wondering what the stance of the UK legal system is on someone who was convicted of assault (ABH) with some kind of personality disorder, e.g NPD.

On reading this there is some stance. But how effective is a diagnosis of NPD on sentencing?

For instance, if it was framed that the assault was conducted in a bout of narcissistic rage?


texts: How should software licenses be displayed in multi-lingual applications?

texts:
I have been hired by a Canadian governmental agency to release a version of my application on their behalf. They have informed me that I must add the French language to my application to comply with local law according to the  to French Language Services Act which:

  ...guarantees the right to services in French from the provincial government in government offices in designated areas of the province.

I was in the process of updating my applications to French when I ran into an interesting dilemma: Should the attribution screen, which includes copyright and 3rd party software licenses, also be translated?

Previously, I had always worked with the understanding that any alterations (including translations) violate the licenses unless an official translated license is obtained from the license authors;  If no official translation exists, then these licenses must be displayed as-is in English. This is further supported by my research which states

  Most licenses, open source or commercial, require that a copy of the copyright, patent, trademark, and attribution notices from the source software be distributed verbatim with the product using that software.

However, I don't have any official documentation that backs this understanding and this goes against what has been requested of me by this agency. They would like this page to also be translated.

This leads me to ask the additional following questions:

If it should not be translated, is there a legal reference I can provide to the agency to support this conclusion?
If it is allowed to be translated, is hiring a translator sufficient?

The licenses that are used in my application include:

Apache 2.0
MPLv2
BSD License
MIT license


texts: Why does the US patent law have a section about inventions in outer space?

texts:
I came upon a curiously exorbitant statute, Inventions in outer space (35 USC 105). To summarize my question, what was the story and the rationale behind this law?

The section reads, in part:

  Any invention made, used, or sold in outer space on a space object or component thereof under the jurisdiction or control of the United States shall be considered to be made, used or sold within the United States for the purposes of this title, except with respect to any space object or component thereof that is specifically identified and otherwise provided for by an international agreement to which the United States is a party, or with respect to any space object or component thereof that is carried on the registry of a foreign state in accordance with the Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space.

It made me even more curious that this section was alone by itself added by the bill S. 459/HR. 2946 (Public Law 101-580, 104 Stat. 2863) in 1990.

As far as I know (I well may be wrong), (1) there are no special provisions in the 35 USC, the patent law, about inventions on a vessel under the US flag, and (2) the flag jurisdiction generally applies to outer space vessels, according to the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 (see this and this answers; 18 USC 7 establishes US maritime criminal jurisdiction over US space vessels; I cannot readily provide same for civil jurisdiction but I believe it also exists).

So why is there a specific statute for inventions made on a US vessel in outer space, while there is apparently none for such a vessel in international waters or airspace? My understanding is that the patent law applies to the latter, so why did the former require a specific act of Congress?

The date of the law, 1990, falls “nicely” between the President Reagan's announcement of the plans for the ISS in his State of the Union address in 1984 and the launch of its first module in 1998, but many events would fit no less nicely in a 14-year time span. But still, my guess is that the act was somehow prompted by a huge international space operation, and I can think of no other matching development at the time.


texts: Can Congress legislate the structure of court rulings?

texts:
Suppose Congress, in the interest of keeping rulings easier to read and interpret, passes a law that says the judicial branch at large must provide a summary of its findings that does not directly address the statute or action at hand,  which can be written in a different section, perhaps after the summary.

E.g., could Congress prohibit a court from saying, "Statute X is unconstitutional because it violates Y premise. Furthermore, it violates Z premise, which also makes it unconstituional" but allow it to say something like "A statute in unconstitutional if Y or Z; therefore X is unconstitutional."


texts: Is securely storing and using customer credentials and passwords in customer-commissioned software GDPR compliant?

texts:
My team is in charge of developing integration software for our customers. The customer integrates their system with our platform in order to use our services.
Numerous customers avoid managing their accounts on our platform and simply want to "use" our system, so we manage their accounts for them.
Since we are required to create accounts for them, we also have to authenticate these accounts on the software that we create for them, so we have to store their own credentials in a safe place.
This data is encrypted, but we decrypt it temporarily to install the credentials in the software, then it can no longer be accessed. No other teams or external entities can access this data.

Is this GDPR compliant, given that our team members temporarily directly manage passwords and have access to this data when an installation is required?
Or is it mandatory that only the customer should be able to install their authentication on the commissioned software?

If this is GDPR compliant, does the customer have to explicitly consent to this (although this is implied, the customer refuses to manage their accounts anyways and we dedicate them our own account managers)?


texts: seller didn't disclose smoke smell in the house

texts:
I bought a house 3 weeks ago, and after moving in, I found there's smoke smell in the house, like tobaccos, although I didn't notice that during the home inspection or the final walk through.

I cleaned vents, walls, ceilings, everything I can think of, but the smoke smell still persists. I even called the fire department, but they couldn't find out the source either.

Then I found many odor eliminators and air fresheners in several concealed places in the house, which I believe were used to cover the smoke smell, such that it's hard to notice the smoke smell during a half-an-hour walk through or inspection.

I also found a lot of smoke soot and dust when I was cleaning vents, and I even found a cigar in the fridge! So I'm pretty sure the seller (and/or his agent) covered up the smoke smell and didn't disclose it to me, which may have violated the disclosure law.

So what do you think I should do now? Can this be resolved in a civil manner or a legal action is needed?

Thanks!

Edit: I live in Massachusetts.


texts: Can hotlinking of internet content be considered generally legal?

texts:
After the Perfect 10 vs. Amazon case can the practice of hotlinking (inline linking) of content in general and images in particular, be considered legally valid in general?

To make it a bit provocative: suppose, hypothetically, I'm a competitor of an ecommerce site selling many of the same products. On my product pages, instead of using my own photographs, I simply inline link to the photographs used in (and presumably owned by) my competitor's site. Can they legally prevent me from doing this? I'm not stealing their images, not  copying them: simply providing the web address where they're stored so a browser (or app) can access and display them.

Of course, business wise, the competitor can (periodically) update their systems such that the addresses I use display nonsensical photos and have their own website use the updated addresses and show valid images, but this question is just about the legal side of it.


texts:
I was researching the mass suicides that occurred in cults like Jim Jones' Peoples Temple and Marshall Applewhite's Heaven Gates. In these cases, both Jones and Applewhite committed suicide as well.
I was wondering: if they had not committed suicide themselves, what sort of legal liability (criminal or civil) would Jones and Applewhite have faced for their role in the suicides?


texts: Legal issues of searching for software vulnerabilities

texts:
What are the legal issues about finding zero-day vulnerabilities (i.e. previously unknown vulnerabilities in a program/website) and what is the standard legal practices before trying to find them if myself and the web app is being run in the legal jurisdiction of England?

As an example, I haven't tried exploiting anything yet, however, I think I've found something vulnerable in a web app. I want to try an exploit it and hopefully get a CVE but I'm not sure how to go about doing this legally.

Should I go ahead and try exploiting it, and even though I'm looking to help identify a vulnerability and disclose it to the company, should I use a VPN/Tor?

Should I contact the company and explain that I think I may have found something vulnerable and go ahead straight away or wait for their response to allow me to?


texts: How to manage intellectual property right for different clients from a consultancy

texts: let's say company A is a consultancy in field XX and develops software solutions for client B. Client B clearly retains the IP of the work done. Then company A will have 2 more clients C and D. Now, company A has clearly the expertise to do a similar work for company C and D (without copying or reusing the same software of course). Is there any infringement of IPR of company A just has other clients and do similar jobs? Especially in software clearly there are pieces that can be repeated in different project but they are not representative of the IP. How the company A can handle the legal situation: it has to give the IP to client B , C and D without infringing all of them. Otherwise company A will get out of business because they cannot have multiple clients.


texts: I want to know the meaning of 'held:' in the middle of the image I attached below. It's very simple question but I'm an English learner. Please give me your help.


texts: Subsidies for low paid / free workers in some EU countries

texts: I have heard that that in some EU countries such as Ireland, an employer can receive a €10,000 per year subsidy for simply employing a person who has been unemployed for a certain length of time. Additionally, if you employ low paid or even free workers, you can also be entitled to this subsidy. Is this true?


texts: Teaching offer rescinded by principal - any recourse?

texts:
My sister recently applied for a teaching job at a public school (in Texas), and went through the interview process. She was verbally informed by the principal that she had been selected for the position.

The principal told my sister that the principal had to wait until the end of the the position's open period to offer my sister the contract as this is district policy. The principal discussed training for the new position with my sister in front of several faculty members, and urged my sister to not sign any contracts elsewhere. On several occasions the principal made it verbally clear that the job was my sister's. My sister did not renew her current teaching contract based on these promises.

Several days passed, and then the principal asked for my sister's current teaching evaluations, and decided she no longer wanted to hire my sister. (The evaluations are not A+ material, but there is nothing awful in them either.)

The principal now says that she doesn't really decide things and can only recommend hiring someone, and that she will not recommend my sister. She places blame on my sister for not providing the unasked for evaluations earlier.

Is there any legal recourse to be taken? Any disciplinary action that can be taken against the principal for misleading/deceiving a prospective hire to such a degree?


texts: Homeowner's insurance industry blacklisting?

texts:
Due to the obscenely cold weather the northern latitudes have been experiencing this year, I had a pipe burst in a detached studio on my property overnight.  It's a small space; ~200 sq. feet, and my uneducated guess at the damage is about $5000.  I'm not sure whether or not something like this is worth an insurance claim (I have a $1000 deductible), because I know that insurance companies can raise rates and take other actions that make it not worth the cost and just doing the repairs out-of-pocket.

I've never filed a homeowner's claim before. I only bought this (my first) house about 5 or 6 years ago. So in researching the whether-or-not-to-claim question on the internet, I read all about the CLUE system (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange).  The CLUE database acts almost like a credit report and contains a list of every claim you've ever filed.  Every insurance company that subscribes to the system (all of them) can see your entire claims history.  If you file more than one or two claims in a 10-year period, your insurer can raise your rates or cancel your policy (can vary depending on the company and the circumstances).

Now, the thing that give me cause for concern is that you can wind up in this database even if your insurance company never paid a claim. For example:

If you file a claim and it gets denied.
If you start the claims process but the estimates don't meet your deductible.
If you report damages but later decide to pay out-of-pocket for repairs because of adverse impacts it would have on your rates.

I've also read that if you have damages and you discuss it with your agent, they have an obligation to report the incident if they represent a specific company (mine does).  This can work out in your favor if, for example, you take a long time to decide what to do; you have a record that you notified your agent promptly as required by your policy.  But this also lands you in the CLUE database and could count against you later.

If you get dropped by an insurance company, it can make it very difficult and expensive to get insurance in the future.  Therefore, it doesn't seem fair to me that simply exploring the possibility of filing a claim could label you as a "frequent flyer" down the road if nothing you did cost the insurer any money and you've paid your premiums on time.

It seems like the insurance industry has created an atmosphere of fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) surrounding the use of the service you pay for.  As it stands now, I'm not even sure if I want to talk to my agent about it because this claim is relatively small, and I don't want it to bite me later on if I have to file a claim for something big.

I know it's a bit premature to be thinking of this, but what rights do I have?  I'm in Washington State if that matters (it probably does).


texts: Is a contract signed by a minor and his/her guardian legally binding (US)?

texts:
Say that a small group of children decide to open a massive online mail-order lemonade stand (21st century, huh?). They agree that they will divide up the profits a certain way, and sign a contract on it.

Of course, this is about as legally binding as a fortune cookie, but could it be made legally binding? Say, for example, a parent/guardian signs it.

I have already seen this site, but it does not clear things up very much. Also, this question does not have the answer I am looking for. Note that this is for the state of Texas in the US.


texts: I don't like the payment methods offered by my landlord. Do I still have to pay rent?

texts:
Recently, a friend of mine signed a two year rental agreement with a small mom and pop rental place. At the time of signing, they offered credit cards as a way of paying, but a credit card is not explicitly mentioned in the contract as a method of payment. However, three months ago, they notified my friend that they are no longer accepting credit cards as a payment method for rent (their processor changed rules or something). They switched entirely to ACH drafts only.

However, my friend doesn't want to use ACH drafts as he already authorized them to charge his credit card. And he refuses to give them his ACH information, despite repeated notifications from the landlords.

He claims that they stopped collecting rent, not that he stopped paying it.

This brought into my mind some very interesting financial and legal questions.

His entire premise is:

He entered into a contract to pay because he liked the payment methods offered
That payment method is still authorized, but the company no longer accepts it
Therefore he authorized a payment, but the company isn't collecting
Therefore he is off the hook for repayment AND doesn't need to add a new method of payment

My question is:

Is the onus for repayment on the lessor or the lessee? aka Is a
lessee required to repay a lessor in a manner the lessor accepts? Or
must a lessor accept any payment method from the lessee?
Is not liking the payment methods accepted a valid reason to expect to be let out of a lease contract?

I feel like my friend is in the wrong here, but I'd love case law or US law examples to prove that he still owes the money!


texts: Work for hire as a contractor without payment, can you withhold IP?

texts:
Context: Canadian law; contract work; software IP

If a contractor signs a work for hire agreement at the outset of a project and agrees that all work done for a company is the company's IP, can the contractor withhold the property if the company is unable to pay for it (insufficient funds)?

Or is it that because the IP was initially signed away the company can demand the property without making a single payment for it?


texts: Can I use logos and names of other companies in my application?

texts:
I want to create an app to search flights for different airlines (probably 3-4).

I will not use airlines names (or part of names) in my app name and I will not use airlines logo in my logo.

All I want is to use their logo and their name in my app in a list of results of flights and in different places in the app similar to this.

Also Apple and Google should allow the app for stores (App Store and Play) so I will not get a ban for copyrighting.

I want to know if I am allowed to do this without any contract with airlines and without contacting airlines before. So just to create only by my own without talking to someone.

This will be for European market.


texts: Is it legal to write software to convert data from a proprietary format?

texts:
I have created a piece of software that converts a proprietary format from the database blob of a large, well known commercial software company into the equivalent open source data type. The large commercial software company states the following on their copyright and trademarks page "This work is protected under United States copyright law and other international copyright treaties and conventions." and links to the DMCA.

I was able to create the software because most details of the format were published in a post on their support forums and the rest I reverse-engineered.

I now wish to open-source my software so others can use it. My question has two parts:

Can I open-source this at all without getting sued?
Can I refer to the trademarked product the file format came from in my software and documentation? (I'm assuming I can't use it in the name of my software)

I'm in the UK. The large software company is in the US.


texts: GPL - Do I have to distribute the source of my changes?

texts:
I will be creating a piece of (probably) commercial closed source software. It will be a web game. I hope to use some software that is GPL licensed, like nodejs or express(js). If I make minor changes to these frameworks, mostly to change a small behaviour I do not like, do I have to publish that change? Also can I include unchanged software in my project?

None of this is being distributed, it will only serve pages to clients.


texts: What size restaurants in NYC must provide bathrooms?

texts: Some small restaurants in NYC with only a small seating area offer a bathroom for customers, but most small restaurants do not.  What is the law in NYC? What size or type restaurant must provide restrooms for customers?  Is there an easy way to get this information from some official website?


texts: What does 'the presumption [of undue influence] is not legal' mean, if being legal reverses the burden of proof or make the presumption irrebuttable?

texts:
Mindy Chen-Wishart. Contract Law (2018 6 edn). p  349.

See the green underline. I feel as if 'legal' isn't the most apposite diction here.  Am I correct that the author doesn't intend to say  'unlawful'?
Is there less ambiguous term? Like juridical?


texts: Why doesn't the Cab Rank Rule apply to solicitors in England, Wales, Australia?

texts:
I know in Australia, England and Wales, Cab Rank Rule applies to barristers. BUT "Solicitors are generally free to decline to represent whoever they like. They don’t have to give reasons or enter discussions about why, but the reasons are likely to involve some or all of the issues above."
Does the cab-rank rule apply to solicitors? — Queensland Law Society

In Queensland, the solicitors’ branch of the profession is governed by the Australian Solicitors Conduct Rules 2012 ('ASCR') which does not include provision for the cab-rank rule. Solicitors are free to accept or reject matters without consideration as to the constraints of the rule.

If you have Cab Rank Rule for barristers, why not have one for solicitors? Don't reasons for Cab Rank Rule barristers equally support a Cab Rank Rule for solicitors?

Principally, to abolish the cab-rank rule carries more disadvantages than advantages, for example barristers [doesn't this apply to solicitors too?] may be more tempted to take on cases in favour of more lucrative privately funded instructions with greater financial reward, leaving smaller cases with no representation. It is incredibly important to remember that the Human Rights Act 1998 emphasises the significance of the cab-rank rule as it enforces the rights of an individual to receive representation and ensure a fair trial. Therefore, by abolishing the rule, the legal justice system may not be able to deliver fair and free trials. It may be on the basis that the money you pay, buys justice, and those who may not have that financial security or receive legal aid are instead shunned.

Why the cab rank rule is history - Legal Cheek

A core rationale for the rule was a bid to prevent barristers [doesn't this apply to solicitors too?]  from shunning legally aided cases in favour of more lucrative privately funded instructions. It was also designed to stop barristers  from closing the door on work on the grounds that they didn’t fancy the cut of a certain client’s jib or the unpleasant activity in which a client has allegedly been involved.
But for at least the last two decades, grumbling abounded that the cab rank rule was honoured more in the breach than in observance. Critics suggest that chambers’ clerks were adept at concocting plausible excuses as to why Mr or Ms So and So was sadly unavailable for that legally aided GBH trial, while very happily prepared to devote hours to pre-trial prep for a privately funded white collar fraud defence.

Canada doesn't have a Cab Rank Rule, and you get The client most lawyers fear – and won’t represent at any price – NSRLP.

Many of the young lawyers I approached were sympathetic and forthright, even admitting that they were ashamed to have to turn me down. They explained that they dared not take my case because they feared the professional and social sanctions that would certainly result. Some cited conflicts of interest involving past colleagues and law firms, while others explained that they regularly receive work from the large Bay Street firms, and could not afford to jeopardize that source of business.
A surprising number of lawyers told me that it was their firm’s policy not to litigate against lawyers, or to bring motions or evidence that would harm the careers of other lawyers. (“Yes, Mr. Best, the lawyers lied to the judge to convict you, but our firm simply does not handle this type of case.”)


texts: Why don't YouTube take legal actions on YouTube downloader sites/applications?

texts:
if they don't/won't do,then why does some youtube downloader apps thrown out of the PlayStore (Tubemate, Vidmate etc ..)?

if they do, why there are plethora of web sites/apps doing still doing it?


texts: Do IP laws (trademark, etc) make web domain addresses containing celebrity names illegal?

texts:
This question pertains specifically to intellectual property laws as interpreted in USA.

For the sake of discussion here are 3 fictional web domains, each including a celebrity name but each with a slightly different nature:

allfortrump.com (political)
stingfanclub.com (a fan site targeted for a larger group of people)
ilovetomcruise.com (a personal fan site)

(Based on my checking none of these domains are currently registered anywhere)

These cases are examples where the full domain name itself is not trademarked, but merely includes a part of a celebrity name. Admittedly though the particular celebrity is specifically referred to in the domain name.

Do these types of domain names infringe on either the trademark law or other IP laws?

Note: these domain names are intentionally somewhat different from the domain names "tomcruise.com" (part of this WIPO arbitration case), "sting.com" (part of this WIPO case), and "trumpcard.com" (part of this WIPO case).


texts: Can a work based on a public domain work be released somewhere the original work is not public domain yet?

texts:
So, in Europe, works written by authors who died in 1950 will enter the public domain, including things like 1984 and Animal Farm, whose author, George Orwell, died in 1950. However, since they were released after 1926, they will not be entering the US public domain until 95 years after publication.
If someone in Europe made a film based on Animal Farm or 1984, what would happen if they tried to release it in America? I can see in this question that copies of a work that is public domain are to be seized upon entering a country where they aren't in public domain, but what about derivative works based upon works that are public domain in one country but not another?


texts: How does Texas law determine what business owner is misclassifying?

texts:
I just happen to be reading this article, and as an independent business owner it upsets me how the media paints business owners who have independent contractors as "misclassifying" their employees.

How is misclassification determined in Texas? The article seems to suggest any business owner who has a 1099 contractor who happens to owe child support is misclassifying them. It wreaks of if you are not with us in collecting child support, then you are against us type of tone.


texts: How can I confidentially adduce illness to just the defendant and ON Small Claims Court judge, but not have it publicized?

texts:
I bought a used car in 2011. I want to adduce my illness to justify why I didn't discover evidence of false, misleading representations until 6 years after (in 2017), under the discoverability principles in Limitations Act 2002 c. 24, Sched. B, ss. 4-5.

But I want just the defendant (because of Discovery) and judge, and nobody else, to know about my  illness and see medical documents. I don't want it published on CanLII or law reports!

Thus what to do? Do I simply write something like the beneath on my ON St Cm Court claim form, but not submit details or evidence for now until the defendant and judge confirm confidentiality?

  I can consider disclosing details of my serious illness and medical evidence confidentially with just the defendant and judge, but I refuse to have it publicized or disclosed in any way like on CanLII or law reports, or  anyone else to know.


texts: What's a valid false advertising case and how does it get pursued?

texts:
There's a company who helps people rent apartments. You go to their site, search, a map appears with markers at specific locations. You see a location you like. Maybe it's on a beach. Maybe it's on a river. Maybe's it's on a famous boulevard. Maybe it's on a quiet street.

You rent the place. A few days before you arrive you get instructions. Those instructions don't lead to the location that was marked on the map they lead somewhere else a 1/2 a kilometer away.

Bringing it up with the company you're told it's the company policy that the locations shown may not be accurate. Buried in the their privacy policy:

  The Platform may also display the Accommodation's approximate geographic location on a map, such that a user can see the general area of the Accommodation

Note this privacy policy is directed at hosts, not the guests. The full paragraph

  Your public Listing page will always include some minimum information such as the city and neighborhood where the Accommodation is located, your listing description, your calendar availability, your public profile photo, your responsiveness in replying to Guests’ queries, and any additional information you share with other Members. Your public Listing page may also include aggregated demand information (such as number of page views over a period of time). Parts of your public Listing page may be displayed in other parts of the Platform to other Members and/or Third Party platforms for marketing purposes. The Platform may also display the Accommodation’s approximate geographic location on a map, such that a user can see the general area of the Accommodation.

This is the sum total if information claimed to make it clear to prospective guests that locations shown when searching for apartments may not be accurate.

So I have 2 main questions

Is this a case of false advertising and misrepresentation?

Looking around the net in general it seem like it is. Hiding behind fine print does not appear to be a valid an excuse for basically making it appear that you're renting at a specific location.
If it is a valid case of false advertising and misrepresentation how does it get prosecuted?

In other words is there an incentive for some lawyer to pursue such a case or is the best that happens is the company in question refunds the money spent on the accommodation, making it not worth a lawyer's time, and the company is free to continue their false advertising and misrepresentation.

Does the practice have to be common? In other words let's say only 1% of accommodations have a false location. Does it matter given their official policy is that the locations can be false or do they need lots of complaints before it matters?


texts:
Rudy Giuliani has been sued. The plaintiffs are asking for S1.3 billion in compensation.
He doesn't have anything like that much money. His net worth is estimated to be $45 million.
Why are they asking for such a large amount, which they could not possibly ever receive?  What is the legal thinking behind it? What is the strategy? $45 million is the maximum they could ever recover, so why not ask for that?


texts: Trademarking a product that contains a library licensed under Apache 2.0

texts:
I have a web application that makes use of the well known Twitter Bootstrap library which is released under Apache License 2.0 with Creative Commons CC-BY 3.0.

Can I trademark this application?

Note: I am trying to make sense of the Trademark notice under the Forbidden section on http://choosealicense.com/licenses/apache-2.0/


texts: If a law doesn't exist prohibiting something, does that mean it's legal to do?

texts:
My question about is how does the law work in general. If someone does something, and no one can find a law that is being broken, then is the person free to do that thing? Or must a law give permission? Basically I'm asking what is the default position?

For example, I was curious if in the province of British Columbia employers can force their employees to keep their wages confidential. I red the Employment Standards Act but couldn't find any information on the topic. What does it mean that it doesn't say either way?


texts: Can an employer require employees to be COVID-19 tested at their own expense?

texts: In this case, the employer is a medium-sized ENT office. Some employees are young single mothers who don't have the resources to comply with this. The question also applies to non-medical employers, of course.


texts: In Pennsylvania is there more legal protection in forming a LLC as opposed to operating as sole proprietor?

texts:
In theory an LLC (Limited Liability Company) offers a level of protection for the owner if being sued.

I want to buy houses and rent them out, I have some fear of being sued by tenants in the future (no particular concern, but I live in the USA (United Sue of All).

What if any, greater protection does having an LLC being the owner of the houses have?

I would own the LLC, the LLC would own the houses and collect the rent.


texts: Can Hilton claim that they invented the chocolate brownie?

texts:
Recently on Good Morning Amercia, Hilton's CEO Chris Nassetta appeared to talk about Hilton's 100th Anniversary.

It was discussed, amongst other things, how Hilton has had many 'firsts', including first hotel room TV, first room service, first piña colada etc. One of the things Nassetta claimed Hilton invented is the chocolate brownie - first baked by one of the chefs at Chicago's Palmer House Hilton.

Looking at the wikipedia page for the Chocolate Brownie, this seems to check out:

  "Bertha Palmer, a prominent Chicago socialite whose husband owned the Palmer House Hotel. In 1893 Palmer asked a pastry chef for a dessert suitable for ladies attending the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition. She requested a cake-like confection smaller than a piece of cake that could be included in boxed lunches. The result was the Palmer House Brownie with walnuts and an apricot glaze."

However, a quick read of the Wikipedia page for the hotel, we find that this Hotel did not become part of the Hilton chain until 1945, 52 years after the brownie was invented.

  "In December 1945, Conrad Hilton bought the Palmer House for $20 million and it was thereafter known as The Palmer House Hilton. In 2005, Hilton sold the property to Thor Equities, but it remains part of the Hilton chain."

My question is: Is it legal for a company to claim ownership of a product if they buy the place in which it was created?


texts: Is there a threshold for declaring interest income from a foreign country?

texts:
Assume the following situation:

foreign national in the US
working visa (e.g. H1-B)
living permanently in the US, no other address, paying all taxes in the US
savings account in home country (Europe)
savings account incurs interest

Is there a threshold for declaring the interest incurred in a foreign country (income) when filing a US tax report?


texts: Is it legal to ask for money to send a link to another website?

texts: I want to make a website with some kind of "private subscription" system, where the subscribers will have access to the "mentor's choice" of mobile games, linking to their corresponding website (Google Play, Amazon shop, etc) after writing a small review of it.


texts: Plaintiff didn't respond to discovery - and later settled - can I get any legal fees back?

texts:
I was sued in New Jersey on (IMHO) pretty shaky grounds.  I hired a pricey lawyer ($495/hr) to try to take care of it quickly.  It was clear to me that the other side didn't have any intention to go to trial.  Very soon into the case my lawyer wrote up a bunch of discovery requests for them to respond to.  There was a deadline.  There was also some legalese:

"A failure to provide the documents within the time and in the manner a set forth herein may subject the Plaintiff to sanctions pursuant to R. 4:23-1 and/or R 4:23-4"

To me this appears to say that if they did not provide the discovery by the deadline, they would be responsible for the attorney fees involved.   They completely ignored the deadline, didn't offer a remotely reasonable settlement until after the deadline and didn't finally dismiss the case until months after the deadline.  I ended up just giving them what they wanted because I was tired of paying this guy $500 to negotiate.  The settlement explicitly involved each party paying their own attorney costs.

Now I'm not really excited to talk to my attorney, because I'm guessing that it will just end up as a few more billable hours that I won't get back.

So my question is, is there any way at this point I can get this money?   I'm also curious to hear what the actual point of writing up discovery to hurry to other side along is, if they can just ignore the deadline.

The NJ code is linked below

https://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/rules/r4-23.htm


texts: NOTICE TO DEFENDANTS ABS-CBN Corporation, et al. v. Cinesilip.net, et al

texts:
My computer was showing some-pop that your computer is infected call on this number etc.. which is scam I know that but a few days back I was reading an article on domains and hosting and I click on url((Link) it transferred me to a website which shows me this message

ABS-CBN Corporation, et al. v. Cinesilip.net, et al.

On April 4, 2017, in the United States District Court for the District of Florida, ABS-CBN Corporation, filed a Complaint For Damages and Injunctive Relief against Cinesilip.net, et al. The filings and orders in this matter are available below.

NOTICE TO DEFENDANTS
If you fail to respond to this complaint, judgment by default will be entered against you for the relief demanded in the complaint.

To prevent this from happening you must file a response with the court clerk or administrator within 21 days of the date this message was posted. Your response must be in proper form and have proof of service on the plaintiffs' attorney, Stephen M. Gaffigan, P.A, 401 East Las Olas Boulevard, Suite 130-453, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 33301.

4/4/2017    COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF

do I have to go to court to ask them? I googled it and showed that some domains were sued I don't have any domain I was redirected to website is it scam or do i have to do something


texts: Using Microsoft icons for demonstration purposes

texts:
This text is from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/legal/intellectualproperty/permissions

Microsoft product icons are the thumbnail-sized images indicating that a Microsoft product has been installed on your operating system. Icons may not be used in advertising, in books and other printed matter, on clothing or other promotional items, in online and Internet locations, in software applications, in television programs, in commercials, in movies, or on video.
You may use Microsoft product icons in training manuals or documentation about a Microsoft product. The use of the icon must be specific to the function of the icon within the Microsoft software. The icon may not be used as a graphical or design element. Icons cannot be modified or altered and must appear as they would within the Microsoft software.
Microsoft makes certain icons available to developers. (Find more information about how to buy Microsoft developer products.) If you have licensed a Microsoft development tool, review the redistributable section of the EULA to learn which Microsoft properties may be redistributed by licensees.

Now obviously I can't take the icons from Word, Excel, etc. and use them in my own applications, but am I allowed to use them in an application to show what the finished product could look like?
For context, I'm developing internal in-house applications (front end for some databases, reporting software, etc.) for a company and I'm considering using the Microsoft icons as placeholders icons when I show prototypes of the software to my superior since they are similar to the icons I've considered purchasing for use in the application.
Is there anything legally that prevents me from doing this?
For clarification, the icons will not be used in the production version of the application. I only want to use them to show what the finished product will look like. (or similar to)


texts: The Statement of Economic Interest with the Mississippi Ethics Commission is confusing me

texts:
I am running for mayor in MS, and so far I think I have answered all question correctly ($10,000 fine for an incorrect answer).
But this question is confusing me:

List all public bodies, whether federal, state or local government, from which you, your spouse and any person over the age of twenty-one (21) who resided in your household during the entire preceding calendar year received compensation in excess of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) during the preceding calendar year, whether the compensation was paid directly or indirectly through another person or business.
Click the Add button below to add another public body.

I am not even sure what they are asking. Mainly I am wondering if this is referring to student aid from a community college, because I did receive student aid last year and so did my brother.


texts:
I'm subleasing my house and used an online template. However it added this clause regarding taxes that I don't really understand.

  The Subtenant will pay any privilege, excise and other taxes duly assessed against the business of the Subtenant, the Subleased Premises and any personal property on or about the Subleased Premises. The Subtenant will avoid the assessment of any late fees or penalties.

What exactly does this entail?


texts: Is it legal to use “VMware Workstation 15 Player” with earning money purpose?

texts:
I am planning to open a blog webpage, publish technology-based content on it and make money via blogger earning methods like Google AdSense. The software I mentioned in the title, which is available at here, is just one of the necessities to prepare my content.

However, firstly, I want to be sure whether this kind of usage is legal or not for this software. When I look at the link I added, there is an expression in the form of "The free version is available for non-commercial, personal and home use."

According to this statement, is it legal for me to use this software as I have stated?


texts: If the same content is created by more than one person without copying do all authors have copyright, or just the first author?

texts:
In Canada, if $person_a creates a copyrightable work, and then later $person_b creates (without copying $person_a's work) the same work, do both $person_a and $person_b have copyright, or does only $person_a have copyright? Answers on this American post suggest both authors would have copyright, but in Canada the Copyright Act clearly says:

the sole right to produce or reproduce

Reproducing something requires you to copy it, but producing doesn't. The way I read this statement is that copyright is only granted to $person_a, because $person_b is violating the sole right to "produce" portion of this statement.

I'm aware that the likely hood of this happening is slim when dealing
with works substantial enough in size to actually qualify for a
defensible copyright.


texts: What does it mean for a statute such as § 2 (1) 7 AGG to "apply" but have no legal consequences?

texts:
I am in the process of finding out the legal framework surrounding anti-discrimination statutes in German public universities as it pertains to students (not employees of the university as they are covered by the Allgemeinen Gleichbehandlungsgesetz (AGG) as a matter of law). As part of a larger question, I would like to understand the applicability &/or effect of § 2 (1) 7 AGG, to wit:

§ 2 Anwendungsbereich
(1) Benachteiligungen aus einem in § 1 genannten Grund sind nach Maßgabe dieses Gesetzes unzulässig in Bezug auf:
      …
      7. die Bildung,
      …

According to a publication from the Federal Antidiscrimination Body (Antidiskriminierungsstelle des Bundes), the law is only exercisable at private higher education institutions. It states however, that the law does apply to students at public institutions, but has no legal consequences:

Bei Benachteiligungen von Studierenden ist das AGG nur dann anwendbar, wenn es sich um private Hochschulen handelt, die zivilrechtliche Verträge mit den Studierenden abschließen […] Bei öffentlichrechtlichen Bildungsträgern findet das AGG hingegen für die Studierenden zwar über § 2 Absatz 1 Nummer 7 AGG Anwendung, enthält jedoch keine Rechtsfolgen.

I'm confused how the statute can "only be applicable to private schools" (andwendbar), and at the same time "find applicability" (Anwendung finden) at public schols.

What does it mean for a law to be excercisable/applicable without it having legal consequences?
Under what circumstances can such a law be used without the need for legal consequences?
Could, for example, a student at a public university affirm that s/he is protected under § 2 (1) 7 AGG, or that s/he has a right not to be discriminated against under the statute if s/he doesn't necessarily care that the counterpart/offender faces legal consequences?


texts: What degree of force is permissible in self-defense against battery?

texts:
What degree and types of force is person A allowed to exert against person B to avoid battery by B?  Does it matter whether the battery is threatened or occurring?  What would be some guidelines for protecting ones self yet staying within the law?

The state legals codes I've read say, more or less, 'what is necessary', but surely, even if the only weapon a weak 5' 100lb person has is a gun they are still not allowed to shoot, possibly kill, an athletic 6' 200lb person in self-defense against battery such as in the link below.

If this general question is too general to answer, my apologies, then please substitute the following real-life situation as the scope:

What if any law is broken if Person B hugs Person A against A's expressed wishes?

Note that this question is also related to What is the basis for how aggressive a person can be in self-defense?, which is a question about theory, 'What is the basis', and regards self defense against any level of threat (not limited to battery).  Moreover, that question elicited an answer arguing that person A is not allowed to use any force because a reasonable person would not be uniformly adverse to hugs to begin with. However, according to this question What if any law is broken if Person B hugs Person A against A's expressed wishes?, a bodily crime is being committed, and common sense would be that one has the right to physically defend one's self against a bodily crime. So either the answer is incomplete/wrong, or that question is so malformed as lead to not being interpreted as intended.

However, I find my questions answered https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/battery, a resource I was not aware of prior to following @DaleM's link to https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Reasonable+Force


texts:
Contract statement: An activity must be performed annually or as scheduled by the Department.

What is the correct interpretation?

1.) The Department may schedule more often than annually, at their option.

2.) The Department may schedule every five years, if they desire, thus relieving the annual requirement.