(I read the disclaimer in the sidebar: I'm not looking for legal advice: I'm just curious as to the implications to both parties).

**Pre-amble and context**: So I'm trying to rent a property in the UK. The agent we're going through wanted a holding deposit when we agreed to start the process (fine), which came with an agreement that the deposit is returned if we sign the tenancy agreement (reasonable), but *not* returned if we don't (ok, so they're protecting themselves against some loon block-reserving their entire property listing. Fine). I agreed because the justification sounded reasonable (with hindsight: I am not a smart man).

The fees had to be paid before seeing the tenancy agreement. The agency has thus far refused to negotiate terms on any bit of paper it's got me to sign (so we're clear: not asking about that. I ultimately agreed to the conditions, I understood the implications).

The question: **Is it legal to have a deposit that is non-returnable on the basis of not signing a contract that the consumer hasn't had a chance to read before agreeing to the deposit terms?**

I understand that a contract, in principal, needs to be fair (<http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/2083/introduction/made>), but what if it wasn't fair? Could they have claimed it was fair, and refuse to amend any terms (at which point, I'd have had a "take it or leave it" contract that if I don't sign, I'm out of pocket)?

I'm aware the situation described is at least ethically dubious, but it seems to me that if they refused to negotiate, if I do sign it would be under some sort of duress (?) for the sum of money I'd be out-of-pocket by?

Likewise, this looks similar to the EULA sort of question that arises (pay money for a product behind terms that you can't read until you pay money).

(again, so we're clear: it's a situation that happened to me, but if I want actual legal advice I'll call a solicitor. The question is more that I don't understand enough about contract law to work out whether or not this was legally questionable rather than just the agency screwing me).

Contract tied to a non-refundable deposit if I don't sign


Let's say I want to make a miniature replica of Big Ben and sell it online. Do I need any kind of permission for that? I'm assuming that given its age, Big Ben has to be public domain. But I'm not sure. I've tried contacting the British Parliament and other institutions related to Big Ben, but never got an answer.

Are public monuments like the Elizabeth Tower and the Eiffel Tower copyrighted?


I am developing a little mobile MMORPG which is Google Maps based and uses your GPS position to make you play around your area.

I came up with the idea after a famous and beloved game called "Parallel Kingdom" shut down their servers two years ago. It was a game with a huge playerbase and they had basically exact the same game concept. You played on the Google Map, could fight different monsters, meet other players, level up your equipment and co. So basically I am using the same idea, and many of my content is based on "Parallel Kingdoms".

Now I asked my self: am I allowed to do that? To use the exact game concept?

I researched a bit and found following on their website:

>
> ### 7. Content Ownership
>
>
> All of the content on PK including, without limitation text, graphics, maps, user interfaces, visual interfaces, photographs, moving images, illustrations, files, trademarks, logos, service marks, sounds, music, artwork and computer code, design, structure, selection, coordination, "look and feel" and arrangement of such content ("Content"), is owned by PerBlue, its licensors, vendors, agents or content providers. All elements of PK including, without limitation the general design and the Content, are protected by copyright, trademark, trade dress, moral rights or other intellectual property regimes.
>
>
> PK may only be used for the intended purpose for which PK is being made available. Except as may be expressly set forth herein, You hereby agree not to modify, copy, distribute, transmit, display, perform, reproduce, publish, license, create derivative works from any Content. Except as may be expressly set forth herein, the Terms of Use only allow You to display, view, play, print, and download Content for Your own personal, informational, and noncommercial purposes. PK and the Content will remain the exclusive property of PerBlue or its licensors, vendors, agents or content providers unless otherwise expressly agreed. You will remove no copyright, trademark, or other proprietary notices from material found on PK.
>
>
>

Followed by the following:

>
> ### Digital Millennium Copyright Act
>
>
> PerBlue respects the intellectual property of others and requires that You
>  do the same. In accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
>  ("DMCA"), the text of which may be found on the U.S. Copyright Office site
>  at <http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf>, We will respond
>  expeditiously to notices of alleged copyright infringement that are duly
>  reported to Our Designated Copyright Agent identified in the notice below.
>  We will disable and/or terminate the accounts of Users who are repeat
>  infringers. If You believe Your content has been copied in a way that
>  constitutes copyright infringement, or Your intellectual property rights
>  have been otherwise violated, please provide Our designated Copyright Agent
>  the following information:
>  A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf
>  of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
>  Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or,
>  if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a
>  single notification, a representative list of such works at that site;
>  Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the
>  subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which
>  is to be disabled and information reasonably sufficient to permit the
>  service provider to locate the material;
>  Information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact
>  You, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic
>  mail address;
>  A statement that You have a good faith belief that use of the material in
>  the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its
>  agent, or the law; and
>  A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under
>  penalty of perjury, that You are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of
>  an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
>  PerBlue's designated Copyright Agent to receive notifications of claimed
>  infringement is: Justin Beck legal@parallelkingdom.com or mail to PO Box
>  1861 Madison, WI 53701. You acknowledge that if You fail to comply with all
>  of the requirements of this Section, Your DMCA notice may not be valid.
>
>
> We may give notice to Our Users of any infringement notice by means of a general notice on any of Our Websites, electronic mail to a User's e-mail address in Our records, or by written communication sent by first-class mail to a User's physical address in Our records. If You believe that Your User Submission that was removed (or to which access was disabled) is not infringing, or that You have the authorization from the copyright owner, the copyright owner's agent, or pursuant to the law, to post and use the content in Your User Submission, You may send a counter-notice containing the following information to the Copyright Agent:
>  Your physical or electronic signature;
>  Identification of the content that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the content appeared before it was removed or disabled;
>  A statement that You have a good faith belief that the content was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or a misidentification of the content; and
>  Your name, physical address and telephone number, and a statement that You consent to the jurisdiction of a Federal District Court for the judicial district in which Your physical address is located, or if Your physical address is outside of the United States, for any judicial district in which We may be found, and that You will accept service of process from the person who provided notification of allegedly infringing material or an agent of such person.
>
>
> Modification of the Content or use of the Content for any purpose other than specified in the Terms of Use is a violation of PerBlue's legal rights. For purposes of these Terms of Use, the use of Content on any other website or networked computer environment is prohibited unless explicitly stated otherwise.
>
>
>

So what am I allowed to do and what now? Is it ok to copy the game concept and even with mostly similar content like "fighting", "building houses" etc.?
I'm completly unsure about this because my simple English skills don't really understand that law slang.

I should also mention that pretty much my whole user interface is based on the user interface from "Parallel Kingdoms". I didn't use any of their assets or code. I just use the same structure, as you can see in the pictures below.

Heres the original menu from "Parallel Kingdom":

[![](https://i.stack.imgur.com/iCAkA.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/iCAkA.png)

Here's what I created for my game:

[![](https://i.stack.imgur.com/JShiH.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/JShiH.png)

Is it allowed to "copy" a video game concept?


I have a contract which refers to schedule 1 which is another document. However in order to be able to add the document referred to in schedule 1 to the same document as my contract, I would need to convert the schedule 1 document to be the same filetype as my contract which I can't do.

So presuming that I sent the contract to the client in an email, could I then attach schedule 1 as a separate attachment to the contract in the email or does the schedule have to be in the same document as the contract?

Can a schedule be a separate attachment in an email?


I have made a video tutorial using Google Translates Voice/Speech-functionality to explain what the user should do. It works really good compered to other free open-sorce programs I have used.

Can I upload this to Youtube without legal consequences?

I am counting on earning a few bucks on the video so it's commerical use.

Google Translate Voice/Speech used for Youtube Tutorials (TTS)


I have stumbled over a problem how I can safely name my software. I would like to have a name with a cultural reference, that is character names from older literature or folk tales. Now, there is the \_\_\_\_\_wood, which steals all names and trademark them as their own invention. So then, it may happen that *Gretel* becomes an illegal name like the English version *Schneewittchen*.

However, I then see that *Voldemort*, owned by the Harry Potter franchise, is used by LinkedIn on opensource software, which seems strange in this context.

My questions:

1. Can I safely use this kind of names on my software?
2. Does it matter where the software is used? I wish to put the software on GitHub.
3. Does the home country of the developer matter? I am not from the US.
4. Does the application purpose matter? Data storage is far from entertainment. However, what I am doing is some kind of game engine (*not* a game) that I use to learn about collision detection.

Naming free software and avoiding trademark collision


When it comes to patent, it seems like there is a 12 months period where we can file International Patent from the date of provisional patent.

I have a trademark in the US. I would like to go for international trademark once I raise some money from Investors.

Is there any such grace period available for international trademark?

Is there any grace period for worldwide trademark protection like patent?


My brother and I bought a house together. I own 60% and he owns 40% (this is on the deeds). I live in the house and he does not. I have two lodgers living with me, who pay rent.

Typically one is allowed £7500 tax free lodger income if you live in the house. If you are joint owners you are supposed to split this 50-50 (£3750 each). Hence I would be eligible for £3750 income tax free, and my brother will be eligible for £0 tax free since he does not live in the house. But would we be able to split it 60-40, since we are 60-40 joint owners?

How to split Rent-a-Room scheme tax exemptions with joint owners


The company sent me the contract, I signed it and returned back to them, so now they should sign and send me the copy.

In Germany, what if they decide to not sign and withdraw the process. What one can do in this situation, is there any law?

Is contract valid if only one side signed it?


I'm reading about a recent lawsuit filed by Delta Airlines against one of its vendors. Also see [Delta Sues Software Provider Over Data Breach](https://www.law360.com/consumerprotection/articles/1187052/delta-sues-software-provider-over-data-breach) and [Lawsuits target Delta and vendor for cybersecurity breach](https://www.ajc.com/business/lawsuits-target-delta-and-vendor-for-cybersecurity-breach/nfwNIR8nLm1Sbfv2CwnSqJ/).

Delta's position is, the vendor is responsible:

>
> Any liability coming out of that breach, which is minimal, is going to be the responsibility of the vendor, which is [24]7,” said Delta CEO Ed Bastian in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We’ve been very clear about that. It was their breach, not ours.
>
>
>

In the software security and risk management fields, we would hold Delta Airlines responsible because Delta is responsible for its supply chain. That is, Delta is responsible for its vendors it chooses. See, for example, [NIST SP 800-53A](https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-53a/rev-4/final), Assessing Security and Privacy Controls in Federal Information Systems and Organizations, Item SA-12.

Does US law not recognize supply chains and not hold companies responsible for them?

If not, then what stops someone or a corporation from setting up corporations to sidestep requirements, regulation and oversight?

---

For the second questions, suppose it would cost a company $10 million dollars to implement a particular program. The company determines it wants to give the money to share holders instead, so they setup an overseas corporation and pays the overseas company $100,000 a year to do the job it was supposed to be doing. It does not matter how poor a job the overseas company is performing since the goal is to offload risk and minimize cost, not comply.

Does US law have a notion of supply chain management?


Axanar is a fan made movie of Star Trek in preproduction, whose producers are being sued jointly by Paramount and CBS for copyright violation. When every news coverage article I found failed to question the applicability of copyright for the case, and [at least one](https://www.thewrap.com/why-star-trek-fan-film-producers-should-have-seen-cbsparamount-lawsuit-coming/) implies the cause is lost for Axanar, I started to question my convictions on what copyright is for.

Part of me wants to believe that the move is just FUD on the part of the plaintiffs, and the lack of question on the case by the media is simply due to the lack of expert understanding on the Copyright law by people in general (who tends to bundle together every type of intellectual property law into a single mess). But now I am starting to doubt it.

Copyright law is very specific for what is protected, so, motion pictures are protected, but if no one is making verbatim copy of part or whole of the work without authors consent, there shouldn't be any copyright infringement, right?

I mean, fictitious organizations name, fictitious star system names, characters names, spaceship designs and general concepts falls out of scope of Copyright, is that correct? Maybe other IP laws, like trademark, can apply to theses things, but not copyright as I understand.

So, is my understand about copyright deeply flawed and there indeed any sound legal basis for the motion? How so?

Why there seems to be a case on CBS/Paramount vs. Axanar?


Background
==========

In the United States, the [NARA](https://www.archives.gov/) is the authority that receives all final documents related to the State ratification of a United States Constitutional amendment as implied [on the NARA website](https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/constitution/united-states-code.html):

>
> **TITLE 1 -- GENERAL PROVISIONS**
>
>
> **CHAPTER 2 -- ACTS AND RESOLUTIONS; FORMALITIES OF ENACTMENT; REPEALS;
> SEALING OF INSTRUMENTS**
>
>
> Sec. 106b. Amendments to Constitution
>
>
> Whenever official notice is received at the National Archives and
> Records Administration that any amendment proposed to the Constitution
> of the United States has been adopted, according to the provisions of
> the Constitution, the Archivist of the United States shall forthwith
> cause the amendment to be published, with his certificate, specifying
> the States by which the same may have been adopted, and that the same
> has become valid, to all intents and purposes, as a part of the
> Constitution of the United States.
>
>
>

In addition, the NARA has also received recession or rejections of certain Constitutional amendments from the states, the validity of which is not pronounced by the head archivist, but is seen as conclusive by another (unnamed) authority as stated [here](https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/constitution):

>
> In a few instances, States have sent official documents to NARA to record the rejection of an amendment or the rescission of a prior ratification. The Archivist does not make any substantive determinations as to the validity of State ratification actions, but it has been established that the Archivist's certification of the facial legal sufficiency of ratification documents is final and conclusive.
>
>
>

Since the most credible source I found on the matter does not state who "established" that the legal sufficiency of ratification documents is final and conclusive, I wanted to ask the following question:

Question
========

What authority (or authorities) has established that the facial legal sufficiency of ratification documents is final and conclusive?

What authority (or authorities) have established the status of State ratifications of U.S. Constitutional amendments?


Akinator, the app and website, both display images of what I assume is copyrighted material. How do they manage to get around copyright law? Is this considered fair use?

How does Akinator not violate copyright law?


Paul Davies. [*JC Smith's The Law of Contract* (2018 2 ed)](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Smiths-Law-Contract-Paul-Davies/dp/0198807813/ref=dp_ob_title_bk). p. 449.

Mindy Chen-Wishart. [*Contract Law* (2018 6 edn)](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Contract-Law-Mindy-Chen-Wishart/dp/0198806353/ref=dp_ob_title_bk). p 312.

>
> [![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/jPK7W.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/jPK7W.jpg)
>
>
>

I agree with

1. Davies that 'consideration' is ambiguous and can be confounded.
2. Lord Toulson that "failure of basis" is more accurate.

Please see question in title. Why was "consideration" standardized? This poly-semy is also mentioned on p. 277. [Richard](https://www.uclan.ac.uk/staff_profiles/richard-taylor.php) and [Damian](https://www.slaughterandmay.com/who-we-are/partners/damian-taylor/) Taylor. [*Contract Law Directions* (2019 7 ed)](https://global.oup.com/academic/product/contract-law-directions-9780198836599?&lang=en&).

[![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/DTw3H.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/DTw3H.jpg)

Why was 'consideration' embraced to mean 'failure of consideration', when this would be better termed as 'failure of basis'?


If someone were to start using a trademarked company name with the word 'not' in front of it would it infringe their trademark?

e.g. a company is called 'foo' and their name is trademarked and another company comes along and calls itself 'not foo'.

Is it trademark infringement if you put the word 'not' in front?


I am a software engineer. While I was working for a previous employer I built a software system from scratch. Part of my employment agreement was anything made for that employer on company time or using company resources belonged to them. Approximately 6 months ago I left that position and took a position with a different company.

A few months ago I realized that several of the technologies and techniques I have learned while working with the new company could be applied to that system to make it much better. I have been thinking about rebuilding a similar system on my own and trying to sell it. As far as I am aware there are no patents or anything like that on any parts of the system.

Given that the new system will be very similar to the first system I built, and utilize many of the techniques I figured out while building the first system, will my former employer have any rights to the new system if it’s built entirely with my own personal resources?

Intellectual property after leaving job


Good afternoon!

I'm interested in a legal issue regarding code licensing. I am writing an Ansible role for two companies, and each company wants to impose its own license on this code: “full or PARTIAL copying is prohibited”.

The point is that I am writing a role for the same environments and services. Naturally, it turns out that the roles are very similar. And since the changes in the code can not be swung in the role of Ansible, no matter how you say it, it will be at least recognizable.

For example:

```
- name: "Oracle | Install basic Oracle 7 repos"
  yum_repository:
    name: "{{ item.name }}"
    description: "{{ item.description | default ('No descr') }}"
    baseurl: "{{ item.baseurl }}"
    gpgcheck: "{{ item.gpgcheck | default ('0') }}"
    gpgkey: "{{ item.gpgkey | default ('file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-CentOS-5') }}"
    state: "{{ item.state | default('present') }}"
    enabled: "{{ item.enabled | default('yes') }}"
    priority: " {{ item.priority | default('20') }}"
  with_items: "{{ linux_oracle_yum_repo }}"
  tags:
    - update

```

In both companies, this piece of code is similar to one and it does not work out to change much.

I ask for a little help in the legal issue of this situation: HOW much do I need to change the code so that it does not regarded as "partial copying"?

Is this changing a one character in a file? Or in the whole program? Or changing one line? Or need to dial a certain percentage of the code difference? Or is it enough just to change a name the variables and the descriptions?

Thank you for help!

How to change the code so that it does not fall under the violation of the license "partial copying"


So i've been building a game and one of the scripts which does a major overhaul on the battle system has a Non-Commercial Creative Commons license on it but it does say that the Non-Commercial aspect of it can be waived by the author which i hope to get done.

there are some other scripts which i hope to use in my game. unlike this battle system overhaul i am confident i can rebuild these myself and add some feature to make using them easier for me to use (ie. one which records map status like chests opened, enemy types killed, etc, uses really long function name which i could shorten down. also i have to use a hack to get it to work with a disk change system) but time wise this would take me quite a while to rebuild.

these scripts however don't come with something like the Creative Commons within the script and the website i got them from didn't have an implied license for anything on the site (unlike say this site which says in the footer *"user contributions licensed under cc by-sa 3.0 with attribution required"*)

now when i make the credits i will surely include the name they released the script under to show they're work was used however i don't want to be in violation of a default copyright license that i am unaware of if i am able to sell my game.

So is there a default copyright license on programming scripts released publicly on the internet without it's own license or one used by the website?

Is there a default copyright license on programming scripts released publicly on the internet without it's own license or one used by the website?


The Economist is a weekly magazine, where articles are never signed by authors. Is it then enough that the magazine itself is in the public domain? I have come across posts like [this one](http://www.publicdomaintreasurehunter.com/2009/07/19/how-to-tell-if-a-magazine-is-in-the-public-domain/) stating that individual articles might be further protected under copyright. But if I do not know the author, how can I know?

Copyright for unauthored articles in The Economist


[Richard](https://www.uclan.ac.uk/staff_profiles/richard-taylor.php) and [Damian](https://www.slaughterandmay.com/who-we-are/partners/damian-taylor/) Taylor. [*Contract Law Directions* (2019 7 ed)](https://global.oup.com/academic/product/contract-law-directions-9780198836599?&lang=en&). pp. 318-319.

>
> As to the application of the law to the facts of the case Lord Reed continued by saying, at
>  paras [98]–[99]:
>
>
>

I now quote [Lord Reed](http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKSC/2018/20.html). Doesn't the emboldened phrase contradict itself?

>
> 98. This is a case brought by a commercial entity whose only interest in the defendants’ performance of their obligations under the covenants was commercial. Indeed, a restrictive covenant which went beyond what was necessary for the reasonable protection of the claimant’s commercial interests would have been unenforceable. The substance of the claimant’s case is that it suffered financial loss as a result of the defendants’ breach of contract. The effect of the breach of contract was to expose the claimant’s business to competition which would otherwise have been avoided. The natural result of that competition was a loss of profits and possibly of goodwill. **The loss is difficult to quantify, and some elements of it may be inherently incapable of precise measurement. Nevertheless, it is a familiar type of loss, for which damages are frequently awarded.** It is possible to quantify it in a conventional manner, as is demonstrated by Mr Hine’s report.
> 99. The case is not one where the breach of contract has resulted in the loss of a valuable asset created or protected by the right which was infringed. Considered in isolation, the first defendant’s breach of the confidentiality covenant might have been considered to be of that character, but in reality the claimant’s loss is the cumulative result of breaches of a number of obligations, of which the non-compete and non-solicitation covenants have been treated as the most significant, as explained in para 17 above.
>
>
>

How can loss be difficult to quantify, but be a familiar type for which damages are frequently awarded?


I have some idea of story, which I want to publish online (idea, not story, because it doesn't exist yet). I want people to discuss it and get some feedback from them.

I asked [question](https://worldbuilding.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/4812/is-my-story-protected-by-copyright) on worldbuilding.meta, but here I want to ask if I publish it on some website (for example discussion forum).

How can I protect my idea from stealing?

How to protect my idea by copyright?


A startup I worked for had promised me to grant my options that were vested, however, they are making me pay the legal costs of executing those options. Is that legal? On the contract, it says nothing about legal costs. I feel like I'm being hold for ransom with the fees.

Startup making me pay legal costs of my vested options, is that legal?


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

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

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

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

Licensing an image that contains a licensed image


My in-laws were put into a nursing home.

If we have their mail sent to our address can we be any liable for any of their bills?

I assume the answer is no, because we are not signing for any of their bills, but wanted to double check.

We want to have their mail sent to us so we can manage their bills for them.

Any liability for receiving mail for elder parents


On the United States Patent and Trademark Office the [Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) has an entry for "SQL Server" that says](http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4807:go6ru4.2.3)

>
> **Word Mark** SQL SERVER
>
>
>

And, then

>
> **Trademark Search Facility Classification Code** `LETTER-3-OR-MORE` SQL Combination of three or more letters as part of the mark
>
>
>

Here is a screenshot,

[![SQL Server USPTO](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Vvyrc.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Vvyrc.png)

How do I read that, does that mean the term `SQL` is Trademarked by Microsoft? Other queries for example ["SQL Boost"](http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4807:go6ru4.3.37) **and** ["SQL Sonic"](http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4807:go6ru4.5.18) make no mention of SQL and explicitly say,

>
> NO CLAIM IS MADE TO THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO USE "SQL" APART FROM THE MARK AS SHOWN
>
>
>

[Others examples say](http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4807:go6ru4.5.3),

>
> NO CLAIM IS MADE TO THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO USE "SQL" APART FROM THE MARK AS SHOWN
>
>
>

Going off this, should I assume Microsoft is making a claim at "SQL"?

How to interpret "LETTER-3-OR-MORE" on patent website (USPTO's TESS)?


In the US, do notices like "except as required by federal, state or local law" in contracts have any purpose other than to serve as a reminder to the reader/party?

If something is required by federal, state or local law, then surely it overrides any contradicting clauses in the contract, so can these notices be omitted without change to the substance of a contract?

Is there any need for "except as required by law" notices?


In most cases murder is a state crime. However, Washington, DC is not covered within any state's jurisdiction. My question is whether the President can pardon someone for committing murder if the crime took place within the geographical boundaries of DC.

Is murder in Washington, DC pardonable by the President?


[*O'Sullivan & Hilliard's The Law of Contract*](https://www.amazon.co.uk/OSullivan-Hilliards-Law-Contract-Janet/dp/0198807821/ref=dp_ob_title_bk) (2018 8 ed). p. 200.

>
> [![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/d2CsB.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/d2CsB.jpg)
>
>
>

I don't understand the red sentence underlined in red. Isn't it gainsaid by the orange underlines beneath? I understand the sentence in green.

Paul Davies. [*JC Smith's The Law of Contract* (2018 2 ed)](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Smiths-Law-Contract-Paul-Davies/dp/0198807813/ref=dp_ob_title_bk). p. 330.

>
> [![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/DJNme.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/DJNme.jpg)
>
>
>

Why's it "strange" for a judge to impose voidness on a guarantee?


I would like to name my S-corp after a character from a book. This is not the real name I want to use, but it would be analogous to "Harry Potter Magic Shop".

I found one [tangentially related question](https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/5004/can-i-name-a-real-company-after-a-fictional-company-found-in-a-book) and the highest voted answer seems to imply that this is okay, but it wasn't entirely clear, there was no accepted answer and this situation might be different because I don't want to use the book's title but rather just a character's name in the book.

Can you name your company after a fictional character from a book?


I was wondering if there are any illegal aspects about sharing a link to a file hosting site (e.g. mega/dropbox) to download copyrighted material such as movies etc.

Are there any differences if I just share the link compared to if I also upload files on a site and then share it?

Is it legal to share links to file hosting sites containing copyrighted material?


I'm developing a mobile application and inside it, I have some customization options. I was interested in using designs, colors and ideas based on famous cartoon characters. For example: Wolverine's claws with a yellow background, Captain America's shield, Superman's symbol, Batman's face... etc...

So, I'd like some information about this.
Can I use those images in the first place? What are the implications?

I know that I can't use a full batman drawing from an artist, but how about the batman symbol (which is universally known and used everywhere). Is there a difference?

And finally, If I do get a C&D order, can I simply remove the content and avoid any further legal implications?

Thank you very much.

Copyright of cartoon characters in a mobile app


I signed up for an exercise class on 7/18 ("this agreement entered into on") and the contract states it's in effect from 8/1 ("contract start date" and "contract in effect from").

The class has 30 day money back guarantee within "30 days of enrolling". Should the 30 day period be considered from date of signing the contract, or from the effective date of contract?

Interpretation of "enrollment date"


I want to open a service for people to print portrait images of people they are inspired by. Musicians, scientists, people such as Einstein, Mozart, etc.

What are the legal concerns of using images of **Google Images** and how can I find images which can be legally used for this purpose?

Usage of Images of Google Images for commercial purposes (print)


One of my favorite albums of all time is this album that tells a story. It is like a children's album with its story, but I like the characters in it. It is not particularly popular or well-known. I want to make websites and other non-music related communities based on settings from this album. I also want to use a graphical depiction of the main character in this album as my community mascot. Remember, this is all derived from a music album, but not other graphical depictions / there's a tremendous amount of original work here as well.

While there have been animated movies made that make use of the album's songs within them, I would not be using the album's songs for anything and would not be deriving any graphical depictions from that animated film.

Since I might eventually make money off these websites through advertising revenue, I was wondering if it was legal to use derivative works of a music album as long as you're not actually copying its lyrics, singing its songs, or usingthe music directly. But if you're making it a derivative that someone could listen to the album and see the connection, does that violate copyright?

Is the best approach just to not publicize any connection to the album at all, but keep the overall theme so that people suspect it but it isn't in the face and profiting off it in a marketing way?

Is it legal to create derivative works of character descriptions from a music album?


Assuming user *A* (in country *I*) sells stolen virtual accounts to the user *B* (in country *II*) on the [darknet market](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darknet_market) using service owned by user *C* (in country *III*) which is hosted on the web server (hosted in another country *IV*) . Also assuming this activity is illegal in all party's countries (not to mention communication is [onion routed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onion_routing) through several other countries), no physical postage is involved and hosting company doesn't know about illegal activity on their server.

Who's breaking the law, user *A* (seller), user *B* (buyer) or the owner of the illegal service - user *C* (which is in different country than his service is hosted)? Or all of them, but in different ways (different paragraphs)?

Which country's laws apply to buying/selling illegal items? Buyer, seller or owner of the service?


I have a website where i would like to offer an incentive for people to contribute content. Once you reach a predefined amount of content that has been approved and added to the site you can earn a reward. For example, submit 10 guides that get approved, you earn X amount of dollars toward your total earnings. Once you reach a threshold of say $20 you unlock the ability to claim the reward.

Is this ok to do or do i need to declare this somehow? If i just offer something like a paypal transfer of money is this considered employment?

If the above is true, would it be negated if i offered a gift card? For example, one you get to $20, you can claim a $20 amazon gift card. Being what they are a gift card is a gift. Of course in this case you must earn your gift, but is this a legal way to get around things?

I run this website as a hobby. These rewards will be coming from my own pocket and not a registered company.

Are there legal obligations when giving rewards?


For one reason or another, I would like to delete content posted by me on a specific forum.

There are two sections in the TOS that both contradict themselves, which is why I am asking for advice here.

The first section that appears on the topic:

PROPRIETARY RIGHTS.

"[Forum] does not claim any ownership rights in the text, files, images, works of authorship, applications, or other materials (collectively, "Third Party Content") that its users post."

However, the next sentence then says:

"By posting Third Party Content to any public area of the Site, you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant to [Forum] an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, fully paid, worldwide license to use, copy, perform, display, and distribute said Content and to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, said Third Party Content, and to grant and authorize sublicenses (through multiple tiers) of the foregoing."

From my (Very uneducated) understanding, this means that I am still the copyright holder of the (unique) content that I have posted, but the forum has the full rights to display the content, which is a right I cannot revoke.

If I'm the owner of the content, surely I have the right to request its deletion?

When I asked, they said no, however, I'm 100% sure that there's a very fast way to remove all posts at once.

This isn't really a big deal, I was just interested in learning a little more about the situation.

(Both I and the registered company are located in the UK)

Thanks

Forum Copyright - TOS Contradicts itself


A lot of media, both on the web and in many other forms, offers all kind of product reviews to their readers/viewers. Obviously, they use the name of the product, which might be trademarked, to identify what they are talking about. Very often they will show images of the product, which would most likely show a logo that could also be trademarked.

Assuming one is the author of the text and the images, so no copyright are infringed, but obviously doesn't own the trademark of the item that is discussed and/or displayed, what are the consequences, if any, to host a blog in Canada that would review products he likes.

I know many people already do it, either commercially or as a hobby. Obviously they do not make people believe they are associated with the product in any way. Does this type of activity require any kind of permission from the trademark owner ?

Display images of trademarked items in blog post product review


Just checking the terms and conditions of one of my suppliers terms and conditions and noticed this clause (as made bold). Does anyone know whether this is in breach of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.

>
> GENERAL. In these conditions "You" or "Your" means
>  any person(s), firm or company that purchases goods
>  from us. **All business is accepted by the Company only
>  upon and subject to the following Terms & Conditions
>  of Sales to the exclusion of all other terms (including
>  any terms You purport to apply under any purchase
>  order, confirmation of order, specification or other
>  document)**. No alterations to these terms shall be
>  accepted unless confirmed in writing by the Company.
>  Your order shall not be binding on the Company unless
>  accepted by the Company in writing.
>
>
>

I read somewhere that also because it doesn't explicitly say "conditions" after "terms" that it voids this exclusion clause.

Is This Exclusion Clause In breach of UCTA 1977


I was thinking of starting a website where you can watch free movies. Now I know it's illegal to host movies, but what if my site just embeds a movie from another site who is hosting it? BTW, if it is legal, can I charge users a small fee just to access my site?

Is it legal to host a free movie website in the US?


I received a bonus in a xmas card from my employer. I also quit that day. When I received my last paycheck, the bonus was deducted as a "gift deduction". Is this legal? It was not a loan or anything of the nature.

Can my employer deduct my holiday bonus from my check if I quit right away after receiving the bonus?


I signed an internet contract with a fake address in California. I live in Georgia.

Am I under California or Georgia jurisdiction?

Contract does not specify.

Jurisdiction in this case?


If no license is distributed with an application/source code, what license applies by default if any from a legal standpoint?

Edit:
If bob makes source code. And bob has never placed any license in any code, or released applications. Are people legally in the right to dis-assemble/reverse engineer it? Furthermore If they obtain the source code, do they legally now own it for lack of license or does bob still obtain copyrights over said code/applications. In both situations assuming the code/application was obtained both legally, and illegally, please and thank you.

PS: bob has never uploaded any source using GIT or anything else, they only exist on bobs computer, and places bob has released them by hand.

If no licence is distributed with an application/source code, what license applies by default if any?


I'm finalising an academic publication (a written research paper that will be published at a conference and be available online), and I am mentioning the computer used to run the experiments:

>
> Intel Core i5-4460
>
>
>

Now I was wondering: Should I, or do I have to, put the trademark symbols in there as well? I.e.:

>
> Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4460
>
>
>

(of course with the appropriate latex-symbols instead, i.e. the circle and in superscript).

Is there any requirement by law to do it? What would you advise, or what's the "best practice", if there's any, for similar circumstances?

I thought this was the most appropriate place to ask this question.

Do I have to write the (R) and (TM) of e.g. "Intel Core i5" in an academic publication?


I know this isn't a law site. I am not looking for law advice or how to get around the law. I just don't understand the licensing around mp3/4 (and yes I know these are different).

Our use case:

* very big corporation
* creating demos/videos/Captivates/Articulates for helping clients out
* all of the tools that we use to create is licensed and we are paying for it per license agreements
* we are mainly concerned about the mp3/audio segment. We currently do not offer audio directly but the audio files help create the video (think Camtasia and similar things) or are used in Captivate/Articulate.

So where I am confused is do how-to videos (non-revenue generating) need licensing support? Then if we are already using a tool to create the audio/video isn't the fact that they are supporting mp3 and allowing output already conforming to the licensing?

And then if we do need licensing - how much? And what is the easiest way to assure that we don't need licensing given the how-to outputs we are creating? (we have talked about moving to .wav files but those are HUGE)

What are the legal requirements around mp3 or mp4 files?


Part of the GPL license is that the owner of the copyright can never take back distribution rights (un license the work).

Is this legally valid or is it similar to any other "free promise" ("I promise to give you a million dollars" isn't binding while "I'll give you a million dollars for this car which I'm taking now").

Are vows not to remove rights legally binding?


<https://nypost.com/2017/11/28/mom-faces-jail-for-secretly-recording-daughters-bullies/>

In this case, some kid bully another. I am not sure if bullying is a crime or not. It seems that some violence is involved. I think we have a crime for that, called battery or something.

Yet, despite the complain of the mom, nothing was done.

So the mom collect evidences for bullying.

And she got charged instead.

To me, the result is not "intuitive". To me, what should have happened is that the Mom shouldn't even bother doing the recording. She reports to school. School reports to cops. Cops do investigating and do the recording. We have evidence. The bully sent to jail. I think that "should have been" what happened. It's not.

It's as if the society as a whole "approve" and "promote" the bullying by making sure there is no way the bully faced justice. The cops don't get involved. And the only way to get evidence is criminalized.

If I were a DA, and say I want to get elected, I would throw the bully in jail. And if a bully is thrown in jail, then the "recording" event wouldn't have happened in the first place.

I understand that DA does not have obligation to prosecute any crime. However, repeated battery seems like a reasonably obvious crime. If that's not crime, what is?

Now, usually, if people have a few legal options, they pick the one that's the most profitable.

What "profit" does DA have in prosecuting the mom instead of the bullies.

As someone beaten up when I was a kid, I am wondering about this for a long time. Why do society more interested in protecting something I perceive as more trivial, like recording, compared to something far more substantial, like beating.

Why did the DA choose to prosecute the mother instead of the bully?


I'm writing an essay about heroes and villains and I want to include Darth Vader. The question is whether I need permissions to write about a character? I plan on selling the piece.

Copyright question about Darth Vader


I read on <http://www.ufc.com/event/ufc-fight-night-brazil-oct-28-2017#/fight> ([mirror](https://web.archive.org/web/20171028211058/http://www.ufc.com/event/ufc-fight-night-brazil-oct-28-2017)):

>
> fights are verbally agreed
>
>
>

[![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/LOyrI.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/LOyrI.png)

What's the point in specifying that "fights are verbally agreed"? As far as I am aware of, oral contracts have pretty much the same validity as written contracts. E.g., from <https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oral_contract&oldid=759606175>:

>
> In general, oral contracts are just as valid as written ones, but some jurisdictions either require a contract to be in writing in certain circumstances (for example where real property is being conveyed), or that a contract be evidenced in writing (although the contract itself may be oral). An example of the latter is the requirement that a contract of guarantee be evidenced in writing, which is found in the Statute of Frauds.
>
>
> Similarly, the limitation period prescribed for an action may be shorter for an oral contract than it is for a written one.
>
>
> The term verbal contract is sometimes incorrectly used as a synonym for oral contract. However, a verbal contract is one that is agreed to using words, either written or spoken, as opposed to an implied contract.
>
>
>

Let's assume that the contract was made in the United States.


I recently stumbled upon a product patented in the 1950's--let's say it's a beard comb called the "Drongle"

After the patent expired, another company trademarked "Drongle" in 2006 and began selling the beard combs.

In 2013, the new manufacturer's "Drongle" trademark was cancelled--although they still manufacture and market their beard combs under the same name.

Two questions:

\*Is it permissable to manufacture beard combs and market them under the "Drongle" name?

\*If so, should I file for a trademark on the name "Drongle?"

Can I use a cancelled trademark if the owner is still manufacturing the product?


The Library of Babel is a database of millions of random strings of text. Among this randomness, passages from other sources inevitably appear, such as the book of Genesis or works by Shakespeare, or [this question](https://libraryofbabel.info/bookmark.cgi?pfkgsxxab,46). You can also search the library for specific strings.

If a copyrighted work appears in the database, is it breaching copyright? If not, can I use that text without breaching copyright (provided I indicate my source is the Library of Babel)?

You can find the Library of Babel at [https://libraryofbabel.info/](https://libraryofbabel.info)

Is the "Library of Babel" violating copyright?


Is it legal to download books in PDF-format from <https://www.pdfdrive.com/> ? How one can verify if the book given in the site is a legal copy or not?

Are books in pdfdrive.com legal or illegal?


Consider someone hacking the super bowl and playing a Holocaust denial ad.

Ignore the trivial charges like hacking that occur regardless of the content.

Is there any further prosecution of the content *itself*?

For example, would the hacker be prosecuted for harassment due to the *content* negatively affecting Jews?

If a Jew died of a heart attack as a result of the content would the hacker be liable for that? Since this is fairly likely is there a de facto restriction on the content?

Are there de facto limitations on freedom of speech in the us?


I like to make video games and I figured I might as well make some money off of it. The problem with it is I have no idea how to get a copyright on my games before I start selling them. How would I do this? (Just comment if I need to specify anything else or if this is the wrong site.)

How to get a copyright on a video game?


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?

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


I live in Omaha Nebraska. I financed a car (2001 Mercury Sable) through a "buy here pay here" lot located in Council Bluffs Iowa. The car was sold "as is, no warrenty". The car was acquired less than 30 days ago.

Exactly 16 days after purchase, the car will not start. I believe the starter is bad.

Is there any recourse I can pursue? The Iowa lemon law does not seem to cover previously titled vehicles. Are there any other regulations that would allow me to receive some compensation or perhaps a replacement part or vehicle?

Car broke down within 30 days of purchase. Recourse?


1. I don't understand the distinctions between the two clauses. Doesn't 42.2 encompass 42.1? Isn't 42.2 broader? Doesn't 42.1 automatically imply 42.2?
2. Isn't "the defendant had acted as he ought" "evidence that the victim might not have suffered the harm"?

Herring, [*Criminal Law: Text, Cases, and Materials* (8 edn, 2018)](https://global.oup.com/academic/product/criminal-law-9780198811817?cc=ca&lang=en&). p. 75

>
> When will the omission cause the result?
> ----------------------------------------
>
>
> It must be shown that the omission caused the harm. In other words, had the defendant
>  acted reasonably in accordance with his or her duty the harm would not have occurred. For
>  example, in \*Dalloway\*41 the defendant was driving a cart without keeping a proper grip on
>  the reins. A young child ran out in front of the cart and was killed. It was held that if the
>  defendant was to be convicted it had to be shown that had he been driving properly and
>  holding onto the reins he would have been able to avoid injuring the child.42 Similarly, if a
>  father sees his child drowning in a pond and does nothing to help he is not criminally responsible
>  for causing the child’s death if it is shown that even if he had tried to save the child
>  it would have been too late to do so.43
>
>
> 42 There is some debate over **[call this 42.1] whether it needs to be shown that if the defendant had acted as he ought the
>  victim would not have suffered the harm, or whether [42.2] it is enough that there is evidence that the victim might
>  not have suffered the harm.** In *Marby* (1882) 8 QBD 571 the defendant was convicted of manslaughter after
>  failing to summon medical help which might have saved the life of the victim.
>
>
>

"if the defendant had acted as he ought, the victim would not have suffered" vs. "there's evidence that the victim might not have suffered the harm"


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

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


*This is just a contract question,* and I am not concerned with the intellectual property implications at this point.

I'm in the US.

**The scenario**: Suppose I was given an unsolicited document, so at no point did I agree to receive it or any terms attached to it. The document expressly states, however, that I may not electronically reproduce or even print the document without the owner's prior consent. Although I did not agree to these terms on receipt, so there is no mutual assent there, is there any legal theory under which I could be bound by those restraints? E.g., if I print or email the document without the owner's consent could I be liable under the document's terms (similar to a click-wrap or browse-wrap)?

Can I be contractually bound by terms accompanying an unsolicited document?


Someone has been stealing from my girlfriend's workplace, not her, and they're forcing everyone there to undergo a lie detector test or lose their jobs. Is this even legal since they don't actually work?
I have done some research but I can't get a straight answer under UK law, the web just mentions US law.

Employee Lie Detector


If one could create a new operation system that could run/support
all the programs that run on Windows/Linux/Mac or whatever operation system one could find, could Microsoft, the creator of windows, for example, sue the creator of this new operation system?

Is creating a new operation system that is capable of running windows/mac/linux programs legal?


My understanding is that:

* A "guilty" plea means the defendant admits that they have performed the action(s) in question and admits wrongdoing (hence "guilty"); while
* A "not guilty" plea means the defendant not only denies wrongdoing, but denies having performed the action(s) in question.

What would be the name of a plea where the defendant admits to having performed the action(s) in question, but denies any wrongdoing? I thought this was *nolo contendere*, but turns out that means something completely different.

What is the legal term for the plea where the defendant admits the action but denies wrongdoing?


I am developing an application that will be used for computer security training, specifically for awareness of scams and phishing.

As part of this, I plan to use a series of well-known company brand names and trademarks (e.g. `Stack Exchange`) in order to create examples and demos that the user can relate to.

For example, I may demonstrate how a scammer can use a slightly altered domain name in order to create a convincing scam website, with the goal of educating users of this risk.

As far as I can tell, the use of company brand names and trademarks for this purpose is considered a transformative use, which would therefore be protected under copyright fair use.

However, there is a risk of causing user confusion or diluting brands, for example if a user doesn't understand that a particular demo is fictional, and not an actual scam. I understand that I can mitigate this with a clearly marked disclaimer and instructions.

What would be the legality of this, and are there any risks or mitigations that I haven't considered? For reference I am based in the UK, however the app will be globally accessible and may use trademarks registered in many different countries.

What are the legal considerations of using trademarks in security training material?


I've read a lot of articles right now (I'm french) on this topic, and I gotta say I'm pretty confused. I perfectly understand that unless some uni teacher directly allows me to use his work, I don't have rights to use it in any way. But I'm struggling to understand is what about:

1. What I copy from what he writes on the board during his class?
2. What I reword (on my own format) after the class?

MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) and copyright


Is it illegal to create a, say, Facebook/Twitter account under the full legal name of a deceased person and try to mimic or imitate their living likeness, such as using it as if you were them (like they're alive).

I mean you can't be stealing from them directly if they're not alive. It may be indecent, but is it illegal to impersonate the person who has passed? Will it count as "posing as another" if the "another" is dead?

Most importantly, is it illegal?

Against the law to create a social media account of a deceased person?


I emailed messages to a particular business that were replied to with the business having consistently giving rude and just-don't-care-about-the-customer responses and even grossly incompetent responses.

So am I allowed to show these emails say in a youtube video meaning right when I open my email account and have the emails open?

Am I only allowed to quote what the emails said in order to avoid some copyright violation or other law?

When Is It Illegal To Show Emails That Were Sent To Me


My family is dragging me along to a politician's ball. I'm not a very big fan of this particular group of attendees, to put it mildly, and have recently been day-dreaming of one choking while I raid the buffet table. I would not feel a single pang if they ate the dust. But would I be liable to a civil or criminal charge if I refused to give medical aid in this situation, given my occupation as a surgeon?

And if so, is there any way I can escape this? Perhaps by taking a stiff belt of scotch the moment I see trouble?

Am I required to render medical aid when off-duty if I am a doctor?


If I have a blog and post up a picture of some artists work, he/she can come after me for a copyright breach. However what happens on a large website where users can upload images as they wish. Moderators can't be educated on whether every user has permission to publish that image. In the event that a user posts a copyright image that they do have have permission for on a community forum, how to the website owners protect themselves from a claim?

How do community websites and forums defend against copyright claims?


If I take FMLA and use sick time and vacation time during my leave, would I still be able to receive any monies from NYS thru its Paid Family Leave? Or since I am being paid, I would not be eligible for additional remuneration.

Paid Family Leave in New York State


I have a simple question that I haven't found any answer on, on the web.

I have a lot of purchase music on Google Play and I want to create a internet radio just for fun, for non-commercial purposes. Is that breaking the copyright law in European-Union(Sweden), or I need to buy a special license for every song or album?

Is it illegal to broadcast/stream music for non-commercial purposes?


For US-Law:

Can a freelancer charge a client late fees for late payments if they are not explicitly drawn out in a contract?

For example, let's say the freelancer has a contract for an hourly rate only, and no articles related to fees. However, the client has not paid for weeks and the freelancer notifies them he will charge a late fee if not paid in n days.

Is this viable? Will it holdup? Or is it an ambiguous situation?

Can a Freelancer charge late fees if not explicitly defined in the contract?


Let's say I watched a film and I really liked it. Now I want to tell my subscribers on Facebook the entire plot of the film. I don't use the real script of the film. I create a post where I retell the film plot in my own words (but I don't change anything, the names are the same, everything is the same, it's just a conversion in textual form) and retell it completely. Is this action legal? Do I have any problems with copyright law?

Is it legal to completely retell a film in text?


Mindy Chen-Wishart. [*Contract Law* (2018 6 edn)](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Contract-Law-Mindy-Chen-Wishart/dp/0198806353/ref=dp_ob_title_bk). [Scanned p 225](https://i.stack.imgur.com/P6gae.jpg).

>
> 1. Where the claimant refuses to continue with the contract, the court must decide whether this amounts to rescission (limiting her to reliance damages) or termination (preserving her right to expectation damages).
> 2. Since the threshold for termination is very high (it is only available for ‘serious’ breaches (12.2.2)), a claimant may find that she has unwittingly rescinded the contract (eg by returning defective items), thereby extinguishing her right to potentially superior contractual damages.
>
>
>

I don't understand 2. Why would returning defective items be worth less than contract damages?

Why would contractual damages be superior to returning defective items?


I've recently run into a dispute for an invoice with a company for whom I'm doing IT contract work about the number of hours in a work day. We agreed on a rate of £N a day, which I had assumed to mean N/7.5 as an hourly rate. However, they have recently said that "everyone contracting here assumes an 8-hour day". The contract that I signed doesn't state either way which one is correct. However, if I adjust said invoice to assume an 8 hour day, I will lose 6.25% of my revenue (assuming my maths is correct).

Without this being specified in the contract (or verbally at any point before today), is it legally acceptable to state that 7.5 hours is the standard amount and that I should bill as such, and what can I do about resolving this issue?

Also what should be done about going into the future with this work and asking for a revised contract? Can I request 6.25% to be added on to my day rate, or ask to be billed on a 7.5 hour basis, and have that stand up against their legal team if push came to shove?

I am invoicing on an hourly basis rather than by half-day/day, and have done many hours of overtime.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Dispute about whether a day consists of 7.5 or 8 hours


Mindy Chen-Wishart. [*Contract Law* (2018 6 edn)](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Contract-Law-Mindy-Chen-Wishart/dp/0198806353/ref=dp_ob_title_bk). p 24.

>
> [![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/5ZPSj.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/5ZPSj.jpg)
>
>
>

I don't understand the red sentence. Kindly can someone

1. expatiate it?
2. or give an example with numbers?

How'd parties 'negotiate around the remedy' to 'share the profits (or savings) from breach rather than allow the contract breaker total retention'?


I created a contract between myself and a client. The contract states that I will provide service A to the client. I provided service A. A third party is blocking the use of the end product of service A to be used for my client. My client no longer returns my emails or texts and has failed to respond to my invoices (sent certified mail and with return receipt).

Is my client free from obligation to pay an unpaid invoice under contract?


Like all other guys, I have my own collections of CDs, all legal, from official distributors, paid by money, and all belong to me.

I keep them in my room together with my computer. I have ripped some of them, stored them in the laptop my company gave me. I have burned some copies of them and put them in my car. I have burned some other copies and put them in my parents house, just for myself.

Today I suddenly start to think -- which copies are legal and which copies are not? Especially for those copies that in my parents house.

I live in California.

Multiple duplication of CDs I own


If I record my own work using [IBM's Watson demo](https://text-to-speech-demo.mybluemix.net), who owns the copyright on those recordings?

I couldn't find the terms of use for the demo service, nor the full service after registration.

Who owns the copyright on a Watson recording?


In many cases rule books are copyrighted. For example, the standard set of rules to play chess in the United States is copyrighted. Also, the standard set of rules to play baseball is also copyrighted.

This creates a problem in that often these rule books are published in some inconvenient format or size for some uses. Also, players who need to summarize rules for various purposes have the problem of how to do so without getting sued. In many cases organizations would like to display the rules on a poster rather than have them in a book. Once again, there are copyright problems.

Rules could be construed as "information" or "data" rather than a form of expression, so at some level, to the extent that the rule is "data" it is not copyrightable. How can organizations that need to republish rules (for example to put them on a poster) be able to do so without violating copyrights?

Copyright status of rule books


Recently i passed by a large local mosque. The mosque property was posted "No Gun Zone" at the property boundaries.

If a resident posted such signs on their property then missionaries, delivery people, etc could continue to come and knock on their door as has been common for ages.

Police offixers executing warrants would obviously not need heed the signs. Similarly if police are responding to exigent circumstances.

What if there is no warrant or exigent circumstances and police are doing a "knock and talk". Logically they could disarm before entering the property and do a compliant knock and talk. But i doubt they would be willing to disarm.

My question is can a homeowner modify the implied lixense to come to the door to knock? If the modified license does not allow guns, is an armed police officers entry a trespass?

If an armed police officer came to the door and claimed to see, hear, smell contraband not detectable off property is that admissible?

No gun zone and knock and talk


The setting: a group home for juvenile males.

The situation: they are court ordered to be there.

The problem: they verbally abuse staff on a daily basis, and in some instances, physically abuse staff.

The clients receive a handbook with the rules and policies. There are numerous rules, one of which us they are not allowed to bull each other or make inappropriate comments.

However, there is no rule stating they have to respect staff. They don't mind reminding you of this as they disrespect you. Management is aware of the situation and their response to us is "don't take it personally," even when we are verbally abused with racial slurs.

Can an employer be held accountable in civil court for their clients' actions? If they don't utilize their own tools and policies to prevent the behavior?

Is an employer liable for a hostile work environment caused by clients?


Would calling for the seizure of guns from unnamed citizens and the suspension of due process in doing so constitute treason?

Calling for the suspension of due process by a president


I want to start an online browser game following all laws.

A few days ago I heard of [COPPA - Children's Online Privacy Protection Act](http://www.coppa.org/). In this link, they clearly explain in all details what must be done, and what kind of website must comply. As a person that knows (absolutely) nothing about law, I am glad to find this right-to-the-point text that tells me exactly what to do.

My question is, **how do I find out if there are other things like this to follow?** I am glad I heard of COPPA, otherwise I would have no idea I had to follow it. I am now worried that **there might be other laws to follow that I don't even know they exist.**

**How to make sure I am following everything that must be followed?** Is there some kind of "list"? **I am using COPPA just as an example - I don't want to be restricted only to privacy laws. The thing is, I can't even dream of what other laws could exist.** (I'm lucky to have found COPPA)

I am brazillian, the website would be hosted in Brazil. But I would like people from other countries to be allowed to play as well. *(I don't know if this matters)*

*If you really need to know more details about the game to properly answer this question, let me know and I will add them - but I was hoping to a more general answer first, so I can analyse them myself and decide what is needed and what is not. I am not sure if this question is too-broad the way it is now - if it is, I will add the details.*

---

**EDIT:** I don't think this question is a duplicate from [Where can I find a comprehensive document of computer laws?](https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/1187/where-can-i-find-a-comprehensive-document-of-computer-laws). Even though its title suggests that, both answers only refer to security and hacking. I am talking about the content of my website, and I am not "hacking" anyone nor doing anthing close to that.

**EDIT 2:** Just to clarify, I do not expect someone to show up with a complete list and solve my problem like magic. The thing is, as of now I have not the slightest idea of how to proceed.

I mean, (at least the majority of) existing MMO browser games (like Clash of Clans, Neopets, Club Penguin, OGame and such) must have done *something* to make sure they comply with all needed laws.

How to make sure my website complies with things like COPPA?


I have a blog related to web designing.

I make money via affiliate marketing.

Can I use our sponsors as other company ( the companies which I used to make money via affiliate marketing) logos?

Is it legal?

Can I use our sponsors as other compnay logos?


I am not a lawyer or a law student; my work is in mathematics, but I like to learn about criminal law as a hobby. I have spent some time googling and searching to find an answer to my question but have found no results.

Here is what I am interested in knowing:

>
> Suppose a public defender is assigned a criminal case — let's say the charges are gross misdemeanor or nonviolent felony — and there is quite
>  literally no conceivable defense for the client. The prosecution has compelling evidence for all elements of the crime, action, and any required culpability. At this point, what do you do for
>  your client?
>
>
>

My best guess would be to put heavy effort into plea bargaining, but this scenario is something that is hard for me to learn about in my hobbyist pursuits because it isn't very well documented. It seems like something you learn from experience, and could depend greatly on the individual attorney and their relationships with the prosecutors in the jurisdiction. The only thing I can find that relates to my question is information about the strategies of lawyers who defended notorious murderers who were overwhelmingly guilty. I would like the scope of my question to be something less serious and less complicated than that. In most of those cases, the defenses' main goal was to keep them out of a death penalty, and the trials were long and complicated. Also, to be thorough, please feel free to note / comment on any of the following in an answer:

* You know there is practically no conceivable defense for your client; how does that change your efforts in plea bargaining?
* Let's say the prosecutor won't budge - not a single plea offer. You know there is practically no conceivable defense for your client - what do you do when the case goes to trial?
* At any point, is it a matter of ethics to make it clear to your client that there is no conceivable defense for their case and your primary service as their counsel will be to provide guidance through the confusing and complicated legal / court process and help make sure their rights to a fair trial are upheld?
* Now suppose you are not necessarily a public defender but a private attorney for hire. Someone comes to you looking to hire you for counsel on the type of charges outlined above. There is little to no conceivable defense. Do you take the case? If so, do you tell them this before negotiating a price?

I understand my question is certainly subjective. The answer could vary greatly from case to case, dependent on countless variables. I do, however, still think it is constructive and on topic because it can be answered on a high level as to how to initially assess those variables and form a strategy. I am open to feedback for how to improve my question. Please edit tags as needed.

Course of action in a criminal case when there is no conceivable defense


There is a video game called Minecraft, in which you can build structures (e. g. houses). Some people publish them on publicly accessible sites such as PlanetMinecraft.com as sets of files in format A.

Imagine, I do the following. I take such collection of files in format A and transform it (manually, automatically or semi-automatially) into format B. I have my own, custom software, which takes format B files as input and then recreates these structures in user's Minecraft in format A (they are not exactly the same, but similar). I intend to give access to that software for a monthly fee.

Format B is my own format and its files are smaller and easier to share and modify than format A.

Am I allowed to

* create format B versions of structures on PlanetMinecraft and
* distribute them for free

in the following 2 cases under American law?

**Case 1:** The author of the structure allows to download and distribute the format A file, but does not allow to modify it (according to the copyright statement on the structure page). Technically, I'm not modifying format A file, I read it and create format B file based on information in the format A file.

**Case 2:** I write to the author of the structure (ask him or her whether or not I'm allowed to do this with his creations), but don't get a response within 1-2 weeks. There is no clear information about the type of license his work is published under.

**Analogy:** You see someone's house and walk around it several times. That house is format A file. Then you sketch a plan of that house (format B file), which you distribute for free.

Is it legal to reverse-engineer structures on PlanetMinecraft?


I'm managing a french company where the VAT must be applied, and I am stumbling upon a problem that annoys me.

There is a simple form to know if the VAT must be applied or not
(please tell me in case I'm wrong on that) :

```
Seller EU (me) =>
    Outside EU : no VAT
    Inside EU :
        Customer not a business : apply VAT
        Customer's a business : apply VAT ? <== It's my problem

```

Ok. (This comes from an article from the TheNextWeb which is linked below)

I took a look at how [quaderno.io](http://quaderno.io) works, since it's their target, I believe they must be right, so I used their demo : <https://quaderno.io/features/checkout/> and tested for my company in France.

When I entered my VAT Number, they removed the tax (from 10$+20% to only 10$).

BUT, the problem is the following :

I asked my accountant if, when making an invoice from a French company to an other French company, I should remove the 20% tax. She said no. I must indicate my VAT number AND the VAT number of the client, and that's it.

**The 20% tax still applies and the client must do it's paper work to get back the tax he paid from the state (France), not the issuing company.**

So, as far as I understand, Quaderno is not right for France as I should still pay 12$ (10$ + 20%).

But the explanation given by [TheNextWeb](http://thenextweb.com/dd/2015/01/01/need-know-2015-eu-vat-changes-implemented-tnw/) and how Quaderno works raise me an other question :

They both remove the VAT tax when the company enters it's VAT number, which leads me to believe that in some EU countries, if the VAT number is given, the service must remove the tax from the invoice.

Is this right ?
In that case, in which countries we must remove the tax when invoicing the client, and in which countries (like France) we still must keep it ?

Thank you for your help and feel free to ask for more details if it isn't the case.

Ways of applying VAT in EU countries?


(Assuming there were grounds for arrest and prosecution).

Can the state of New York arrest and/or prosecute President Trump during a time when Trump is still president?


Someone can somehow buy lots of products and sell them for very low prices.

Can I buy from him at low price and sell it for normal price?

I'm not from US, but products may be.

Is it legal to sell a product that has been stolen?


After posting [this question](https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/3488/is-it-legal-to-buy-second-hand-copyrighted-recordings/3514#3514), another one, more obvious came to mind.

If the "first sale doctrine" is a widespread law, and allows someone to give their whole collection of VHS or DVDs or vinyls for free, then why is this rule not applying when it comes to a digital copy?

If the first sale doctrine rule applied, then someone who legally purchased thousands of albums and movies digitally should be able to give these files for free to whoever they want.

Why is it legal to give away for free a physical copy of copyrighted material that you bought, but not a digital copy?


I am a real estate agent based in Toronto and I was looking over a lease agreement that a friend of mine signed. I noticed that 5-7 out of the 25 clauses in the agreement were in direct contravention of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (the primary piece of legislation governing rules for tenants and landlords).

Now I was curious, as these clauses which are not legal aren't in relation to the core of the agreement (if there is such a thing), so would the fact that there are multiple clauses in contravention if the act, albeit minor, mean that he contract lacked lawful object?

I apologize in advance if I've muddled terminology here, as you can imagine, I'm not a lawyer.

Legal Object in a Contract


I sometime post code to StackExchange sites like StackOverflow or CodeReview. To meet the requirements of the site you often have to post full code to get help. This is often code I would like to later publish to certain sites for sale.

When I do this I am always quite worried that my code is now visible to millions of people that could simply copy/paste my code into a notepad file and have the same product as me, completely devaluing mine.

As far as I know once your idea/product is made public in a timestampable way it is considered intellectual property. But how does that hold up when you freely post it to a knowledge sharing site like this that you cannot include licenses on. Even if it were determined that it were your own intellectual property would it be a worthy cause to fight for when the code might make you a few hundred dollars if anything?

Intellectual Property of Stack Exchange posts


I want to distribute a list of MD5 file [checksums](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checksum) of closed source software, in the form:

```
<checksum> <filename>

```

The purpose of this list is to help forensic researchers to identify whether installations have been tampered with.

Am I allowed to do distribute such a list? Or does it depend on the given license?

Generalized, this question is about whether metadata is copyrighted *by the owner of the original IP*. It [was partially asked here](https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/1916/at-what-point-can-a-computer-generated-file-infringe-copyright/4366#4366) but went unanswered.

Are hash checksums of licensed software copyrighted?


I am looking at signing a lease on an apartment, but there are a few phrases that give me pause:

"Resident agrees that Resident is at all times responsible for the conduct and actions of all other persons regardless of any culpability or knowledge on Resident’s part."

I imagine that the *intent* is to say all other persons *party to this lease or guests thereof*, but there is no qualification like this actually in the lease.

The second phrase that I'm getting hung up on is this:

"To the greatest extent permitted by law, **Landlord shall not be liable to Resident**, even for negligent acts or omissions of Landlord or Landlord's agents or employees, **for any damage or injury**, whether to person or property, loss, or destruction to Resident's property, including but not limited to any damage or injury, whether to person or property, loss, or destruction of property **sustained by Resident from any cause** including but not limited to the causes and risks set forth herein."

This *seems* to me to exempt the landlord from responsibility, even in the event that he or she breaks into my apartment and shoots me, given that it is always *permitted by law* that a victim choose not to press charges. Is this correct?

Also, related to this, if the landlord is **not** willing to change the wording of the lease agreement, are these pretty standard things to see on a lease that I shouldn't worry about? (Maybe because they're not enforceable?)

Thanks very much

Whether to sign a lease agreement that is poorly worded/too broad if landlord will not change it?


I'm going to release an open source project, let's call it ABC. My project is a piece of software that is non-commercial. However, ABC already exists as a trademark for an existing company.

My project is software. This company sells a consumable product. Would I be infringing on their trademark, or is it okay because they are in completely different "realms"?

When am I infringing on a trademark?


I'm a graduate student at a US university and I work as a Graduate assistant in the department. It's been around one year I have been working. I'm also an International student who can only work on-campus.

Recently I have decided that I want to **transfer** to a another University and the classes will begin at that university from august. I have summer work at current university which could take till august.

The HR department of the university I'm going to transfer, sent me an offer letter and a **I9** form.

Should I fill the form and submit to the university where I will be start working from August even though currently i'm working at my current university?

What does the "submitting" I9 form?


This is a question out of curiosity only, indirectly inspired by my [last question](https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/3670/can-you-plead-the-fifth-to-avoid-revealing-the-identity-of-someone-you-were-accu) post. I'm wondering at what point not reporting a crime is itself a crime.

I know that if someone happens to witness a bar fight and doesn't immediately call the cops they are not guilty of a crime (or I assume they aren't, unless they're technically guilty and simply never prosecuted for it). This implies that the refusal to report a crime is not, by itself, a crime.

However, I'm also pretty sure if, for example, a women knows her boyfriend is sexually assaulting their child and turns a blind eye to it she can be convicted as an accomplice to the crime. Likewise, I think if you're riding in the car with someone who does a hit and run you are required to report it or be an accomplice.

So I'm wondering where this line is drawn. At what point does one's involvement become such that they are guilty simply for failing to report another individual, assuming they have not actively done anything to directly support the crime otherwise?

Furthermore, if someone is indirectly benefiting from a crime they do not encourage or facilitate – for instance a wife getting a new fur coat after her husband robs a bank despite her not approving of the husband's actions – does this make her an accomplice? Is there a line here to draw, presumably a bar serving a drink to someone they know is a bookie doesn't make them guilty, even if the bookie presumably earned the money he is using to buy the drink via an illegal job?

At what point does refusal to report a crime make one an accomplice to a crime?


Company A is selling products to Company B at a highly discounted price. Part of the agreement is that Company B cannot resell the products.

Consider the following clause in a contract between the two companies:

>
> Company B may not resell any products purchased from Company A at a discounted price.
>
>
>

Now consider the same clause, but with a reason provided:

>
> In order to prevent toilets from overflowing, Company B may not resell any products purchased from Company A at a discounted price.
>
>
>

Suppose the 2nd clause is in effect and Company B goes ahead and turns a profit by reselling the discounted products. However, no toilets overflowed as a result of this action. Is the clause weakened (harder to enforce) due to a nonsensible reason being provided?

Obviously the "reason" is hypothetical, but I believe the question stays the same if you substitute anything in its place that did not occur as a result of the resale.

Can a contract clause be weakened by providing a nonsensible reason for it?


I haven't been able to find any clearance on this. There are these "monsters" in Doctor Who called the Weeping Angels. I love the concept and would want to use it in a VR game.

But are these copyrighted, is the actually statue itself or even the concept of having them move only when you see them claimed? I understand things like the daleks or his robot little dog can be copyrighted but an angel statue?

For reference here is one of them:

[![](https://i.stack.imgur.com/1BqlJ.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/1BqlJ.jpg)

The "Weeping Angels" (statues) from Doctor Who


I have an employment contract I'm signing and there's a clause for *Assignment of Inventions* that states *pursuant to California Labor Code 2870*. Does this imply that if I don't live in California, this clause still applies?

Here's the full paragraph from the document:
[![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/oRZt2.png%5C)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/oRZt2.png%5C)

What does 'pursuant' entail?


I'm asking on behalf of my friend.

She has a full-time job at a university, and she worked for a month during summer at another company in a form of an at-will employment.

There was no formal contract, although she signed a certain document specifying the conditions of employment, which states in itself that it is not a contract.

After she stopped working at the new company and came back to the university, she realized that the signed document stated the condition that she should not receive salary from her original employer (the university) while working at the company. Since she was unaware of this condition, the university had already paid her salary, which potentially brings a dual employment issue.

Since she never singed a contract, it's technically not a breach of contract, but she did sign a document which stated the condition of at-will employment.

She seems to have inquired both the university and the company whether she can return her salary for the period or change her status from employment to 'visiting'(company) or 'break'(university), but seems to have been rejected.

Looking from the company's side (since the university is abroad), could this be a legal problem?

Dual Employment for At-Will Employment


My friend's beauty salon and beauty product shop was inspected some time ago and in the inspection report it is noted "Surveillance camera in the shop".

**Now I am wondering what the inspector might have actually meant with that note on her inspection result? Is there a law that requires notice to be posted?**

I can't find anything in <http://www.barbercosmo.ca.gov/laws_regs/act_regs.pdf> regarding cameras so it might be mentioned under different regulations.

Do I need to post a notice in beauty salon if surveillance camera is on premises (California)?


A Boston Herald database posted information about government employees' salaries [here](http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/databases). Can a person named in the database remove their entry?

How to remove an entry from Boston Herald database


In Ontario, Canada, are you entitled to a copy of your employment background check? Does it matter of you were offered the job or not? Is there a time limit?
Background check consists of reference check, criminal record and credit history.

Are you entitled to a copy of your employment background check?


I've been developing an app to augment a Tabletop RPG (mainly for dice pool and roll and damage calculation according to the game's rules). Is the app considered to be a derivative work of the game (the rulebook in particular)?

Could Software be a Derivative Work of RPG?


So I just finished watching The Fugitive. At the end of the film

>
>  Sam Gerard realizes that Kimble is innocent
>
>
>

and takes him into custody. However, at that moment, in the eyes of the law, Kimble is guilty of murdering his wife.

**How would Dr. Kimble go about getting himself declared innocent?** He's already had a trial, so he can't be tried again for the same offense. He obviously needs to appeal, but on what grounds? The trial was conducted properly (we presume), the evidence that would clear his name simply hadn't been uncovered.

How would Dr. Richard Kimble go about getting himself declared innocent at the end of The Fugitive?


I like the idea that businesses can specifically hire homeless people who need it, but what I'm not quite sure of is how businesses are able to do that on an arbitrary basis, because as far as I know they are supposed to make the position publicly available and conduct interviews for any applicants.

How do people hire only specific demographics but not face discrimination suits?


NASA's ISS live feed is center to an app that I am developing. I am wondering if it is copyright infringement to embed the live stream in my app. I think that it might be ok to use it because according to US copyright law, any US government work is not protected under copyright law. First of all, is this true? Second, because NASA is part of the US government, does that mean that NASA's ISS live stream is owned by the US government, and therefore not protected by copyright law?

Legally Using NASA Material


Lets suppose Party A creates material and decides to distribute it under some restrictive license entailing fees or similar.

Party B now obtains a copy from the copyright holder A and makes it available under some less restrictive license (which violates the license agreement with A).

Party C now obtains a copy from B.

What are the implications to B and C provided that:

* B obtained the copy legally/illegally
* B made the copy available under the less restrictive licence knowingly/unknowingly

Also, are there significant differences in EU/US?

I am asking simply as an interested amateur and have no serious background in law.

Can you be held accountable for copyright infringement due to a mistake by a third party?


I'm not a lawyer, so I'm only familiar with a small cross section of civil suits, but it seems to be a general trend that lawyers are very hesitant to publicize any part of a case. Even when the adversary has huge vulnerabilities because of the nature of the civil suit, the lawyer insists you keep quiet, in order to "not make them mad." Instead, you pay the lawyer to keep filing documents and orders, asking for "christmas lists," etc, while they other side does the same, and in the end, it's often a war of attrition, and the little guy loses. However, anecdotally, it seems that a number of cases resolve themselves within hours or days after an appropriate post on social media or call to a journalist. Corporations that rely heavily on their public image and understand their exposure will suddenly see that balance shifted against them and do everything they can to settle as humanely and quickly as possible.

My first conclusion is that using social media cuts into the usual business of lawyering, and so culturally, this would not be welcome around law firms. Is there a better explanation for this?

Is there a reason lawyers are hesitant to use the media against an adversary?


I was employed for a local glass company installing shower doors. When I was finished I would take a picture of it with my phone. My employer knew I was taking the pictures and did not object. I never signed anything saying I could not use the pictures.

Long story short I no longer work for that glass company and I've started my own glass business. I'm also now in competition with my ex-employer. I've posted those pictures to show my potential customers pics of my work. My ex-employer is threatening to sue me for using pictures that I took of shower doors that I installed while employed by them. My question is who owns the copyright of those pics me or my employer? Taking pictures was not expected or demanded of as part of my employment.

Who owns the copyright to pictures I took of my work (not as part of my employment)?


While I am located in Europe, I am generally interested in how this is handled in different countries. This is not a current question, but more a theoretical question, about how the law "generally" works. I am aware, that different countries may have very different laws, but I would still like to read answers, regardless of the country.

Let's imagine, that I get a contract, which claims something along the lines of "A admits, that all the code he has written for this company has always exclusively belonged to the company".

This is basically an admission to a fact.

Let's imagine, that I have a condition for this admission and add: "This contract is void, unless payment of X happens before xx.xx.xx."

Or let's even imagine, that I add "this contract is void, unless I get a bag of coke before xx.xx.xx.".

1. Does me signing the contract count as an admission of the fact, even if my condition was not met?
2. What if my condition was illegal or for some other reason invalid. Would this invalidate the whole contract or would it only invalidate the condition?
3. If the counter party uses the contract in court as proof of my admission, would they need to sign the document as well in order to make the contract valid, thereby accepting the condition?
4. Let's imagine an even more explicit situation: I am accused of murder. I make a deal, where I admit to the murder, but as compensation I demand a new car. The DA doesn't sign the deal or accept it, but later uses my contract signature as proof my guilt. After all it is a written admission.

Please feel free to edit my question title, there is probably a better way to formulate this question.

Can an unacceptable / illegal condition in a contract be ignored without voiding the whole contract?


Can a case against a US serviceman be brought before the Federal government against those responsible for killings in war zones, like drone operators?

Can US drone strike pilots be charged with murder?


Basically, can I find a popular meme online and use it in a video-game that I am making money off of without giving credit or royalties to the creator / owner as often these are hard to find and people using these memes is so common.

For example, there is a grumpy cat meme picture at <https://i.stack.imgur.com/fzJBP.jpg> that meme pages often use, can I use it?

Meme pages often use and steal memes from each other without giving credit and then make money through ads and stuff. This seems to be internet culture so is it ok for me to "steal" and use memes and make money off of them?

Are memes fair use


Since 1.14, Minecraft has replaced all there texture files with new textures. They still offer the old ones as "Programmer art." I am making my own block sandbox game, and I need textures. However, since the old Minecraft textures are no longer officially in use, how legal is it to use them in my own game, if I cite Mojang? Or should I hit the pixel editor and make my own?

Would it be any less legal to use:

[![New diamond block](https://i.stack.imgur.com/wf1bA.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/wf1bA.png)

as opposed to:

[![Old diamond block](https://i.stack.imgur.com/pWbdm.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/pWbdm.png)

since the second one is no longer officially in use? What if I edit them slightly? My question is not black and white. As explained, there are other factors.

How legal is it to use the OLD Minecraft textures in my own game?


I don't know if this is the right place for this question or if there is a better one, if so, please forgive me :)

I recently bought an Apple Watch and soon enough found out that WhatsApp does not support the Watch, which made me kind of sad. Since i'm a software developer, I had the idea of simply building and distributing such an app through the app store for the other watch owners that felt the same. After searching a little bit, I found some code that I could get working which interacts with [web.whatsapp.com](http://web.whatsapp.com), but also stumbled upon [this](https://github.com/venomous0x/WhatsAPI) repository where the developer seems to have gotten into trouble with the WhatsApp Inc.

Since I am not experienced in any kind of law (especially not american), I wanted to ask whether it is allowed to build such an app (in general). Where the boundaries of that are, especially for making profit of it, like: In-App-Advertisment, Donations or other ways of making profit. Another interesting thought on profit was to make a website that acts as landing page, that has advertisment on it, what about that ?

As far as I know I am also not allowed to use the Trademark "WhatsApp", any name that is close to "WhatsApp" or their logo or a logo that is looks too similar to the WhatsApp Logo ?

I know that are many questions and it's probably super specific, but that's why I would be even more stoked if somebody could answer them! Thanks in advance!

WhatsAPI Use for iOS App - legal/illegal ? & Specific boundaries?