If you watch the commercial you'll notice that the half eaten Reeses cup is imitating a (Mr.) PACMAN eating the Reeses pieces as Pac man pellets. In the nature of the game, Pac man is constantly making turns to avoid ghosts and consume all pellets. In the commercial the Pacman look alike never makes a turn.

<https://youtu.be/lYH19IVlumw>

So were they just editing the commercial and we never see a turn? Or were they trying to avoid copyright infringement by not ever showing the impression turning as signature to the game?

Reeses "Game Changer" commercial: Copyright infringement


Many academic journals provide access to old articles via a digital copy of it (normally a pdf). Sometimes this is through a Third Party (like JSTOR, a database). Many of these articles are already in the public domain, as the author died more than 70 years ago (for the case of works published in the US and UK). The format in which the work was published lost copyright too, as the publication is older than 25 years.

I know that I could go to my local university, get a copy of one of this old journals, scan it and distribute it, without infringing any copyright.

However, **if the publisher (directly, or indirectly through a third party) offers a digital copy of the original document, does this count as a new publication?** (which means it has 25 years of copyright)

Notice that "digital copy" normally means a high-quality scan, and not a retyping of the original document. Also notice that many times these articles do not come with a "new" publication date. The date of publication remains that of the original article. Thus, it is not clear to me when the new publication date would be, if this is the case.

Does the digitalisation (pdf) of a work already in the public domain has copyright?


As I understand, J.K.Rowling owns right for characters, story, special words (like "muggle"), and so on. Warner Bros. has exclusive right to make movies based on the original books/stories.

[Here](https://www.quora.com/How-would-I-go-about-acquiring-the-licenses-to-produce-Harry-Potter-related-merchandise) is a discussion on acquiring a license to produce Harry-Potter-related products. But what about movies, based on alternative stories in the same universe with the same characters?

I imagine that one can just ask J.K.Rawling for her permission to make a movie based on a fanfic. Since it is not an original book/story, which can be filmed only by Warner Bros, it means that one can make a deal to produce a movie based on fanfic, and pay, say, 80% of revenue to the author, if author is agreed :)

But I suppose this only possible in the ideal world.

How to shoot a movie based on Harry Potter fan fiction?


After reading <https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/136543/landlord-will-be-watching-my-data-traffic-as-mentioned-in-the-lease-agreement> I was wondering if this realy is common in germany?

From the answer:

>
> I would say that the restrictions are pretty standard for Germany.
>
>
>

Is it?

Is it normal for German Landlords to intercept internet traffic?


I live in US and I am a freelance developer.

If I take a popular yet generic Android app (such as a calendar app or a note taking app) made by a company in United states and make an app which looks almost similar to it, with the same User interface and features, but without using any of their content (such as images, music, etc), is it considered legal?

What if I make the app a non-profit freeware (no ads, no purchasable content) ?

Is copying the User Interface and features of an Android app considered illegal in US?


Source: [*Introduction to Law in Canada*](http://emond.ca/introduction-to-law-in-canada.html) (2014). p. 173 Bottom.

>
> Superior Courts
> ---------------
>
>
> Like the inferior courts, the superior courts fall into two categories: provincial/territorial
>  and federal.
>
>
> ### Provincial and Territorial
>
>
> The **provincial superior courts**, as noted above, are constituted under [section 92(14)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_92(14)_of_the_Constitution_Act,_1867#CITEREFWhyte1985) of
>  *the Constitution Act, 1867,* with their judges appointed ***federally*** under section 96 of the
>  Act. Because of this they are sometimes referred to as **section 96 courts**. Why are the
>  judges in these provincial courts appointed federally? Though these are provincial courts,
>  they can, under section 92(14), hear not only matters falling under provincial legislative
>  power (for example, motor vehicle accident cases) but also `some matters falling under federal legislative power (for example, bankruptcy cases)`. (See Chapter 5 for a discussion of
>  how legislative power is divided under Canada's Constitution.) The fact that the judges in
>  these provincial superior courts are federally appointed ensures balance. Balance is needed because of the power these provincial courts have to adjudicate certain federal matters.
>
>
>

1. Why did the framers allow provincial superior courts to adjudicate `some matters falling under federal legislative power (for example, bankruptcy cases)`? Why didn't the framers confine to the Federal Court?
2. Why blur the distinction between provincial v. federal jurisdiction?

Why did s 92(14) (of the Constitution Act, 1867) permit Provincial Superior Courts to adjudicate some matters falling under federal legislative power?


I'm from non-EU country and I'm getting a new permanent job in the Germany right now. The contract has the next paragraph:

>
> **§ 18 Post-Contractual Non-Competition/Contractual Penalty**
>
>
> (1) For a period of 3 months after termination, the Employee is
>  prohibited from acting in an independent, dependent or other manner
>  for a company that is in direct or indirect competition with the
>  Employer or is affiliated with a competing company. in the same way,
>  the Employer is prohibited from establishing, acquiring or directly or
>  indirectly participating in such a company for the duration of this
>  prohibition.
>
>
> (2) For the duration of the prohibition, the Employer shall pay
>  compensation equal to half of the last contractual remuneration
>  received by the Employee for each year of the prohibition.
>
>
> (3) Any other income shall be set-off against the compensation in
>  accordance with §74c HGB (German Commercial Code). The Employee has to
>  inform without being asked whether and to what extent he receives
>  other income. The information must be substantiated.
>
>
> (4) The post-contractual non-competition clause does not enter into
>  force if the employment relationship has lasted less than one year or
>  if the Employee have reached the regular age limit of the statutory
>  pension insurance when leaving the company.
>
>
> (5) Apart from that, the provisions of §§ 74 ff. HGB (German
>  Commercial Code) shall apply.
>
>
> (6) In the event of a breach of the post-contractual non-competition
>  obligation, the Employee shall pay a contractual penalty amounting to
>  one gross monthly salary. If the infringement consists of a capital
>  participation in a competing company of the entering into a continuing
>  obligation, the contractual penalty shall be triggered anew for each
>  month in which the capital participation of the continuing obligation
>  exists (continuing infringement). Multiple acts of infringement shall
>  trigger separate contractual penalties, if necessary several times
>  within one month. If, on the other hand, individual acts of
>  infringement take place within a continuing penalty for the continuing
>  infringement, they are included in the contractual penalty for the
>  continuing infringement. If several contractual penalties are
>  triggered, the total amount of the contractual penalties to be paid is
>  limited to six times the gross monthly salary.
>
>
> (7) Further claims for damages and other legal claims of the Employer
>  remain unaffected.
>
>
>

Due to very vague phrase `direct or indirect competition`, I can assume the worst: that a lot of other companies in the industry could be considered as a competitors. So in the case of changing the position, there is a high chance I will need to stay 3 months unemployed. 3 months gross salary fee is not an option

I will get a Blue Card with this contract. EU Blue Card allows to search for a new job for 3 months (with notifying the authorities about quitting the current one). My question is, does the EU Blue Card allow to deliberately have a 3 month period between working contracts?

I'm considering the next scenario:

1. Work at company A and have a Blue Card.
2. Search for a job in another company B while working in company A.
3. Sign the contract with company B, in which my employment begins at chosen quitting date + 3 month.
4. Quit company A at chosen quitting date with signed new contract in my hands.
5. Go to the migration office and notify them, that I quit Company A and I already have new contract with Company B.

Does the Blue Card regulation allows to do that?

Does the EU Blue Card allow to deliberately have 3 months of unemployment between jobs?


Let's suppose I am running a car shop where I import cars from a manufacturer. On my website, I will put some images of the cars I sell. If these images belong to the manufacturer, **but I have those types of cars**, do I have to state that they belong to the manufacturer? If I don't do so, am I violating the copyrights?

Do I have to add owner's of images if they also belong to me?


Can you get charged for felony for opening a parcel accidentally? Some incompetent delivery guy put a $1000 parcel in the lobby of my apartment, and not realizing that only 1 of the 2 boxes was mine, I took them both to my apartment as quickly as possible and opened them, then I realized only one of the parcels was mine. I put it back to the lobby. Question is if I can get charged for felony.

Can we get charged for felony for opening a parcel accidentally?


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

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

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


Let's say we have two companies "WeServe" and "OurContent" and the following relationships, who is the Controller and who is the Processor or are they Joint Controllers ([Art. 26 GDPR](https://gdpr-info.eu/art-26-gdpr/)) or is there another kind of relationship or none at all?

1. The most common case, `ourcontent.com` is hosted by WeServe. OurContent is the Controller and WeServe the Processor, OurContent has a Privacy Policy and needs a DPA from WeServe
2. `ourcontent.weserve.com` or `weserve.com/ourcontent` with 100% of the content provided by OurContent. Still the same as #1, apart from WeServe being visible in the url, I suppose.
3. OurContent uploads content to WeServe and is part of some page of WeServe and it may not be obvious content is provided by OurContent and OurContent does not access or process any user data.
4. OurContent uploads content to WeServe and is part of some page of WeServe but processes some user data on its own.
5. WeServe crawls the internet and copies and hosts content of OurContent that processes some user data. OurContent doesn't necessarily mind this and may even see this as beneficiary. (similar to the wayback machine of archive.org)
6. OurContent provides a url to WeServe which will be embedded in an iframe as part of a page of WeServe.
7. WeServe embeds pages of OurContent in an iframe in its own pages. (e.g. Google Translate).

If WeServe and OurContent are Joint Controllers, is it sufficient if both of them have their own privacy policy with a contact point for data subjects or do they need an extra arrangement that combines both privacy policies in an appropriate way?

Who is the Controller and who is the Processor if Company X hosts/embeds content of Company Y


Is a corporate registration service located in Delaware compelled to reveal the identity of one of its customers upon my request?

I am trying to track down *anybody* from a particular company that is registered in Delaware under the name of a corporate registration service. I have had no luck by any other means, so I've considered calling the service and just asking. Can I expect success?

Delaware registration service


When an author invents a new term such as Mithril or Orc in Lord of The Rings or Redstone in Minecraft, are there restrictions on the use of those terms?

If I write my own book or create a video game would it be an infringement to use Mithril or Redstone as a fictitious item?

If so what are those limitations? If my redstone was actually a blue liquid that explodes instead of a red powder that conducts electricity would that be different?

Are invented names protected by copyright?


I'm writing a screenplay where a character is obsessed with a movie, and I want to show him watching this movie three times, each scene includes a segment of about a 60 seconds.
What would be the general guidelines in terms of copyright?
Can someone show a certain portion of an existing movie in another movie without having to negotiate copyright?
The jurisdiction would be USA.

guidelines for using fragments of film within other film


I'm triyng to understand whether, under European GDPR, an image of a person's face is a "Special Category Data".

From this image I could determine person's:

* ethnic origin (for example: from the colour of the skin)
* religion (for example: the person wears Sikh turban)

Is handling a person's image considered as handling "Special Category Data"?

Under GDPR, is an image of a person's face a "Special Category Data"?


I'm trying to start an app in the skin care category. I'm trying to come up with names, and one of the ones I'm considering is `Bree`.

However, when I search USPTO for "Bree", I see a ton of results: <http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=toc&state=4809%3Aux0o5h.1.1&p_search=searchss&p_L=50&BackReference=&p_plural=yes&p_s_PARA1=&p_tagrepl%7E%3A=PARA1%24LD&expr=PARA1+AND+PARA2&p_s_PARA2=bree&p_tagrepl%7E%3A=PARA2%24COMB&p_op_ALL=AND&a_default=search&a_search=Submit+Query&a_search=Submit+Query>

I even see repeats of "Bree". Does that mean I can start the app without having to worry about trademark issues?

The most active one is by bree.com, but that's selling bags: <http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4808:mdl1q0.2.26>

Trademarks: Can I start an app if an unrelated trademark already exists?


I am reading the definition of "personal data" here <https://gdpr-info.eu/issues/personal-data/>. My understanding is that GDPR comes into play when information is about personal data.

Let's say there is an app similar to clicky.com. It saves three things about visitors: `IP`, `browser` and `OS information`. The app does not have emails, real names, addresses or other info about the visitors.

If the app is anonymizing IP addresses before saving data, it means that browser and OS info can no longer be assigned to a real person.

In other words, there is no way we can say that this information belong to that particular real "person".

Does it mean that the app is GDPR compliant for this particular purpose?

Is anonymous analytics data subject to GDPR?


I'll make this as short as possible.

Feds want proof of identity. I have a copy of my birth certificate. They want photocopies mailed to them. Birth certificate states that any reproduction of it is a felony. Is it a felony to send it to them then?

Is it a crime to send a photocopy of a copy of my birth certificate?


Can someone who discovered a [zero-day exploit](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-day_%28computing%29) in a program sell the information, and does the applicable jurisdiction depend on his location, the buyer location, the location of the developed of the product that the exploit targets, or something else?

Is it legal to sell zero-day exploits?


Say you remember a show from your childhood and would love to watch it again.
It could be for sentimental purposes, because you want to write about it, or make a research paper, or want to adapt it for the big screen, etc.

Now, say that the right holders are either retired and very old, and haven't decided to make a VOD or a DVD or a BLU-RAY offer for this TV show that would allow you to legally purchase or watch it again.

Is there a way to request that the right holders make the works for which they own a copyright public?
I'm not asking how to get in touch with someone, but if there's a law that can make a copyright holder forced to release the works they own copyright to.

How do you request for a TV show to be made available again?


If I sign a material transfer agreement (MTA) to use a material only for "academic research", do legitimate academic research, but then spin off a startup based on that academic research, does this violate the terms of the MTA?

Specifically, I'm currently deciding whether to sign an MTA that states:

>
> You may use this Material (including the viral based vectors
>  referenced in #1 above) only for the specific research project
>  described in the MTA, which is: "academic research."
>
>
>

I intend to only use the material (viral vectors) for scientific research, but I don't want to be constrained in the future if I want to start a startup based on my research - this is the end goal of my PhD. My instincts tell me that these agreements fully handle and allow that case, but I just want to be sure.

Agreeing to only do "academic research", doing academic research, but then spinning off a startup based on academic research


When looking at Wikimedia, they say they would forbid certain licenses.
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Licensing#Well-known_licenses>

**They list the *CC-BY-NC-ND* and the *CC-BY-ND-NC* licenses seperately.**
Why ? Is there a difference ?

CC-BY-NC-ND same as CC-BY-ND-NC?


In my ex-company, there were 2 layoffs with in a span of 1 month. In the 1st layoff, the severance pay package was better than 2nd layoff. Will the employees affected in the 2nd round have any recourse to go back and negotiate for a better severance pay?

Difference in severance package between 2 employees within a one month span


How do you cite a country's constitution in the the Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) style?

Citing a country's constitution in OSCOLA style


Can manufacturers block other manufacturers from making parts that connect to their machines?

For example, ultrasound machines have two parts, a console and a transducer. The transducers usually connect to the console via a proprietary connector interface.

Can a third party manufacturer sell a competing transducer that connects to the interface?

Or, to take a more familiar example. IBM computer keyboards and mice used to connect to the PC via a connector called a PS2 connector. Imagine IBM patented the PS2 connector. Would that have prevented anyone else from making a peripheral that connects to a PS2 port on an IBM PC?

Can manufacturers make it an IP tort to connect to their machines?


If you write some code, generally you or your employer 'own' that code (I won't go into who 'owns' open source code because it's not what I'm talking about). It's yours/theirs to do with what you please. But at what point can you reasonably say "this code is mine"? It seems reasonable to say a 100,000+ LOC codebase written by in-house developers belongs to the company they work for. You could stretch further and say "this function is mine". It might be a very specialised function using an algorithm you created to perform some task, so really yes, that is yours because no one else created it, you did.

But what about boilerplate code and small snippets? What about "Hello World"? Millions of programmers have written a Hello World [since the early 70's](https://stackoverflow.com/a/12785204/4742941), but you couldn't say because you wrote one that you 'own' Hello World in your chosen language.

What factors distinguish code classed as something that can be owned from code "anyone could have written"? There's only a certain number of reasonable ways of achieving some programming task, and you surely can't claim ownership of any code that does the same thing just because you wrote one first (or can you?).

For example...

A friend of mine got a job for a trendy new startup (the kind where beanbags and having a wacky office environment took precedent over actually doing anything) that swiftly sank beneath the waves. He was given a project that could have been handled by one programmer and got through what he estimates as 10-15% of the actual programming before being let go. He also did all of the design phase and supposedly has documentation to prove it. I want (with him) to use what he already wrote to finish the project and launch it as our own, but he's worried his former employer may come after him and accuse him of stealing the company's (which is now defunct) property.

Ideally I'm looking for legal precedent if anyone knows of any, but I think it might be hard to come by if any exists at all.

How much of a codebase can be considered intellectual property?


I am currently writing a short 10 minute play adaptation of Layla and Majnun, a poem written in the 12th century by Nizami. To do this I am making use of an English translation of the Persian poem by Rudolph Gelpke with Zia Inayat Khan and Omad Safi.

Throughout the play, I wish to use direct quotations or slightly altered quotations from the translated text. Is this allowed?

Writing play based on translated poem


There are many online solution which enable me to enter a youtube video url and it download me the video.
If I just save the video on my phone and **don't upload it on other websites** is that legal?

Is it legal to dowload youtube video without sharing it?


Do user-generated content and votes count as personal data under the [General Data Protection Regulation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Data_Protection_Regulation) (GDPR)?

For example, on Stack Exchange, do the questions, answers, comments, messages and votes count as personal data?

Do user-generated content and votes count as personal data under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)?


Moved from [WorkplaceSE](https://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/55998/can-an-employer-withhold-pay-for-a-fire-drill?noredirect=1#comment144348_55998).

Recently there was a routine fire drill in an office building. As with most fire drills, it took about half an hour for the fire drill to complete and for everyone to get back to work.

When the employees got back to their desks, they were told to charge 30 minutes of time to an overhead charge number, but then management sent out a correction saying that they were not allowed to charge the time lost during the fire drill. Instead, they had to "flex" their time (that is, make up the 30 minutes at some other time during the pay period, or else take vacation time).

Is this illegal, or just bad practice? Do these employees have any recourse? Any examples of similar times when an employer mandates a period of time that an employee NOT be allowed to work during normal working hours are welcome also.

Jurisdiction is in Virginia, USA, but input from other areas welcome for my curiosity.

This didn't affect me personally so I'm not searching for legal advice, but it happened to some close acquaintances of mine. For them, the cost of just working an extra 30 minutes is *far* less than getting lawyers involved, but it did pique my interest so I thought it was worth a question.

Can an employer withhold pay for a fire drill?


I am interested in computers and want to pursue this interest further by getting my education in programming and security. I've only just started so I'm scared that I might break some law that was not obvious to me and get into some trouble. It is not my intention to break the law like so many juvenile computer hackers intend on doing for kicks, or what have you.

The question is, where can I find the laws on computer/internet use for the U.S.A.?

Where can I find a comprehensive document of computer laws?


I was reading <https://arxiv.org/abs/1412.6572> and noticed that the key image involving pandas is reproduced all over the Internet. I would like also to use the image in a commercial talk I am to give. I searched online and the suggestion is to read the individual license. In this case <https://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/license.html> says only:

* I grant arXiv.org a perpetual, non-exclusive license to distribute this article.
* I certify that I have the right to grant this license.
* I understand that submissions cannot be completely removed once accepted.
* I understand that arXiv.org reserves the right to reclassify or reject any submission.

What is the situation with using an image from a paper licensed in this way in a commercial setting (with suitable attribution)?

(I have emailed one of the authors to ask them directly but they have left their previous employer.)

When can you use images from arxiv papers for commercial purposes?


this image is being tagged "CC BY-SA 3.0" on wiki.

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iris_setosa#/media/File:Kosaciec_szczecinkowaty_Iris_setosa.jpg>

I want to cite this image as a figure in my book that will be published.

How to do this legally?

[CC BY-SA 3.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) requires this license term

>
> ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.
>
>
>

some paragraphs in my book is build upon that image, do I need to distribute those paragraphs under CC BY-SA 3.0?

How to cite an image from wiki legally?


Is it against HIPAA regulations to not include records received from other clinics when a patient asks for a copy of their medical records to be sent to a new clinic? In other words, is it ok to only include the medical records for what occurred at our clinic?

HIPAA and Shared Medical Records


I've seen videos of "hackers" on YouTube infecting computers of tech support scammers. If the tech support scammer were to take a program from the person's computer, without their consent or knowledge, but the program turns out to be a virus and once they run it, it destroys the computer of the tech support scammer, is that considered distributing a virus?

And if so, is it a crime if that person's virus destroys a whole system of computers that the tech support scammer works on, even though the virus was taken off the person's computer without their knowledge/consent?

Is it illegal to create a computer virus?


I have published one application to the play store around 2 years ago. it has a good user base. But my problem is that I found my app on apkpure <https://apkpure.com/> also where I have never uploaded. and I do not want my app to publish anywhere except play store. How can I remove my application from that other site? please advise.

How to prevent app to publish except play store?


I want to write a book called Confessions of a Lyft Driver.
This book will be about that drivers sex life as he picks up women during his normal course of his Lyft driving. Would this be a violation of lyft which also has the trademark to that name?
Or would be perfectly acceptable.

Or would I be better using a different title?

I am in the USA

I want to publish a book using a brand name in the title


Can my S-corp legally own a foreign bank account to collect deposits from foreign clients?

Additionally, can I keep that money in the foreign bank account and pay taxes against these funds from my personal savings account in US (because S-corp is a pass-through entity anyway)?

Note that the intention is to report the foreign bank account with the IRS, it's just easier to have a foreign bank account to collect international payments and protect against currency fluctuations.

Can my S-corp legally own a foreign bank account?


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

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


This question is for England-and-Wales only and relates to criminal Law.

If the police were to search a suspect's phone, although I doubt it makes any difference as to whatever the device is, what crime would have been committed if the suspect had downloaded two separate rape videos - I am interested to know under what section of what Act? Previous case Law would also be interesting, but I think that I cannot search for this until I know the specific Act.

If they were unaware that the videos were real, instead arguing they assumed it was porn given the realistic nature of certain adult entertainment, what would they be convicted for?

If the person shared one of these videos with a friend would they have committed a further offence - if so what?

To clarify - the two videos showed an adult male getting a long stick pushed up his anal cavity by other adult males. The videos had not been deleted and were accessible on his Android phone.

I tried my best to search for laws online, but the links covered porn videos that were overly realistic, not a real life rape with an actual victim.

Excuse the gross nature of this question and apologise if I missed the NSFW option.

Rape video on phone


Take modern art, for example. People draw a circle and call it art, and apparently it automatically has a copyright after it's made. Then I come along and draw another circle and call that art, and it looks very similar. Would that be against the law because someone has already made it before, or can I use it if I have proof that I didn't copy their art? And keep in mind I don't know much about this because the only law experience I have is from Wikipedia.

Is it copyright infringement if I make a work of art that has already been made before?


From [Apple's Privacy Policy](http://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/en-ww/):

>
> Collection and Use of Non-Personal Information
> ----------------------------------------------
>
>
> We also collect data in
>  a form that ***does not, on its own, permit direct association with any
>  specific individual***. We may collect, use, transfer, and disclose
>  non-personal information for any purpose. The following are some
>  examples of non-personal information that we collect and how we may
>  use it:
>
>
> We may collect information such as occupation, language, zip code,
>  area code, ***unique device identifier***
>
>
>

Is this self contradicting? Isn't a *unique identifier* a direct association with the specific individual?

Is a Unique Device Identifier personal information?


I am not sure I really understand the concept of "joint controllers" in GDPR, and I'd like to have some concrete examples, especially examples of joint controllers relating to the internet (websites, services, hosting, providers, etc.), if it makes sense for any to exist.

What is exactly a joint controller in GDPR? Examples


I apologise in advance if this is a silly question.

Let's say you have a person A who bought a song from an online service, and is distributing it without permission. Person F obtains a copy of this song and distributes it himself.

I can understand why person A might be at risk of a lawsuit, as he's broken the contract agreed upon when purchasing the song. But Person F hasn't agreed to anything, hasn't signed any contracts and hasn't gone through a shrinkwrap agreement.

So why would Person F be at a risk of being sued?

Why is it possible to sue non-original distributers of Pirated items?


Is it illegal to redistribute or extend the signals through the internet on otherwise open and free satellite channels?

If not in the US, how is it related to the international scene? The question of it's legality is not clear cut, as the signals are already open.

The internet company would merely be **replacing the need** for a satellite dish which is otherwise required to receive the analog signal and instead received by an ethernet cable directly from the internet company to your computer or device, and not through the satellite dish to your **reciever**.

Can someone try to shed some light on this?

Legality of redistributing free to air satellite channels over the internet


I'm thinking software. If I bought an application, in full, in a retail store. Then I go to install the product, and they tell me I need to accept their license. Can they do that? Even though I already paid for the product.

Can they license me if I already bought the product?


Suppose I want to use some character from Disney for a website offering something not related with Disney business at all (for example a service for software developers).

Is this OK or Disney could sue me for that? (I know this is unlikely)

What could be the penalty for something like that?

Is there any case where this could be legal? (maybe some derivative work, not original image from Disney, or maybe depending on my country?)

EDIT: to be clear, I have read similar questions about trademarks here, but I'm asking something different (I think). The core of the question is that the characters are not important for the business, is not like selling t-shirts or toys, is just like a decoration, maybe this is not important at all for a trademark, or maybe yes, or maybe in some conditions, that's the question.

Is Legal to use characters from movies/games without license in a non related business?


What does the (...) mean in this section:

>
> (1) Mit Freiheitsstrafe bis zu fünf Jahren oder mit Geldstrafe wird bestraft, wer
>
>
> (...)
>
>
> (3) Ebenso wird bestraft, wer etc.
>
>
>

If I saw this in a document I would assume that it means "ignore this irrelevant text to allow you to concentrate on the important text." Especially seeing as (2) appears to be missing in this case.

However, if that is the meaning of it, how can you possibly sign a document with parts of it missing?

What does (...) mean in a legal document


Assuming the following:

1. Alice has drawn a painting.
2. Bob has somehow (legally) gotten a photo/copy of this painting, but does not have any additional rights.
3. Bob then goes on to publish this image on his Creative Commons Zero blog. (Not thinking about the fact the doesn't have the permission to publish the photo under CC0)
4. Charles finds the photo which has been clearly published under CC0 and uses it somewhere else

Obviously what Bob did was wrong. There is no question about that, but under US law, what are the consequences for Charles? And who is liable for the damages Charles' causes? Bob or Charles?

A friend of mine was 'Charles' in this type of situation and he resolved it with 'Alice' super nicely (Alice wrote him asking/questioning whether he had permission to use it, Charles explained where he got it and agreed straight away to pay Alice for her work, as Alice was nice enough to just ask for a very reasonable sum), but we ended up wondering whether if 'Charles' would've wanted to be an asshole, whether he could've just put the blame completely on Bob and just stopped any further infringements.

The more I think about it, the more I am confused by this, as I assume Charles would probably be liable no matter what, but if that were the case then a nefarious Alice could intentionally instruct an anonymous nefarious Bob to publish all her works everywhere.

Who is responsible when an image was incorrectly published under a permissive license?


It seems common law trademark rights extend only to the geographical location in which the mark is used. However, when it comes to apps, there is no defined geographical region; you push it to the app store once and then anyone in America can download it. So does that mean that because the app is made available to anyone in America that, for apps, simply publishing the app and getting the common law rights will protect you just as much as registering a trademark for your app's name would.

Does an app's name become protected nationally by common law trademark rights the day that it's published?


If a contractor asserts a series of false statement in a record, whether it is mistaken or intentional, is it incorrect to label the group of false statements "Error(s) of fact"?

Upon looking up an example:

"An [error of fact](https://www.ridoutbarron.com/blog/2016/07/an-error-of-law-versus-an-error-of-fact.shtml) means that you think the **judge** had the wrong facts or interpreted them incorrectly."

I realize that this phrase is normally applied to judge and seeking a phrase to apply to coin the contractor's assertions in a document that would be read by judge.

Usage: "Error of Fact"


Okay so can i show direct downloaded Pokemon Artwork from <http://www.pokemon.co.jp/ex/usum/>
like the downloaded picture in a youtube video with that as the only thing and make a download for all the artwork in the decs ?

Pokemon Artwork download copyright question


Somebody sent a Facebook post I made to my employer without my permission. Grant it I didn’t set any privacy settings. Can I sue for anything?

Facebook shared w/o permission?


Not illegible- as far as I know, no one's signed the Voynich manuscript and been held to it- but simply incoherent, needlessly verbose, or prohibitively lengthy?

I recognize that legal language uses a lot of terms of art, and that it's necessarily going to be a bit abstruse, but it seems like most terms of use are entries in some sick competition to see who can ensure as few people as possible actually read the thing.

Is it common for contracts to be voided on the grounds that they are unreadable?


How is it that people can post musical soundtracks and pop songs on YouTube? Doesn't that violate copyright laws?

Music on YouTube? Isn't it a copyright violation?


Are there any legal ramifications to an employee reading the direct messages of another employee, whether the reading employee is logging in with another users credentials or not (reading over the shoulder, etc), especially then acting on the information included in those messages?

Legality of reading others direct messages


I run a publicly editable website where users can post up stories a various sort. Some are pretty normal, some are sexual, some are a bit perverted, and recently some have drifted into the pedophilia realm.

No images or videos can be uploaded to this site.

Are there any laws that I might be breaking by hosting this content?

Are there any laws in the US against pedophilia stories hosted on a website?


I have an online service that adds on additional features to an existing online service. It's currently only accessible via desktop. It has free features and premium features that are offered via a subscription service.

I've recently created an app version and applied to the Apple App Store. After a few back and forths with Apple, they have responsed with

>
> Guideline 3.2.2(vii) - Business - Other Business Model Issues -
>  Unacceptable
>
>
> Your app contains content or features that may violate the rights of
>  one or more third parties.
>
>
> \*\*\*\*Removed one line for confidentiality here. It was pointing out which features were specifically out of line(basically the core features)\*\*\*\*
>
>
> Your app and its contents should not infringe upon the rights of
>  another party. In the event your app infringes another party’s rights,
>  you are responsible for any liability to Apple because of a claim.
>
>
> Next Steps
>
>
> To resolve this issue, please remove any features or functionality that
>  \*\*\*\*Removed for confidentiality. Above features\*\*\*\*.
>
>
>

I don't think that it infringes upon the rights of the other company since it only adds features and it does not affect the revenue stream of the other company. In fact it may increase their revenue.

Google has approved the app already.

Could anybody shed some light on what my options might be? Or if this is the end of the road? Also if these details are too little and you need more?

iOS App rejected from App store 3.2.2 (Business model unacceptable)


Suppose I had the expertise and industry experience to capably teach at a development bootcamp.

Am I required to obtain any teaching certificate of sorts before lecturing? Are the requirements different for teaching assistants?

I'm perusing the requirements for instructor roles in my area, and there seems to be no mention of a relevant requirement. Since these are unaccredited programs, are such requirements waived?

What are the requirements to teach at a software engineering "bootcamp?"


I'm making a video project based off the beta of a certain video game for You Tube. I got some history from a website and I want to get paid for my video with ads. Am I allowed to do this if I got my info from another site, even if I credit them?

Is it illegal to state facts I got from othere sources and get paid for it?


The ["Petite" policy](https://www.justice.gov/usam/usam-9-2000-authority-us-attorney-criminal-division-mattersprior-approvals#9-2.031) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Jeopardy_Clause#%22Petite%22_policy)) is a set of criteria (based on policy, not the Constitution or statute) the federal Department of Justice (USDOJ) has for prosecuting when there has already been a state trial on the same issue. The general rule is that the federal government will *not* prosecute in such a case, but there are exceptions.

Jose Ines Garcia Zarate was convicted by a California state court of being a felon in possession of a firearm, which carries a sentence of 16 months to 3 years. [1](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/30/us/kate-steinle-murder-trial.html)

The USDOJ has now charged ([announcement](https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/jose-inez-garcia-zarate-face-federal-firearm-charges-northern-district-california), [indictment](https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1015981/download?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery)) Garcia Zarate with two crimes:

1. Felon in Possession of Firearm and Ammunition
2. Alien in Possession of Firearm and Ammunition

*1* seems to be essentially the same charge, and *2* seems pretty close (there's only one criminal transaction).

Is this compliant with the "Petite" policy?

I'll put an answer, but I'm looking forward to seeing other answers and comments.

Is re-charging Jose Ines Garcia Zarate compliant with the "Petite" policy?


Is it legal to record an episode of a TV series or a movie? Isn't it considered as making an illegal copy of the movie?


Here in Brazil we have this case: justice has asked Facebook for some data from a drug dealer whatsapp account. Facebook denied. Now, justice has blocked Whatsapp service in all the country as a penalty..

My question is: does the government has the right to obligate a international company break their security policy?

Whatsapp blocked by justice


How and where do I simply file for a state trademark?

Should I do a service mark instead?

I am trying to file a business name and a slogan, so I'm expecting to do two separate filings. I am in California.

How do I file for a Trademark or Service Mark in a US state?


If I am out somewhere, and say my door is open and there are drugs in plain view, if a cop was in the house could I be arrested even though I'm not there?

Can I be arrested if I'm not home and there are drugs in my room?


I was accused of stealing from a store from a worker so she tried to stop me from driving away. I was later arrested by the police because she claimed that I was attempting to harm her with my car. The keys to my car were taken and I wasn’t allowed to take any of my belongings out of the car such as my phone or wallet. When they arrived they hand cuffed me and didn’t listen to anything I said, I was taken to the police station where I was finally listened to. They finally heard my side of the story and found out I was right. I asked for the keys of my car back and they told me that they gave them to the passenger in my car at the time of the incident. The person that was in my car has now stolen my car and everything in it. All they said was that they’re sorry and that I should report it.

If a police officer has taken the keys of my car away from me, who are the police allowed to return them to?


Manafort has been convicted of Federal Tax Fraud. Does that conviction form the basis for a prima facie case of state level tax fraud?

While the President has authority to pardon the federal crime, he is apparently not able to pardon for state crimes. Even in light of a possible federal pardon, is Manafort still in significant legal jeopardy with state tax fraud charges.

Is this a Prima Facie case for State Tax Fraud?


I am an app developer form Germany and quite unsure about American law. I am working on a social networking site where people can only participate if their friends invite them anonymously and via SMS.

It works like the following:

1. The existing user selects the person that should be invited from his contacts
2. The selection triggers our service to send an anonymous SMS going: "Someone has invited you to join X: click on the link below to join." or something.

Now, apart from the fact that this may look like a phishing SMS, am I legally allowed, not to retrieve the phone number, that is all sorted out in the EULA and terms and conditions, but to anonymously send an SMS to this phone number?

Is there a legal basis for sending anonymous SMS to a number?


As part of general knowledge, there is a rule that a law still applies to you even if you do not know it.

I assumed that to be fundamental, not just a rule of thumb. At least it seems natural.

To my surprise, I came across an example where that is not the case:

After the Access Hollywood tape was published, Donald Trump and Michael Cohen discussed with David Pecker (National Inquirer) about how to pay off Stephanie Clifford ("Stormy Daniels") to keep quiet about the sexual interactions between her and Trump.

Michael Cohen confessed the interaction, and it is known in some detail.

But it seems to be a question whether Trump did something illegal here exactly because it is not clear whether he knew it was illegal.\*

How does that fundamentally make sense?

In which laws does that apply?

---

\*
[President Donald Trump Campaign Hush Money Scam Appears To Have Worked | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC](https://youtu.be/nmzU_-87rMM?t=7m50s)

In which cases it something legal just because you did not know it is illegal?


I was wondering about this because I don't want to get in trouble when it comes to taxes. I live in the United States, in New York.

Will I have to pay taxes on any gambling winnings earned in other countries (UK), if I bring the money back to the US?


Do public prosecutors work for a city, county, or state, or does it vary by location? Are they called district attorneys, attorneys general, prosecutors, or something else. Specifically, if I have been a victim of monetary criminal matter, how do I find the prosecutor that has jurisdiction and how can I contact that person? Is there only one prosecutor that has jurisdiction or do I have a choice among several, such as depending on where I live, where the criminal lives, or where the crime took place? (I am asking specifically about a matter that involves a wrong-doer in Atlanta and a victim in New York.) To make initial contact, do I send an email, do I make an appointment, do I just show up at the prosecutor's office?

On reflection, perhaps the crime took place over the internet. I paid by paypal and the other party did not use the money as agreed upon, pocketing it instead. So, where did the crime take place?

How to contact a government prosecutor?


Could I play copyrighted audio clips (audio books, lectures) in my business where others can hear it if I am not selling it? How about creating derivative works (using those clips in custom-made audio) if I am not selling them?

Can I play audio clips in my business?


Where would *Boulton v Jones* (1857) 2 H & N 564 fit in the red branch or columns, under the Minority's decision?
The author mentioned it on the left in green, but not on the right in red.

Unquestionably not Column 3, because Boulton wasn't dealing face to face.

[Prof Richard Taylor](https://www.uclan.ac.uk/staff_profiles/richard-taylor.php), [Damian Taylor](https://www.slaughterandmay.com/who-we-are/partners/damian-taylor/). [*Contract Law Directions* (6 edn, 2019)](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Contract-Law-Directions-Richard-Taylor/dp/0198836597/ref=dp_ob_title_bk). p. 217

>
> ### Written contracts
>
>
> The courts take a different approach in relation to written contracts. In *Boulton v Jones* (1857)
>  Jones posted a written order for a hosepipe to Brocklehurst (with whom he had a set-off arrangement
>  and who would not therefore require payment), but, unknown to Jones, Brocklehurst
>  had just transferred his business to Boulton, his former foreman.
>  The court held that there was no contract between Boulton and Jones because Boulton must
>  have known that Jones only wanted to contract with Brocklehurst, the person to whom he sent
>  his order and with whom he had the **set-off** [I don't replicate book's definition.] arrangement.
>
>
>

p. 218

>
> This case can be seen as an application of the objective approach to offer and acceptance: a
>  reasonable person in Boulton’s shoes would have realized that the offer was addressed to
>  Brocklehurst and not to himself, and it is clear that one cannot accept an offer if it is addressed
>  to another. This is the basis on which the case was dismissed. Pollock CB said: ‘if you propose
>  to make a contract with A, then B cannot substitute himself for A without your consent.’
>
>
>

p 222.

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

Where would Boulton v Jones (1857) fall, under the minority decision in Shogun Finance Ltd v Hudson (2002)?


Consider the following statement:

>
> Registration gives you [Person A] the right to use your trademark nationwide.
>  That right is limited if someone else [Person B] was using the same mark in a
>  particular geographic area before you applied for registration. In
>  that case, the person who was using the mark first has priority over
>  your registration, but only in the geographic area in which he sells
>  his goods or services.
>
>
>

Does this mean I can establish a de facto trademark by using the "TM" symbol without bothering to register it?

In other other words, let's say I use the trade name Dizzy Duck**TM** for a few years before someone else comes along and officially registers the same trade name, "Dizzy Duck."

Am I correct in understanding that they won't be allowed to register "Dizzy Duck," because I'm already using it (a la TM)?

Part of the confusion (for me) lies in the question of how anyone is supposed to know that I'm using a trade name if it isn't officially registered. The name Dizzy Duck shouldn't be in the USPTO's register of trade names, if it isn't officially registered.

Also, if Dizzy Duck is stamped on merchandise sold via Amazon and through mail order via my website, then it wouldn't just be a "local" name. Shouldn't it be protected nationwide (and worldwide)?

Common Law Trademark vs Registered Trademark


**Let's say that a person, we'll call him Bob, decides to go out and kill someone. The police hear about the murder, but they can't figure out that Bob was the killer.**

A few weeks later, Bob still hasn't been found out. **However, something happens to Bob (could be an accident, stroke, etc) and now he has a severe case of amnesia.**

**He doesn't remember that he killed anybody at all, and goes about his daily life after recovering.**

The police later discover that Bob committed the murder, and promptly arrest him. **Bob is very confused, and doesn't recall killing anybody.** But yet, he did in fact carry out the murder.

**Is Bob guilty of the crime he doesn't remember committing?**

*If a location is necessary to answer the question, we'll say that he resides in the United States.*

If someone forgets that they committed a crime, are they still guilty?


I'm in the U.S. and considering printing t-shirts with foreign logos of national parks on them. The shirts would be sold online. In many cases, it's difficult to determine if these logos are trademarked. I can't see that these shirt would damage the parks in any way or compete with them. I'm also considering putting logos of various departments of foreign governments (i.e. Republic of South Africa's Arts and Culture Department). Is this use of any of these logos legal?

Can I print t-shirts with logos of foreign national parks and sell the shirts online?


Suppose your neighbor asks you to babysit their cat.

* The neighbor has to run an errand so they leave it with me.
* Someone else breaks into my house and steals the cat, along with its diamond necklace.
* Do they have any chance of successfully suing in court for negligence leading to a loss?

The real case I'm thinking of is

* VISA issues a credit card to John.
* John sends me a copy of their VISA bill in order to get some financial advice.
* The bill happens to contain their credit card number although I did not go out of my way to ask for it.
* Before I can shred the paper, someone breaks into my house and steals it. In fact, my house contained millions of people's statements and they steal them all.
* VISA sues me for negligence leading to damages because the theft will likely lead to fraud which will cause them damage. They (correctly) point out that I did not take reasonable action to secure the paperwork.
* There was no legal agreement between myself and John, nor between myself and VISA. I did not intentionally give out credit numbers. At the same time, I did not go out of my way to secure them either.
* Damages may have occurred, but I never promised to secure the papers nor to accept liability in the case of their loss.

Questions related to this scenario are

* Does VISA have a legal leg to stand on?
* Is there a legal precedent in this (or equivalent) case?

If we weren't talking about credit cards, I would have expected John to be ultimately liable but we all know that credit card companies do not hold card holders responsible for unintentional fraud.

Legal liability for theft of credit card information left in my care with no contract?


I am about to register a name for an Information Technology company in Nigeria, and it turns out a company with the same name already exists. However, this other company is registered in India. This company is also involved in Information Technology and goes by the name

```
[company name] Technologies.

```

I have decided to use the name:

```
[company name] ICT Technologies

```

What legal implications can this have? Seeing as both companies will operate in different geographic locations, is this really an issue?

Can company name conflict arise between two companies in different geographic market?


I want to send a worker a contract that I will pay "a.s.a.p.". Is there a better way to write it in a contract? I feel it is better to specify a date, but it might look even worse than a.s.a.p. to write "within two weeks" or "before the end of the first week in July"?

There is not a conflict, I just want to make clear that I'm not trying to trick the guy into a business and not paying him.

How to say "a.s.a.p." in a formal contract


Company `A` has developed product incorporating owned intellectual property. Can Company `A` sell intellectual property rights for this product for Company `B` just for defined geographic region (for example Vietnam)? Is it relevant if Company `A` is an EU entity?

UPD. Looks like I need licensing for defined region. Actually company B is asking company `A` customize product that company `A` is developing in general according regulations in specified region. Company `B` is planning to buy this product from `A`. I need to create development agreement for this purpose in which I'm planning license IP to company `B`. Would you help me with sample agreement or any other resource that could help me describe section regarding IP in this document.

Property rights on product for specified region


I'm opening a business via the e-residency program with Estonia. I am a United States citizen and reside there, as well. Who should I file taxes with?

I'm a US citizen opening a business in the EU: where do I file taxes?


The trademark "TEXT TO BUY" is descriptive and non distinctive trademark. It is descriptive for an obvious reason: it exactly describes the service it is a trademark for. It is a service "to buy" and it works by texting something.

Moreover, it is non distinctive as well. Even in 2003, people already bought things (ringtones for instance) by texting a message.

This trademark is [registered as a European trademark](http://oami.europa.eu/eSearch/#details/trademarks/005115431).

So how to register such a trademark that is descriptive and non distinctive? [The OHIM website](https://oami.europa.eu/ohimportal/en/what-can-be-a-community-trade-mark) is unclear about how to do this. It just says that for registration it should not be descriptive and needs to be distinctive.

That is not the question. Trademarks such as "TEXT TO BUY" can be registered and are registred. It is not clear how to do that since the possibilities to register a trademark are only described for distinctive and non descriptive trademarks.

How to register a descriptive European trademark?


On Uber's Google Map, there is no line with attribution to Google's data providers.

But the Google guidelines say very clearly:

>
> All uses of Google Maps ... **must provide attribution to both Google and our data providers**. We do not approve of any use of content without proper attribution, in any circumstance. ... **Requests for exceptions will not be answered or granted.** ... Only including “Google” or the Google logo is not proper attribution when there are third-party data providers cited with the imagery. (<https://www.google.com/permissions/geoguidelines/attr-guide.html>)
>
>
>

Why does Uber not attribute the copyright properly? Is this even legal?

Why does Uber have no Google Maps copyright attribution?


I am working on a PC game that I intend of selling at some point in the future. The story of the game is revolving around a tribe that used to live in Europe. The name of the tribe is quite popular today and there is even a region with the same name in Greece today. I would like to know if it is legal to use names like that for my game story, or am I better off with changing the name so I wont get sued...

Copyright of country/region names for fiction


I have recently developed a medical application. One of my previous employers (from 4 years ago) also sells similar application. (You can see where it is going)

I developed this application from scratch in Silverlight and later moved to WPF. It uses Prism for IoC, Entity framework, MVVM with ViewModel first and RIA based WCF servics.

The application my previous employer sells is based on WinForms. Uses classic 3-tier architecture with Most of the code in form code-behind, a Business layer. a Data access layer that performs CRUD operations using TSQL.

The employer is now alleging that I might have stolen the code and created my own version but that is truly not the case. Every line of code has been written from scratch.

The employer is also alleging trade secret violation (without even looking at the software) but everything this software does is based on public domain knowledge. Managing patients, Exams, Bills etc are all public knowledge. Specific tests that go in each exam have been made based on material read from books that I can prove.

My software simply provides a different way of managing practice that has not borrowed anything from my previous employer's software.

I need to present a detailed comparison of the two technologies so my lawyer can include that in a formal reply.

Anyone has experience going through a similar scenario who can help me write a good comparison?

Prove my work is not a trade secret violation


I am reading a contract in which there is the following content: you acknowledge you will have visibility to valuable information. My question is what is the exact meaning of this statement? Going strictly by the dictionary meaning of the word acknowledge, this statement can mean two different things:
1- To admit to be true and real
2- To show or express recognition or realization of
The first meaning seems to imply that I am making a statement about the value of a content. While the second definition seems to imply that I accept the author's claim that the information is of value. Which is the case here?

should I acknowledge the value of information?


If a person were to setup a blog and got a few of their friends to also post on this blog. Who is to blame if one of those people were to get hit with a lawsuit for copyright infringement?

Since this is not a registered business, or even a business, is the owner of the domain going to be the target of the lawsuit or is it the individual who stole and published copyright protected work?

Where do personal blogs stand with lawsuits?


I was recently reviewing the contents of a contract agreement (US Based company) when two parts struck me as being particularly harsh.

The parts of stick out to me in particular are:

Clause 3: "*Therefore agrees that during or after the term of this Agreement*" – How can a company stipulate a condition after an
agreement finished and over. Surely there must be a limit or it will be enforceable for the duration of the persons life.

Clause 4: "*If any court refuses to enforce this Agreement, or any provision hereof, because it is more extensive (as to time, definition of business of otherwise) than is necessary to protect the business and goodwill of the Company, Employee agrees that this agreement, or the offending provision hereof, shall be modified to the extent necessary to permit the terms to be enforced in any such legal proceeding*" – This seems to state that even if a court decides that some parts are not enforceable, we reserve the right to change them until we can get damages from you in any way. This sounds very harsh.

(Full image of the specific clauses are [here](https://imgur.com/a/c1PSGYk) and [here](https://imgur.com/a/1YkUOha).)

I was wondering if:

1. These statements would stand up in a court of law?
2. Whether companies are allowed to make these types of statements?
3. Whether employees have the right to push back and ask these to be changed?

Would these contractual terms stand up in a court of law (US)?


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

Use of aliases in contracts between parties


I'm currently looking to trademark a product name for my company. Through research, I've found that another company is selling a similar product under that name with no trademark whatsoever. Is it possible that I can continue to trademark my product name and have the right to send them a cease and desist; so that I may sell mine without any confusion?

Trademark infringement, cease and desist


How much do property taxes amount to in terms of their related asset worth in NYC?

Are they delivered in form of bill or notifies?

Property tax in NYC


Suppose I win a civil lawsuit against two parties in California, one being
wealthy and the other being poor (and unlikely to pay), but the poor party
has clearly (according to the judge, any jury member, or any spectator) played
the bigger "wrongful role". Also, suppose there was no monetary benefit to
the wealthy party.

(E.g., there was an accidental killing where the poor party was robbing someone
with a pointed gun, and the wealthy party tripped into the scene, bumping the
gun and causing it to fire - This example might be too extreme, so modify
it with some one-time negligence on the part of the wealthy party if you must.)

Can the judge force the wealthy party to pay more?

Since I could have sued only the wealthy party in the first place, it seems
the judge should also be able to use a person's wealth as basis for awarded
damages, but this does not seem fair here. In general, how is the wealth of
defendants used by judges to award damages? Is there any case where the
judge is not supposed to consider the wealth of a defendant?

You must pay more just because you can


Explanation at the example case:

Person `A` is an orphan and was moved from an EU country `X` to another EU country `Y`. Lately, after a few years his pension claims were successful and he has received a refund of all pension payments as he usually had received each month.

Unfortunately, the amount of the refund is as high as that it is obliged to taxing in `Y`. All requirements to claim the tax are fulfilled in country `Y` where Person `A` now resides and was moved to, although it is an orphan´s pension.

The problem now:

The corresponding tax authority of country `Y` claims the whole refund, although Person `A` did not even reside at that moment of time in the country nor had a bank account or anything else in `Y`.

It is important, because if the amount of money to be taxed would be subtracted by the amount of money from the monthly payments where Person `A` wasn´t in `Y`, Person `A` would not be obliged to declare the tax and with that tax-free for that refund.

Is it correct that `Y` can claim the parts of the amount of monthly payments (which are part of the refund) although Person `A` did not even reside at that moment in `Y` or is there any EU law which prevents that doing?

---

Further annotations:

* It was not taxed in `X` - the country of origin - yet.
* Both countries, `X` and `Y` are members of the European Union.
* The age of Person `A` of the year of the tax claim and the refund were 19.

Can an EU country claim tax fees of an orphan pension refund of times where the affected person resided in another?


Poole, Shaw-Mellors. [*Contract Law Concentrate* (4 ed 2019)](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Contract-Law-Concentrate-Jill-Pool/dp/0198840446/ref=dp_ob_title_bk). p 166.

>
> Distinguishing liquidated damages and penalty clauses
> =====================================================
>
>
> This is a question of construction of the contract and public policy. Traditionally reference
>  has been made to the guidelines (a summary follows) laid down by Lord Dunedin in *Dunlop
>  Pneumatic Tyre Co. Ltd v New Garage & Motor Co. Ltd* (1915).
>
>
> ### Lord Dunedin’s traditional guidelines
>
>
> • Terminology used was not conclusive, e.g. Cellulose Acetate.
>
>  • Was the clause a genuine pre-estimate of the likely loss at the time contract was
>  made rather than in the light of the breach? The estimate did not have to be correct,
>  i.e. it did not need to be the same as the actual loss as long as it was a genuine and sensible
>  estimate of the likely loss resulting from that breach.
>
>  • In commercial contracts made ‘at arm’s length’ the clause was likely to have been intended
>  by the parties as an enforceable liquidated damages clause: *Philips Hong Kong Ltd v
>  AG of Hong Kong* (1993). **Account would not be taken of unlikely hypothetical breaches,
>  since it would be very difficult to draft a clause that would never operate in a penal way.**
>  The courts should uphold the parties’ agreement.
>
>
>

The boldened sentence too many negators. I rewrote it —

>
> Unlikely hypothetical breaches are overlooked, because it's difficult to draft clauses that never penalize/operate punitively.
>
>
> ⇒ Unlikely hypothetical breaches are overlooked, because most clauses drafted would penalize.
>
>
>

I still don't understand. How does difficulty in drafting clauses that don't penalize, relate to overlooking unlikely hypothetical breaches?

Why are unlikely hypothetical breaches overlooked, because most clauses operate punitively?


I recently read a story about a [19 years old boy sentenced to jail and to be registered as a sex offender for 25 years](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/indiana-teen-zach-anderson-labeled-sex-offender-after-sex-girl-lied-about-age/) for having sex with a 14 year old girl who lied about her age. The girl and her mother testified on behalf of the accused, saying that the sex was consensual and that she told him she was 17. Unfortunately, that didn't matter.

I read that if she showed him a fake ID so well done it's impossible to discern from a real ID, that wouldn't have mattered either. I also read that even with notarised written statements you will still be found guilty. (Curiously enough the reverse, ie propositioning sex to a person who is over the age of consent but lies saying they're younger, is also illegal)

[Radiocarbon dating](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiocarbon_dating) for samples less than 100 years old is so unreliable it's basically useless. Even if the person looks very old, there are certain diseases that cause rapid ageing so they potentially are underage.

With all that in mind, is there any way to have sex on US soil without running the risk of being labeled a sex offender?

Is there any way of having sex without risking jail in the United States?


I wanted to buy some rare earth oxides and noticed the unit price is 6 or more times more expensive in the USA than if bought from China, even with international shipping included. Since China is the only country that mass produces these substance, all of the American sellers must source it from there too, which made me curious as to why it is so expensive here. Of course it could just be because the stateside sellers hike up the price for some nice profit margins, but my dad suggested it could be because of a tariff/duty imposed when bought from China.

It's hard and confusing for me to find useful information about tariffs/duties online. Would there would be any kind of fee or duty on the oxides if I bought them from a Chinese seller on Alibaba? If so, at what value of my purchase would the duty be enforced and how much extra would I be charged? If it makes any difference, I talked to a seller on Alibaba and the shipping is FOB (free on board).

Thanks for the help, feel free to comment if I need to include any additional information.

Tariffs for international shipping


"*The assignor has agreed to assign to the Company all of his intellectual property rights and title, interest in and to assigned rights relating to the business, technologies, software, products and services of the Company on the terms set out in this Deed.*"

I have joined a startup and have been asked to sign a "Deed of assignment of intellectual property" document. My specific question is that does it mean whatever IP I owned till today automatically becomes their property?

There is another clause: "*To the extent that the Assignor owns (or if applicable owned) Intellectual Property Rights in the Assigned IP, the Assignor assigns to the Company (or if applicable confirms the assignment to the Company of) all of his or her right, title and interest in the Assigned IP.*"

I do not understand the legal stuff. I own a domain name and a patent. I also plan to own a company in a few years and am working towards it. Does it mean all that I develop in my personal time will belong to this company?

Full deed copy: <https://simmondsstewart.com/template/ip-assignment-2016-09-16.pdf>

Unable to understand this text in a deed of assignment of intellectual property


I want to form an LLC in California for my new business. I will be the only owner and employee. I've been looking into sites like legalzoom and incfile as well as local business lawyers. Both business lawyers' websites and people on random online forums regarding the topic have suggested that forming an LLC using online services such as these will only provide you with generic documents that will not provide the necessary protection you need. Furthermore, once people realize that their documents from these online services do not serve their purposes or have screwed them over, they must go to a lawyer anyway to fix the mess.

What are some concrete examples of ways using documents from online services would not provide the proper protection? What is the approximate cost to have a lawyer fix said mistakes and in what situations would I come to realize the need to consult a lawyer in person?

Why should I use a lawyer to form a single person LLC in California?


I want to prepare a dictionary(English to Turkish) consisting of example sentences And for a list of English words, I use "Oxford Dictionary of Current English". Is the alphabetical word order subject to copyright? ( ı will not use definitions of words)

is the alphabetical word order subject to copyright?


For example, if 100 or 1000 participants plan and murder someone in such a manner that they are equally guilty for example, they mutually came with the idea and willingly participated and so on, you get the idea.

Will all be convicted of murder?

What will happen if many people commit one crime?


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

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

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


I work as a W2 employee for a medium size company. The contract specifies my salary for each year of the term, along with many provisions to protect the company such as a 1 year non-compete, IP clauses, and a non-disparagement agreement. The contract also specifies I am to be paid for a number of months if I am terminated without cause.

My industry has been hit hard by the Covid-19 crisis, and HR recently sent an email that for 6 weeks everyone will be taking a temporary pay cut. For me it will amount to losing about $2000. On one hand I am thankful to still have a job, on the other handle I am deeply disturbed that the company seems to view honoring my contract as optional. There is no provision for reducing my pay (and I believe most of my coworkers have a similar contract).

Can doing nothing, for now, amount to implicitly agreeing to the pay cut? How can I put myself in a legal position to pursue damages if this becomes a bigger issue, while avoiding making a big stink with management and HR in the short run?

How to Handle Employer Breaching Employment Contract


In the UK, it is possible to download TV shows in the UK and watch them afterwards outside the UK.

<http://iplayerhelp.external.bbc.co.uk/tv/watch_outside_uk>

I would like to know if this is based on EU regulations or just UK regulations. If it is based on EU regulations, it should be possible in other EU countries as well.

Do I as a European Union citizen have the right to watch TV shows outside my country and download in my country?


I just recently created a font using the Fontself plugin for Illustrator and I want to figure out how to protect my font with a license and distribute it.

The problem is that everything I've found online is for the user and how to purchase a font license, not license a font **FOR** purchase/distribution.

How do I license a font I created to sell


Can you explain in simple english the meaning of this sentence? Context is transfer of proprietary data.

>
> the Receiving Party agrees that the Disclosing Party may be entitled, without proof of special damages, to seek the remedies of injunction relief without posting bond, as well as specific performance and other equitable relief.
>
>
>

In particular I don't know what "without posting bond" means. Thanks.

Injunction relief without posting bond


Say, for example, I have created a product which is compatible with a specific existing technology. Like an Apple iPhone case.

I would like to tell the user that my new case can be used with their apple device. How do name my device such that it doesn't infringe on the apple trademark but still tells the user what it is?

For example, can I name my case as an "Apple iPhone Case", or would that be trademark infringement? If not, what is allowed?

How do i refer to a trademark I don't own without infringing on it?


I have heard it can be illegal to work without pay. Under what circumstances is this true? I could see why it would be illegal for certain things (like a police officer not getting paid), but what about volunteer work that can be done for free (like cleaning up a beach)? This question focuses on Canada.

Is it legal to work without pay - Canada?


Discussing about what's worse, being the planner of a homicide or the actual killer, I found a proposal in a country for the planner to have twice the penalty of the killer.

Is there any country or state where such a proposal has been taken forward and applied in law?

Is there any country or state where the intellectual author of a homicide has twice or more the penalty than the physical author?


I am thinking about building a website that is a collection of information. Some of the content will be written by me and some of the content is from outside sources. The outside sources will be cited accordingly so there is no plagiarizing. However, they don't know that I am sourcing them. I want to charge x amount my users for permission to look at my collection. Is there a legal issue that I might find myself in if the outside sources see that I am charging money of a collection that includes their information that is cited?

Would I be in legal trouble if I charge money on my website that cites other peoples work?


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

The contingency agreement that states:

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

By signing below, you agree to:

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

roofing contractor contingency agreement


During the first lease cycle of a rental agreement, the tenant died. Is the co-signer responsible for damages to the apartment, or do the charges revert to the deceased tenant's family members?

What is the responsibility of a co-signer upon death of a tenant within the first lease cycle?


I am 85 years old and recently purchased a Frontier Truck from Nissan World Car.
The truck is a 2019 and was damaged on the hood and top of the truck, however, in good faith I agreed to purchase it providing the vehicle would be fixed. I took the vehicle back to the dealer and they provided me with a loner.. They took 3 weeks to order a new hood and replace it. On Sept 8 I picked up the truck, Saturday and Sunday I noticed a dent on the top of the truck and went back to the dealer and the service department said they could not do anything until the salesman made an order. The salesman came out to view the damage and he said that I might have been hit by a rock of something. I told him it was not damaged when I
dropped it off and he said he would call me back bu hasn't to date. I kept trying because all my vehicle documents were missing, they claim the papers were not in the loner or the truck and I get no response from the dealer. I do not feel that I should be treated this way and only want the truck fixed and a copy of my contract given to me. Also I had purchased a 2019 Nissan Sentry in Feb and returned it back for the 2019 Frontier because the car was too low. I know owe $37,000 dollars. Whatever help you could give would be appreciated Thanks

consumer protection in obtaining legal documents from a car dealer


I own an online retail grocery store and I have taken quality photos of the goods I'm selling. I'm wondering if I'm violating any copyright laws for taking the photos of copyrighted/trademarked products (e.g. Cheetos, Doritos, etc)? Thank you!

Legality of product photos for my online retail store


I'm a little confused as to how the law is applied to this question. On the one hand, the right to privacy only extends to your home or immediate surroundings in places like public restrooms (the stall). Therefore, if you are out in public you can be recorded (e.g., health and fitness centers that have CCTVs). However, on YouTube, I continue to see people being asked if they can be in a video. In some of those videos, faces are even blurred out. What are your legal rights in these situations? Is consent required?

My question is not a duplicate because it asks the additional question: If consent is granted can it be revoked later?

Consent to be recorded in public


[*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. 98.

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

The red underlines fit para. 31 of the [judgment](http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKPC/2003/22.html):

>
> 31. In the present case the price for which R's promise was bought was the forbearance of the MOD to exercise its power to return him to unit. It could not be a promise that he would not be returned to unit, because, as their Lordships have already observed, the Crown was entitled to move him to another regiment and **could not fetter its discretion by a contract having effect in private law [emboldening mine]**. Whether there were any circumstances in which it could have created a legitimate expectation giving rise to rights against the Crown in public law is a matter which their Lordships need not discuss. But the actual forbearance was in their Lordships' opinion sufficient consideration to support the contract. In *Alliance Bank Ltd v Broom* (1864) 2 Dr & Sm 289, 292 the bank demanded security for its loan in circumstances in which, as Sir Richard Kindersley V-C said, it would otherwise have enforced payment. It made no promise not to demand payment but:
>
>
>
> >
> > "the [bank] did in effect give, and the defendant received, the benefit of some degree of forbearance; not, indeed, for any definite time, but, at all events, some extent of forbearance."
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>

Why couldn't the Ministry of Defence fetter its public law powers by promising not to transfer a SAS soldier?


Is there a limit to the amount of money a church can give a religious leader for housing?

A church is planning to offer a contract in which the leader is given an house with all expenses paid plus a substantial parsonage allowance.

What are the legal considerations that should be considered? Is this likely to get anyone into trouble? Is the legitimacy of the substantial financial parsonage allowance called into question by the contract clause that provides the house and all associated expenses? (This is in the USA.)

Parsonage deduction on top of a parsonage: any limit?


Can we have a product X which gets both a copyright & a patent?

I'm particularly interested in the case of Software since its content overlaps with both Copyright & Patent. But someone told me that the same subject matter cannot be protected under different IPRs (Copyright & Patent).
So, Pure Software is protected by Copyright and Software with a Technical Component is protected by Patent.

I'm trying to figure out if the TRIPS agreement places any such rule (same subject matter cannot be protected under different IPRs).

Any rule in the TRIPS agreement which prohibits same subject matter to be protected by different IPRs?


Our suite of applications heavily depend on Java. One of our customers came across this link <https://www.java.com/en/download/release_notice.jsp> and are asking us to explain what it really means? Does this mean our customers would need a license to use Java 8 or it's new features after January 2019?

>
> Oracle Java SE 8 Release Updates
> ================================
>
>
> Public updates for Oracle Java SE 8 will remain available for individual, personal use through at least the end of 2020.
>
>
> Public updates for Oracle Java SE 8 released after January 2019 will not be available for business, commercial or production use without a commercial license.
>
>
> If you are a CONSUMER using Java for individual, personal use, you will continue to have the same access to Oracle Java SE 8 updates as you do today through at least the end of 2020. In most instances, the Java-based applications you run are licensed separately by a company other than Oracle (for example, games you play on your PC are likely developed by a gaming company). These applications may run on the Java platform and be dependent on Oracle Java SE 8 updates beyond 2020. Accordingly, Oracle recommends you contact your application provider for details on how they plan to continue to provide application support to you.
>
>
> If you are a DEVELOPER, Oracle recommends you review the roadmap information for Java SE 8 and beyond and take appropriate action depending on the type of application you develop and your distribution model.
>
>
> If you are acting on behalf of an ENTERPRISE, Oracle recommends you review the roadmap information for Java SE 8 and beyond and begin to assess your ongoing Java support requirements in order to migrate to a later release or obtain a commercial license, as appropriate, on a timely basis.
>
>
> If you are an ORACLE CUSTOMER who is licensed to use Java SE as part of another Oracle product, you continue to have access to Oracle Java SE 8 updates beyond 2019 for use with those Oracle products, see this My Oracle Support (MOS) note for more information.
>
>
>

Oracle Java SE 8 release updates after January 2019


Most (all perhaps) software-related employment contracts want you to list out your prior inventions. I would like not to disclose some of my "inventions" (past projects and such). Wondering how I can do this while at the same time agreeing to some contract. I would like to be protected from them saying I used their technology to create my past invention, while at the same time keeping my invention private from the company.

IP How to avoid writing out Assignment of Inventions


My question is about video recordings. Who owns the right to a video recording? Is it the person recording or the person being recorded?

who owns the copyright to someone giving a speech


There are Images uploaded to a certain website not linked to any accounts, just IP, linked in a case towards a federal case. can this evidence be inadmissible if the only proof is "IP : Picture". Prosecutor tagged all the pictures into evidence to the certain person.

What are the US Federal laws on Shared VPN IP


I have an iPhone app and need to write a privacy policy for it (Apple requires it for this type of apps).

I know that privacy policy should include data owner's contact information (name, address), it is required in some countries. Is it still required if I collect no data at all? My privacy policy could be very short:

>
> We do not collect any kind of data from you. Apple Inc might collect some data and provide it to us as stated in your device's Pivacy Policy.
>
>
>

Do I still have to add my contact info to that?

Do I still have to include data owner in privacy policy if I do not collect any data?


I have A bill of sale signed by me(buyer) and grandfather(seller) it is a document I printed with terms that I was purchasing farm equipment as is in the current condition with equipment model and serial numbers on it. We both signed and put are current address on the bill of sale. Now 6 years later he is diagnosed with dementia and my father and uncle who were never involved with the farm are taking and trying to sell my equipment and don’t want to believe in the bill of sale. What do I do?

Family won’t let me have farm equipment I have a Bill of sale on


Who has the right to claim children. On federal taxes in Ohio?

If a person is court ordered to pay child support in the state of Ohio does that person have the right to claim said children on taxes


[This video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnEyjwdoj7g) explaining [this wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_prime) says that possessing a particular number can be illegal. Is this true?

From the article (internal links and formatting removed):

>
> An illegal prime is a prime number that represents information whose possession or distribution is forbidden in some legal jurisdiction. One of the first illegal primes was found in 2001. When interpreted in a particular way, it describes a computer program that bypasses the digital rights management scheme used on DVDs. Distribution of such a program in the United States is illegal under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. An illegal prime is a kind of illegal number.
>
>
>

Can numbers be illegal?


As far as I know, unless a contract/compact states otherwise, or a provision was added at a different point of time, every provision in the contract carries the same priority. The bill of rights was added to the constitution all at once and so each amendment carries the same priority and so when there is a conflict least restrictive means has to be applied.

Does any amendment in the bill of rights take priority over any other?


I just got one of those GDPR mails from gitlab.com, which pointed me to a Web page where I had to accept some terms and conditions. The same as everywhere, except this passage:

>
> (For GitLab Contributors Only) As part of my voluntary contribution to any GitLab project, I acknowledge and agree that my name and email address will become embedded and part of the code, which may be publicly available. I understand the removal of this information would be impermissibly destructive to the project and the interests of all those who contribute, utilize, and benefit from it. Therefore, in consideration of my participation in any project, I hereby waive any right to request any erasure, removal, or rectification of this information under any applicable privacy or other law and acknowledge and understand that providing this information is a requirement under the agreement to contribute to the GitLab project.
>
>
>

As far as I understood GDPR, this passage is just plain bullocks and they're trying to get away with arguably the most difficult bit of GDPR, especially if you consider their argument. I can feel their pain, but it also just doesn't feel like this is made possible by GDPR and if GitLab would deny or not completely fulfil such a deletion request, it would be liable to litigation. Am I correct in this?

Note: I'm not trying to put GitLab in a bad spot here, they're just the first (only?) ones that included this kind of passage in their agreement.

Is requesting waiving the right to deletion of contributions against GDPR?


Say a tool that does some sort of automatic code generation or modification, like a formatter or linter, is run as a service that automatically creates pull requests to projects on Github. Who owns the copyright of those changes? What license restrictions would it have? Could the tool creator say "all changes made by this tool from now until the end of time are my intellectual property" even though they weren't involved in making the individual changes? How might a more conscientious tool creator properly declare that their tool's contributions can be merged in without licensing and IP problems?

How should code produced by automated tools be licensed?


How does that work? Is there a certain setting where extortion is legal? Do certain government officials have immunity? Is extortion permissible inide a court room? Can a police officer on the street say "hey man if you plead guilty to this speeding ticket I'll ignore the pot I smell in the back of your car"?

How is plea bargaining not illegal extortion?


Like the title asks: I know that US states (and their agencies) can be sued by the United States in federal court (this is an exception to their normal sovereign immunity). Does this exception extend to criminal charges? If a state or a state agency does something which would result in criminal charges against a private corporation, could the United States bring charges against the state?

Citations would be nice, especially if there have actually been cases involving this.

Can a US state be charged with a crime in federal court?


There is a trademarked product used in therapy that is used to increase breathing capacity. I would like to use that product in a kit with protocols and instructions that would improve its current use and expand its uses. How do I do that without infringing on the trademark or being limited by the trademark owners?

Using a trademarked item in another product


I'm currently upgrading to the latest version of a commercial product (Let's call it 'Foo'). In their installation guide, they specifically say that the enterprise-licensed version of a third party piece of software (Let's call this 'Bar') must be used to run this product, rather than using the open-source community licensed version of this third-party product.

There is no technical limitation of the community version of 'Bar', indeed it is the same codebase as the enterprise edition. There is a significant cost to using the enterprise version of 'Bar' vs the community version.

I'm specifically interested in whether they can legally enforce this in order to license their product, not what they might/might not do or support.

Is it legally enforcable to demand that a specific version of third party software be used?


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

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


I am an adult programmer who knows (absolutely) nothing about law.

What must I do to start a MMO browser game?
===========================================

I mean a massively-multiplayer online browser game similar to (for example) Travian, OGame or Tribal Wars.

1. Assume I will do all the work alone *(hiring people to help me could be a follow-up question for another occasion)*.
2. If it matters, assume the game will be in english.
3. Assume the game URL will be the straightforward **www.(something-here).com** *(assume I already own this domain - even though I don't - this could be a follow-up question if I can't figure it out by myself)*
4. Assume all players will play together (i.e. there won't be separate servers for different countries).
5. Assume players can send messages to each other within the game.
6. Assume the game will be 100% free to play.
7. Assume the game won't have any advertisement (I would pay all the expenses myself).

*(These assumptions are supposed to narrow down my question - on another occasion I may worry about these details)*

When I ask "what must I do?", I am asking regarding law, of course. What laws must I follow? Must I do something special considering I am "just another citizen"? Do I have to create a company first? In short, again, **what must I do?**

---

I will be happy to give any other details that you might need.

**If this depends on the country I live in, answer based on your favourite country - at this moment I just want to have an idea of how it works. Country details can be left for another time.** Unless I am very lucky and you know the specific laws for Brazil.

Remember I don't know anything about law - I probably don't even know how to hire a lawyer.

What must I do to legally create a MMO browser game?


If a University is laying off many people from a department. They will receive one, or two months of pay, and a lump sum for a number of employment years.

Would the members of this department have any leverage when they are offered this package?

Could they decline to sign it and ask for more? Do they have any leverage to do this?

Can a severance package be negotiated?


Say, I pay for a broadcasting service, and lets say due some circumstances I miss it.

Does the original copyright (or the fact that it allowed me to watch it), allow me to source the content elsewhere?

I in no way am sharing the content that was aquired elsewhere.

Edit: Likely I will watch it one time and delete it afterwards.

Edit: I know the alternative source is infringing copyright. But does that have any effect on me?

I pay for a service, but I miss the broadcast


Premise:

>
> The fiancee of Jamal Khashoggi has said the world has failed to hold Saudi Arabia to account
>
>
>

There are quite a lot of cases when agents of a state can kill (with or without sanction) an individual: a spy, an "undesirable" person, a terrorist in a third country.

Using this case as an example, can SA be held accountable for killing the journalist (in 'having a tribunal' sense)?

Can a state be prosecuted for killing a foreign spy? What if a country sends a task force to eliminate a terrorist in a 3rd country?

(How) Can a state be accountable for murder?