January 1, 2020, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) goes into effect.

The CCPA applies to any business anywhere in the U.S. or the world that does business in the state of California.
Could you please explain what does the term “in the state” mean in this context?

How will this impact non-California and non-US companies that are selling to consumers from California traveling and shopping outside of the US?

How the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) impacts a non-Californian business?


Recently a flier was placed on my vehicle windshield whilst at work. I arrived back at my vehicle in the evening and drove away not realising the flier was on there.

While driving the flier blew off the windshield onto another car blocking their vision. This resulted in an accident. Am I negligent for not removing the flier, or does negligence lie with the company who placed the flier on the car.

Fliers on Windshield


I know that land sale contracts, for example, have to be in writing in most jurisdictions. **What other kinds of contracts legally have to be in writing to be enforceable?** (US jurisdictions preferred but any jurisdiction acceptable).

What contracts have to be in writing?


(f) A person is presumed to intend to defraud or harm another if the person acts with respect to two or more writings of the same type and if each writing is a government record listed in Section 37.01(2)(C).

Does this mean if a person had only one counterfeit bill then they would not be presumed to have intent to defraud? I apologize if there's something here I'm missing.....

Question on intent in Texas forgery case


Books metadata includes:

* ISBN and other identification numbers
* books title
* authors
* category/genre
* number of pages
* publication year
* publisher
* description (short summary)
* and book cover page

Can I copy books metadata on my website. Is it legal?


**Situation**: an individual in the EU has a web site available on Internet (= if you are on Internet, you can connect to that web site). The IP addresses of the connections to this web site are stored in the logs of the web server.

**Question**: are such **public** IP addresses classified as "personal data" under EU law?

Notes:

* the web site owner **has no possibility, by themselves,** to link the public IP with an individual
* the IP address can be linked to an individual by the ISP. This ISP is unrelated to the web site owner
* there are numerous discussions about the fact that "an IP address is personal data". When digging into the documents, it becomes less clear because one of the conditions for the IP to be PII is, for the one who handles that IP, to have the *"legal means" of obtaining access to the information held by the ISP in order to identify the individual.* (see [here](https://www.whitecase.com/publications/alert/court-confirms-ip-addresses-are-personal-data-some-cases) or [here](http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf%3Bjsessionid=9ea7d2dc30d5104fab56cd7c48bea355f43196e1e7f2.e34KaxiLc3qMb40Rch0SaxyKax50?text=&docid=184668&pageIndex=0&doclang=EN&mode=req&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=1771402))

Is a public IP address classified as "personal data" for a third party under EU law?


Lets say there are 3 entities: `X ,Y ,Z`

* `X` owes money to `Y` stipulated in a contract named `C`
* `Y` wants to change the contract , so that `X` now owes money to `Z` - we will call this contract `C1`

What needs to happen for the creation of `C1`?

* -Does `C` need to be terminated ?
* -Is `C` attached from now on as an annex to `C1` ?
* There is no need for `C1` , we just update in `C` the side that is owed money (`Y->Z`)

I do not understand how the update of a contract happens if you want to update just one side , in our case the one that is owed money - from `Y` to `Z`

**Update**

Thank you all for your responses.I will give this update to clarify what i want to ask.

The question is not rlly about what`X` owes ( the right/value) or what type of contract it is.What i am interested is how can the paperwork be reduced and generalised lets say digitally when the contract `changes hands`.

Can I , as a digital service provider , get `Y`'s original contract (as a source of Right/Value) , provide a generalised form for him and `Z` to complete and sign (digitally) as seller and buyer , put them together (initial contract and form) and voila now `Z` legally owns the Right/Value ?

I do not want to rewrite the part of the contract that remains constant (the right/source of value)

I want to know what is the simplest way to preserve the part of the contract that remains constant - the right/value- while minimizing the paperwork needed when `changing hands`.

`X` owes `Y` stipulated in contract `C`

`Y`->`Z1`->`Z2`->`Z3`....`

When the contract changes hands from `Z1` to `Z2` to `Z3` etc can i keep the original contract as the source of right/value and just provide a form between the buyer and seller of the right ?

I want to reuse the source of value part/paperwork/contract.

So if Z has the original contract ( X to Y) and also a contract that says (Y gave to Z) is it enough legally ? Can Y do malicious activity and say : i have the original contract that says X owes me.In this case which contract gets priority ?

Updating a contract


Is there any way to present a case to the grand jury if the prosecuting attorney is unwilling to do so?

Is there any way to bring a criminal case before the grand jury without the support of the Prosecuting Attorney?


NY/USA here if jurisdiction matters.

I am employed full-time and am salaried. I have an at-will employment with no special contractual constraints with my employer. Can I lawfully be fired for simply "*not being a good fit*"? What does the employer have to prove to claim this?

Can one be fired for "not being a good fit"?


I'm not a law student, but I'm very interested in the topic and learning in general.

I got curious about contracts and signatures recently, so I wondered if there have been cases where contracts have been voided because of invalid signatures.

What constitutes a person's official signature, and what are the criteria (if any) for the validation of one's signature?

How to prove the genuinity/nongenuinity of a signature?


I have made a scoring calculator in Excel from a copyright protected test/questionnaire that have 12 items with respective scores. In my Excel application I have included the names of the test items, e.g. 1) Depression, 2) Anxiety 3) Psychosis etc. All respective items are scored 0-3 points, I have created a simple summing of the items 1-12 in Excel. My question - is this a violation of copyright? Can I distribute this to colleagues or other physicians? The owner of the tests says no. Does copyright protection extend this far?

Is it legal to create scoring program in Excel of a copyright protected questionnaire?


Suppose you have a bodyguard who sees someone is about to attack you. The attacker is not being a threat to the bodyguard but a dangerous threat to the bodyguard's employer (he could be killed) . Can the bodyguard act harming the attacker to prevent him from killing someone, even if he isnt the one who is being personally attacked or he will be punished if he does?

How does self-defense apply to bodyguards?


If I were to analyze an electronic device and reproduce the circuit schematics, would it be legal to publish the schematic?

I know that there might be issues with selling a clone but I am not so sure of the schematics themselves.

Is it legal to publish schematics from reversed engineered electronics?


What is the minimum and maximum penalty for premeditated murder in the US?

does it differ state by state?

What is the minimum and maximum penalty for Murder in the US?


I was sentenced to 15 years to life in 1984 under NY's Persistent Felony offender statutes (NY Penal Law 70.10 & NY Criminal Procedure Law 400.20) for a gun charge (CPW 3rd degree) which normally carries a maximun 3 1/2 -7 year Penalty.
 Surface, a Syracuse University legal publication (college of Law Faculty Scholarship) summer 7-26-2012 wrote a paper entitled: " Discretionary Persistent Felony Offender Sentencing In New York: Can it survive Apprendi? which essentially asserts NY's PFO adjudication sentencing provisions (NY CPL 400.20) " History and Character " findings requirement for discretionary sentence enhancement, to be unconstitutional as found by a trial Justice and not a Jury. I was paroled in 2005, still have issues regarding bias by the state trial court (never actually litigated for procedural default reasons) and am asking can I now raise a challenge to NY CPL 400.20 in a USC title 42 section 1983 Civil Action?

can a person paroled from a 15 year to life sentence contest the constitutionality of the state law that sentence?


Suppose someone gets arrested for a crime they know they didn't commit, and in the process of being arrested, the also get slapped with a resisting charge. My question is, if they are totally innocent and the court acquits the accused of the main charge, should the added on charge of resisting be dropped automatically since they should have never been arrested in the first place and thus never been put in the situation where they could get a resisting charge?

For example, imagine someone gets arrested for some crime and in the process, is so shaken up and has such a distrust for officers in that area he/she is being arrest at, that the person actually does resist but mainly for their safety like to see what is going on. However, since they are totally innocent of the main crime, why then should the resisting "stick"? A valid defense would be "I should have never been arrested in the first place, therefore the resisting charge should also be dropped". If I was a judge, I would say that is a valid point. If police go around arresting people with no proof and then slap on an extra resisting charge, to me, if the main charge is acquitted, then the secondary charge of resisting should automatically be acquitted as well without going to the jury.

Should an "add on" charge of "resisting" be automatically dropped if the main charge is acquitted?


As I was explained in another question in this SE community, prosecutors dont have the resources to prosecute every single crime [Does a prosecutor have any legal resource..](https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/23984/does-a-prosecutor-have-any-legal-resource-to-avoid-aplying-a-law-which-is-uncons)

Then, what does it prevent a state to prosecute people discriminatorily as it might and it indeed happens in certain countries (based in race, sex, political affiliation, etc)? Is there any legal mechanism in any country, that prevents a state to apply laws discriminatorily?


Why do some people that commit fraud is not in jail?

In [How would the law in US handles private investigation like this?](https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/31104/how-would-the-law-in-us-handles-private-investigation-like-this/31108?noredirect=1#comment56209_31108) there is obviously plenty of evidence that a fraud has occured.

I check [What crime is commited when a mechanic charges for an unneeded or non-existent service?](https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/16773/what-crime-is-commited-when-a-mechanic-charges-for-an-unneeded-or-non-existent-s)

And it fits fraud

I asked around how the law treats cases like that in [How would the law in US handles private investigation like this?](https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/31104/how-would-the-law-in-us-handles-private-investigation-like-this/31108?noredirect=1#comment56209_31108)

Many said it's a crime.

Yet the person doesn't go to jail.

This is the discussion in the comment section

>
> So tell me why a company can be caught red handed like this and not
> get charged ?
>
>
> Its not
> illegal to me dishonest, theres no law against liars. You simply
> punish them by not doing business with them..
>
>
> thought most fraud
> cases were considered felonies.
>
>
> they're selling services
> they never supplied. That's fraud, which is illegal.
>
>
> I imagine that the only
> way it would be worth the effort for this kind of situation would be
> through a class action lawsuit. And most people who get scammed
> aren't even aware they are getting scammed.
>
>
> 6 days ago to convict them some one need to sue them and spend
> a lot of time and money at the end if he can't get a lot of people to
> class action law suit which most lawers are not intrested to do so
>
>
> Actually, yeah it's called fraud and there are
> definitely laws against it. It can be hard to prove, but it's still
> illegal/stealing.
>
>
>

Notice how some people say that the victim got to sue first. Not really. It's a crime. You don't sue for criminal law. You sue for civil violation. So that doesn't really explain it.

Lack of evidence? Really? C'mon. We got video over there.

Why?

The question is different than

[How would the law in US handles private investigation like this?](https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/31104/how-would-the-law-in-us-handles-private-investigation-like-this/31108?noredirect=1#comment56209_31108)

In the former question, I ask how the laws handle this in general. In particular, I am asking if it is legal to video tape someone committing a possible crime without consent. **Obviously the fraudster doesn't consent**. I read sources where it may not be. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/04/14/crime-for-high-school-student-to-secretly-audio-record-his-tormentors-in-the-classroom/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.4d7c9b9023ae>

This question however is very specific. This question actually ask a question inspired by the former question. You can think of this question as derivative or child question of the former question rather than "copy"

This is an obvious case of fraud. If this case is not fraud, then what is fraud? What sort of lie people do to count as "fraud"

The evidence is beyond any doubt. I mean, the only way a DA can't convict with evidence like this what more evidence do we have?

It's not just this case. I've been victim of fraud so many times only to hear latter that it's "civil".

Why is a fraud as obvious as this, not a crime?

So why isn't this guy on jail?

Why are some obvious fraudster not in jail?


Softwares sometimes cost thousands of dollars which an invidial like me can't afford. A cheaper option for me would be to enlist in a university (this isn't the US here) and use their copy of the software on their computers to do my work.
The work isn't made for a client, but is made to be published. Is that legal? Maybe even for small parts of the work?

Is it legal to use the university's softwares for a personal work made to be published and maybe profited from?


**My employer has recently said that I MUST take lunch, at 30 minutes minimum. Is there anything I can do to fight this without losing my job?**

They cite "burnout" as the reason. I smoke (please avoid the hate comments), and I have 10 minute breaks three times a day for a total of 30 minutes unpaid already, does their argument still stand?

I've been working as a programmer for six years now, and I've been a hobbyist for well over 10 years. I "work" constantly, I work on home projects as I do professional projects, I spend sometimes 14 hours a day programming for weeks on end. This has been my "natural state" for that entire time. I do not "burnout". Indeed, I've been given pay rises on a frequent basis based on performance.

I feel the extra time I would have to give to the company is totally unjust and doesn't take into account the kind of worker I am.

The law says they can basically do what they want to me, if they enforced it, I'm effectively working through lunch because I don't want to be in the place the work place is, so it's not "free time" then is it. I'm still at their disposal. Indeed, I'm pretty much forced to stay in the same chair because there's nothing else to do.

Is there any action I can take where I assert I don't need a lunch break? AND be able to do that without offending the HR department?

***EDIT:
I'm not looking to get into an argument about "You should just take the break ffs", I want a real suggestion of how I can handle this situation to achieve the result I'm after.***

EDIT 2: I understand that people with my "work through lunch" ethic are not the norm. If I was really to pursue this, it could in fact damage the other members of my team by highlighting that they could also skip lunch, which for them could be very detrimental if they were to choose to do so. For the purposes of this question only, I'm going to take the selfish route and insist I want the time back.

EDIT 3: I'd like to try and explain why I feel so strongly about this measly 30minutes a day. I'm awake for 16 hours a day and I value every second. I believe I'm a slave and have done for years, work is a means to survive, not a means to feel fulfilled. You're working for other people's causes, which may even directly against your own personal beliefs. My own time is the only place I can be myself, and I feel like I'm having my life taken from me while I sit there and watch it happen. I know this won't chime with a lot of you, but this is what I believe. Every second they "expect" from me feels like they've taken a part of my soul, not to mention if they say "Oh, and we're not going to compensate you for this portion of your time, either" it's going to really make me want to fight it. I'm sure in ten or more years time when I've got the wisdom to start my own business I'll see this massively differently, but right now, I want to give the time I signed up for, 37.5 hours a week. No more!

Mandatory Lunch in UK - Really?


**[Russian firm charged in election interference case pleads not guilty](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/05/09/concord-management-arraignment-russia-investigation/594454002/)** (USA TODAY)

>
> Mueller's office charged in February that 13 Russian nationals and three businesses sought to meddle in the election election ... one of them, Concord Management and Consulting, LLC, dispatched a pair of lawyers to federal court in Washington to plead not guilty to the charges. One of the lawyers, Eric Dubelier, said Concord would "exercise our **right to a speedy trial**." ... Mueller's office said in a court filing last week that Concord's lawyers had already demanded that prosecutors turn over "sensitive intelligence gathering, national security, and foreign affairs information," including details on electronic surveillance of the company and its employees.
>
>
>

**How soon must Mueller produce the evidence?** (And will it be made public?)

[Indictment: USA vs. Internet Research Agency et. al.](https://www.justice.gov/file/1035477/download)

Russian firm charged in election interference case pleads not guilty - "speedy trial"?


A publicly-funded archive in England provides a service to allow members of the public to copy, with a copier on site and for a nominal fee, documents. The documents are very old, so that any person involved in their creation died long ago, and their copyright would normally have expired. The archive stamps the new copied document "Copyright retained by owner of original document", with the implication that the original document is on loan to the archive and this stamp is a requirement of the loan conditions.

Creation of the new paper copy by pressing a button on the copier involves no significant creative input. How can either the archive, or the original document owner, claim any copyright, either on the original document or the new paper copy?

How can an archive claim copyright on very old documents under English law?


Some time ago, I developed a website for a client. During the development process, I used a staging server which is registered to and operated by me to host the site so they could follow development and preview the work I was doing for them.

At this point in development, I added some images to the site as dummy content to illustrate how things would appear when the client had added their own images.

I acquired the images from Google Images and one of them now appears to have been copyrighted with rights managed by a company notorious for suing webmasters for illegally using their images.

The prototype website was not online on my server for long, but apparently long enough for the infringement to have been detected by said notorious company.

Recently, the client received a letter demanding recompense for the use of the image - though again, the website in question was on a server and domain registered and operated by ME.

My question is this:
--------------------

***Can my client's company be held liable for infringement that occurred on MY server/domain?***

***The prototype website had the client's business contact details on it, so the letter demanding payment was sent to them, even though they have absolutely nothing to do with the server it was hosted on.***

I realize anyone reading this is likely not a lawyer with specific knowledge of this type of situation, but if you have any insight to offer it would be much appreciated!

Liabilty for copied website content on a third-party server


Quora users/bots are copying a significant amount of Stack Exchange questions to Quora, without proper attribution. It seems quite systematic.

For example:

* [Are passengers allowed to record the audio of their interactions with the US immigration officers when clearing the immigration as they enter the US?](https://law.stackexchange.com/q/51408/31) was copied to Quora just a few seconds after to <https://www.quora.com//unanswered/Are-passengers-allowed-to-record-the-audio-of-their-interactions-with-the-US-immigration-officers-when-clearing-the-immigration-as-they-enter-the-US?share=1>
* [Is it legal to completely retell a film in text?](https://law.stackexchange.com/q/51295/31) was copied to Quora: <https://www.quora.com/Is-it-legal-to-completely-retell-a-film-in-text?share=1>

This issue affects a few other Stack Exchange websites as well but I thought that some users on Law Stack Exchange may have the most suitable legal knowledge to find an appropriate course of action. Quora doesn't respond to my copyright violation complaints, and Stack Exchange employees aren't interested either.

Quora bots are copying a significant amount of Law Stack Exchange questions to Quora, without proper attribution


>
> The Recitals shall be part of this Agreement.
>
>
>

What is the purpose of including such a clause in an agreement?

Is there any legal effect above and beyond not including that phrase? If so, what is it?

What is the purpose of stipulating recitals are part of the agreement?


I've been wondering what the legality of using a PO box as a registered address for a limited company is.

I've done some research and the [Royal Mail site](https://www.royalmail.com/business/services/receiving/safety/po-box) seems to imply that it is legal for me to use a PO box in that matter. However, various other resources make claims that you cannot do it. For example, [Small Firms Services](https://www.smallfirmsservices.com/can-i-use-po-box-registered-address/) states the following:

>
> The general rule is that you cannot use a PO Box as a company’s registered office. It is important that a company’s official address is real and can be found by a member of the general public.
>
>
>

It later further states that it can be done, however the conditions to this are that the PO box must have a full address including: house number and road name.

>
> The only time a PO Box address can be used is when a full address including house number and road name is also supplied. For example PO Box 123, 5 The High Street, London. This implies that within a physical address there is a physical Post Office Box service provider that can accept mail on behalf of the company.
>
>
>

Despite this post, I'm still unsure on the legality behind this, they do not actually state what law it breaks and I would like a more concrete answer on this matter.

Is it legal for me to use a PO Box as the registered address for a Limited company?


My situation is as follows:
I signed a contract with a book publisher to write a book.

The problem is now I wish to terminate the contract early. I have not received any money from the publisher yet. The editing process has just started, they started editing one chapter (out of 10).

Normally in this kind of case, will I be required to pay any damages? I am ok with giving up the rights to my work to the publisher. (It is a children's workbook), however if possible I would like to avoid paying any damages.

Thanks for help.

Terminating contract before book is published


There is a Website (for the sake of discussion) called www.maxgrav.com. The site has no content except a landing page (with no discussion on what the product is), which hasn't changed since 2011. The MaxGrav logo shows to be Trademarked (R) (though a search in USPTO showed no results). And supposedly there is a MaxGrav Inc. company name.

If I wanted to created a company called MaxGrav Solutions (www.maxgavsolutions.com) which is in no way modeled or named after this company, and the name was something I came up with before searching to see if a similar name was in use, and this name is available in my state...

**Am I in an way infringing upon their trademark or business name etc?** I'm thinking since the company has no real presence, and a search of MaxGrav doesn't show anything related to their site until the 3rd page of the search results, that no one could say that I am infringing upon anything? Especially if I grow my company and show an association of MaxGrav Solutions to MY company.

Can I use a (undeveloped) trademark or business name as part of a longer name for my business?


Much of what I have been reading points to ISPs being allowed to *throttle*, ie. *slow down* access to certain "competing" websites and services.

If current "net neutrality" laws were to be repealed, would ISPs be legally allowed to completely block access to, or otherwise censor, such "competing" websites and services?

Would the end of "net neutrality" legally allow individual ISPs to block access to/censor sites and services?


I want to use modelling software to create some buildings. I've found a building that I like on Google. Would re-creating the design of the building be illegal?

Can I legally digitalise a house design?


I have been provided an NDA that I need to sign. I am not affiliated with a company, however, and am just a freelancer with a fulltime job.

* At the top of the NDA, I need to fill out my 'company/party'. Should I just use my name, or the name of my full-time company?
* The bottom has a blank line, again for party/company. Should I just fill in my name, sign next to the "By" line and leave the "Its" line blank?

Signing an NDA not on Behalf of a Company


If a lawyer suspects that a client shall commit an imminent crime, then attorney-client privilege ceases and communication is not privileged. But what if the lawyer is *unsure* whether the crime is about be committed? For example, consider this hypothetical:

>
> A client informs their lawyer after killing someone through torture
>  (for example, by burying them alive), and also of the location of the killing.
>
>
>

If the victim has already died, then the crime is murder; so presumably this communication is privileged.

However, if the lawyer doesn't know definitely that the person has died (attempted murder),

then furtherance of that crime **may** be prevented.

Does the lawyer have a duty to report the information to the police?

Are there any legal implications if the lawyer is wrong?

Does "furtherance of a crime" exception to attorney–client privilege apply if the attorney is unsure?


Is it legal to tax each item separately?

I visited Buddy's Pizza in Detroit MI on 6 Mile and Conant on 2/14/2016 Valentines Day. The waitress taxed each item on my bill separately: for example, she taxed me for the pizza, then taxed me for the pop, and added a gratuity.

Calculating the sales tax on separate items on a restaurant bill


More broadly... what conditions must exist for a governmental body to enforce its laws on a foreign company?

Concrete example: the European Union fined Google for what it found to be anticompetitive practices. What gives the EU power to enforce such a penalty on a US company?

What if Google had no physical presence in Europe but did effectively serve and make money from Europe.

I assume France could not successfully sue and enforce against John Doe Individual in the US for selling Nazi paraphernalia online on a site accessible by people in France. Where is the line?

Who can the EU fine?


The GDPR gives users the right to have their stored data deleted.

How does the GDPR handle situations where the data controller needs the data to fulfil their obligations to users (specifically by allowing a software to function)?

---

For example:

Assume a software ("aggregator") that aggregates and displays information from a social network, to provide a more useful dashboard and notifications than what's built into the platform.

Users of the social network authorize the aggregator to access, store and display their friends' activity, and the service then notifies them when something interesting happens. This would make the aggregator (more precisely, the entity behind it) a "data controller" under the GDPR, right?.

Now if a user's friend requests deletion of their data from the aggregator, can the aggregator claim a "legitimate interest" reason to not delete that data? Since omitting friend activity from users' dashboards/notifications would mean not fulfilling the contractual obligation to the aggregator's users.

As a compromise, would it be permissible to substitute deleted information with anonymous records, like "An anonymous user commented in your discussion", given a user can trivially reference the discussion on the original platform and identify this "anonymous" user?

Do I have a "legitimate interest" under GDPR to not delete data my software needs to fulfil its function?


The work done is 100% remote in all cases, and the employee does not care at all where the employee does his/her work. For examples sake we can assume that the work in question is programming, although in the real world case it can be a variety of other things too.

The company is located in Ireland. The employees can be located anywhere, though EU area would be the most immediate practical case. The employees might or might not be citizens of the countries they're residents in.

Case A:

The employee is an actual employee (yet the company does not care at all about their physical location). Which country's employment laws apply?

Case B:

The employee is actually not an employee but a contractor with a contract for service with the company. Let's say there's some dispute regarding his/her employment status. Which country's employment laws apply?

Which country's employment law is applied in 100% remote work


Suppose I have to write a paper for a class in college. Am I allowed to copyright the paper (provided I did not sign my rights away already) that I turn in? Is there any thing prohibiting this in copyright law that I am not seeing?

Can I copyright a homework assignement?


I'm considering appointing somebody to be a registered Copyright Agent with the US government. What qualifications do they need? Do they need to be a lawyer or something?

What qualifications does a registered Copyright Agent need?


I do not want to serve a complete notice period (3 months) for the MNC (multi-national company) in India I currently work for. I would like to serve only one month notice period, and although I am ready to pay for not completing the full notice period, HR is not allowing me to do this. Instead, they keep insisting that I need to complete the full notice period. This is creating an issue for me and it is not allowing a smooth transition for my new job.

What legal action can be taken?

3 month notice versus 1 month notice


I think it's probably obvious that a lawyer cannot tell his client where to stash the body his client just murdered.

I think it's also probably pretty obvious (but less so) that a lawyer cannot tell his client the best way to commit a murder, even though the lawyer may have nothing to do with carrying out the murder.

Tell me if I am wrong, though.

Then there's a question of, say, a lawyer telling his client where to stash his retirement account in order to avoid paying taxes on it. This one is less obvious.

Then there's a question of, say, a lawyer advising his client that the fine for breaking the law is "only" $X, so it would therefor be worth it to take the fine and commit the illegal act. To me, this one should be perfectly okay for the lawyer to do. But what if the lawyer advised his client "it's only 30 years if you want to kill your lover's mistress? It might be worth it?"

Finally, there's a special case for attorney generals, who are licensed I assume. What if an AG advises a president or a governor to do X illegal act because the only penalty is impeachment and the legislature is controlled by his own party so he can get away with it?

**In sum, is there a rule of thumb or a case history which provides a guide as to the actions of attorneys? What is it?**

Since the ABA governs most states, consider what they would say.

When is a lawyer in violation of his license with regard to advice on the law?


A friend has an upholstery shop in Buffalo, NY. A customer brought her a set of seats to re-do more than a year ago. The project was completed and several attempts have been made to contact the customer to pick them up and pay for work done, to no avail.

Can she sell the seats at this point to recoup her investment without running into a problem, should the customer resurface down the road?

Can a repair business sell goods that haven't been picked up for over a year?


We were just having a discussion whether [Lush's naming of a mouthwash as "Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster"](https://uk.lush.com/products/new-products/pan-galactic-gargle-blaster) is benefiting from the popularity of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series, which led to the intellectual property concerns behind this. My two questions are:
1. Could the Adams estate legally challenge Lush in any way, for use of this name?
2. Would Lush be able trademark the name, given they are actually trading a product with that name?

I'm in the UK, but I'm sort of interested whether there are any interesting interactions of this sort between IPR law and products in works of fiction anywhere in the world.

Can you trademark a proper noun from a work of fiction?


I want to upload screenshots of user manuals for different types of cranes on my mobile app to teach users how to operate cranes. Is this illegal?

I have seen a website that allows users to download manuals for almost any kinds of products free. Could they have asked all those manufacturers for permission to redistribute the manuals? As far as I remember, the site was pretty famous.

Are user manuals copyrighted?


I am not sure if it's the right place to ask, but I don't find better place .

I am holding "`windows`", "apple", "`microsoft`", "`ios`" and lots of other trademarked names on pypi.

**Microsoft** contacted me and asked me to hand over the ownership of those names. Of course I will do that as they asked me politely. But they warn me that Microsoft may consider legal action.

My question is, Is this an obligation? Can they actually file for open source package names? And what if I don't want to handover? (As I said I am just curious about the topic)

ps: If this question is off topic , please guide me.

Usage of trademarked names in pypi


My roomate hasn't arrived yet and I haven't met him yet but a big package of water in plastic bottles has been delivered to the room for him. My metal reusable water bottle is moldy and I didn't get a chance to buy soap to wash it so I took one of my roomate's waters for myself with the intention that I would reuse it a few times and by then I would've gotten a chance to wash my metal water bottle. I feel like I might be stealing and don't want to get in trouble for it but I'm sure my roomate would consent after I meet him. Should I not do this? I saw this searching on Google and it seems like a big deal: <https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/caught-stealing-under--10-of-merchandise-from-walm-1013930.html>

I'm stealing a water from my roomate


I understand that distribution of copyrighted content is illegal, but have always thought that receiving that content was legal. However, I recently read a news article stating that people streaming pirated movies were being sued.

What law prevents you from watching these illegal movies?

What if the movie is being illegally aired on TV (and I was aware of this)? Would I have to immediately change the channel?

What if a professor distributed photocopies of a book without the author's permission? Would I have to avoid looking at those pages and throw them away as soon as I had a chance?

What law makes watching pirated movies illegal?


I would like to create an application/website which is automating some processes on another website A. So my application would basically use website A like a normal user would (there is no API available).

Is offering an application like this considered illegal? Since I would not have a permission from website A to do this.

The website is hosted in France.

My app uses another website. Is it legal?


Let's say an organization asks a panel of volunteer judges to select the best short stories of the year. The judges select a set of stories, which are all available for free by a CC-BY creative commons license. The judges also arrange these stories into thematic groups. The organization claims copyright of the collective work.

1. Can the organization claim copyright of the collective work despite no contract or written agreement from the judges nor any payment to the judges?
2. If I list which stories are in the collection (i.e. a list of that year's best stories) but the list has a completely different order (e.g., by author name), is this reordered list sufficiently distinct to avoid a copyright claim by the original list's copyright holder?

Copyright limits of a Collective Work


I run a website, by which we develope website extensions. Last year, I thought I'd release a commercial extension simply to contribute towards the hosting and domain expenses.

Before doing so, I registered as a Sole Trader.

According to the GOV.UK website, **You must register for VAT if your business turnover is over £82,000.**

Now seeing as my site only turns over a couple of hundred pounds every few months, am I still required to notify HMRC of my revenue and pay VAT on it?

I only ask as I received a letter from HMRC saying I was required to pay £75.

VAT for Sole Trader in the UK


I have an online resume website that I created, and I list the logos of companies I've work with over the course of my career. Rather than a dry date list of work experience, I'm just listing the names and logos of the companies on the website. I even have a disclaimer stating this in no way represents endorsement or sponsorship.

I assume this use of the names / logos is considered fair use, an anyone can put a companies name or logo on their resume to state where and who they've work with when talking about their work experience / history. This is exactly what I'm doing here, and what happens when people fill out their LinkedIn profiles too.

Is is considered trademark fair use to use a company logo on your resume?

My website is an online resume / portfolio to use as a digital resume outside of LinkedIn or other places. For reference, it's located here: <http://chrispietschmann.com>

Is it trademark fair use to use company name/logo on your resume?


I am building a mobile app to do things with friends. Among the list of activities, I want to add a game "League of Legends". If I make a custom logo to represent the game (looks similar to the official logo but more minimalistic) and use in my app, am I infringing the copyright?

Displaying League of Legends Logo in my Mobile App


My neighbor does odd jobs for me such as taking out the trash, cleaning out the gutters, etc. They fell off a ladder and required medical attention. Recently, they received a letter from their insurance provider that states:

>
> If another person or entity caused or may be responsible for the
>  injury/illness treated, we have processed the claim in accordance with
>  your contract benefits. However, we may be able to recover the expense
>  of these services from the party causing the injury. Before we can
>  close this matter, we require additional information from you.
>
>
>

Are they obligated to respond? If so, how should they respond?

Liability for neighbor injured on my property


Can a well-known, general, legal rule(s) of law overrule a claim made within a terms of service agreement that a customer has agreed to?

Something along the lines of "the claim was rejected because they were not acting in good faith". Is there a name for this concept?

An example would be appreciated.

Can a general rule of law be used to reject a claim made within a signed service agreement?


**Background** (as I understand it in California)

My friends, some stranger, or myself are allowed to do minor repairs (minor plumbing or electrical work) to a home, without the need for professional licenses/certifications. As long as no one is doing it as a paid professional.

We can also do major renovations or demolitions (major plumbing, etc.) as long as we get local permits first.

Again, all without the need for professional licenses/certifications. As long as no one is doing it as a paid professional.

**Question**

If I'm filming and paying actors doing these tasks, would this be legal?

I've hired them to **act** like licensed professionals not **be** licensed professionals.

In these situations/scenes, these tasks may or may not get complete fully, but they would be doing the **actual tasks**, not just a fake version of them.

Tasks which require professional licenses by non-licensed persons


I recently discovered several videos on YouTube talking about a new form of public art called Reverse Grafitti, the idea being that instead of adding paint to a wall, you form an image by selectively cleaning it. This creates a temporary form that will fade naturally within a short (few months) timeframe.

Here is a video demonstrating the idea: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut96pkYUOiM>

Now I know that in most places, grafitti is illegal. However, here are my questions:

1. Is "Reverse Grafitti" considered Grafitti? and
2. Have any similar ideas been brought before a court? What was the result?

What is the legality of "reverse grafitti"?


I have a question regarding the use of Android.

We want to sell devices, that are equipped with a modified Android-System.

* Some things are restricted
* Some apps are preinstalled
* We use the company logo when booting the system.

Is there something we need to consider in this case?

Can I use a modfied copy of the Android OS in a commercial application?


I am making a website for a client who has a store and is trying to sell their products on the web now. I told the client that they would need to provide me with images of all of their products and instead, they directed me to the websites that sell the same items and told me to use their images instead.

I explained that we would need to at least provide a shoutout to the website for using their images but the client does not want this.

Do I need to be worried about using another web site's images when I am simply the builder of the web site who is not gaining any personal benefit besides being able to use the web site as part of my portfolio?

How to avoid image copyright infringement


So, if it's either such an esoteric language that only the signatories speak it (say, a new variant of Esperanto, or an idioticon between twins)? Or if it were an archaic language- say, the two foremost professors of classical language in the world sign a contract written in a language which people technically know about, and can become experts in, but which essentially no one else has devoted the time and energy necessary to become expert in?

(I ask because it is Friday in Iceland.)

Is a contract valid if it's in a language only the signatories speak?


So in the state of California in Napa county, a 19-year-old male was hanging out with a 15-year-old girl. They were thought to be caught in a sexual act. after they were taken into questioning and they were both let go. the male was told by the police to not have contact With her and to not return to the city. (American Canyon). Its been a year and a half the case was dropped and no charges where pressed. Is the 19-year-old male able to go back to the city and see his friend?

Freedom to travel


I've been wondering about this. I know that, say, it is generally a crime to file a false police report, and the motivation for this seems logical because that it wastes police time and resources - and thus takes them away from being able to spend them on real leads, and thus also to degrade the public safety by that little bit.

But I also know that, if one admits to making a crime on a public forum, such as an Internet forum, it is possible that a prosecutor who is looking at such fora could potentially use the admission to bring charges, even if the admission is not specifically directed toward one. However, what I wonder about is if some of the above logic does not also, then, apply to a situation like this: if one were to, given this fact, *falsely* announce on such a forum that one had committed a crime that one actually did not, could it amount to having the same effect of wasting prosecutor/law enforcement time albeit in a more indirect way that sneaks through their attitudes, and thus potentially also be considered some kind of crime?

(I want to point out I'm not referring to making a false claim to be the perpetrator of a known crime, or to falsely claim someone else is that perpetrator to, say, get reward money. I'm referring specifically to announcing an *unknown* crime one did not commit, a crime that does not exist, on a public venue like a forum that is not *specifically* a channel to police or other authorities. If a prosecutor got ahold of it and tried to pursue it, and it were during the course of that proven a hoax, what would happen?)

FWIW, the country in question is the United States.

Is it a crime to falsely claim to have committed a crime to someone not a legal authority?


If I draw an imaginary character and use a photograph as reference for human body/pose, is that legal, copyright-wise? Let's say I change the hair and the face? I know it needs to be 80% different, but not sure how much % a figure pose is worth. Basically, the pose is the only thing that would be the same.

Country I'm in (for laws): USA

(posted this on arts and crafts originally, but they said it's better posted here)

Is using a photo reference for pose fair use?


I have a website hosted in a European server. The website is static (serverless) so I can take advantage of a CDN to serve its whole content.

A CDN is, basically, a distributed network of servers. That means that a copy of my website would be hosted on several servers around the world. User requests are (ideally) directed to the server which is closest to the user. By doing so, a CDN improves the performance of the site.

How is this relevant concerning the GDPR?

1. By using a CDN I'm adding to the system a new third-party that will collect the IP and other metadata from my users. Obviously I can't get consent from the user beforehand: when they hit the server it is already too late.
2. Probably, users will get routed to a server close to them, but this is not guaranteed. I don't know to which server they are going to connect. I don't even know the country. It could be that a German user end up sending his IP, browser footprint, etc. to a server in Japan (unlikely but possible). Because I don't know it, I can't inform the user about it.

My assumptions are:

1. Without CDN, the hosting provider would collect that same data so I don't think there is a relevant difference. I just need to inform my users in the privacy policy which CDN provider I use and that it collects personal data on the basis of legitimate interests (Art.6(1)(f)), as I do with the hosting provider.
2. Because there is a potential transfer of personal data out of the EU, I must ensure that the DPA that I sign with the CDN provider includes the SCC. Also, I must inform the users about this possible data transfer in my privacy policy.

Are my assumptions correct?

Is there, in the frame of the GDPR, any other aspect to take in consideration when using a CDN?

GDPR and CDN (content delivery networks)


If I appear in a video wearing a shirt with a copyrighted image on it, is that a violation?

What about if the artwork is being used as an illustration? For example, if I'm doing a video tutorial on painting, and use a painting someone else has done to illustrate a point, or as example of a particular method.

Does copyright cover the use of artwork in a video?


i have a question regarding software development contracts.

Take for instance two company, A and B whose primary business mainly involves the reconfiguring and resale of microcomputer system.

Company A and company B had a signed letter agreement which tasked company B to build a video editing system for company A. After the completion of the system, company B will have the rights to own one half interest in the software.

In such a situation, is it a normal contract or is it a software development contract.

Existence of a software development contract


Does a company have the right to sniff all the traffic on their network irrespective of whether it contains personal data of employees if they show a warning message which states "...are subject to having their activities on the system intercepted, monitored and recorded."

1. Does US law states anything about this?
2. Does company policy enforcement with such a warning override the right to not be subject to surveillance?

Does a company have the right to perform MITM SSL stripping attack on their employees?


I recently received a letter from my employer's HR department telling me that they've given me too much paid leave and they would like the additional money back, however, we are disputing the actual amount I owe as I'm getting two different answers from two different areas of the company about whether the figures are correct or not. My regional office's HR guy (who passes information up to HR at head office to pay us) is saying that we accrue holiday on our paid leave, but the number of leave hours I've accrued according to HR at head office does not include any time I would've accrued while on leave.

To clarify, I work part-time, six days a week with a minimum of four hour shifts and our leave is worked out as roughly 12% of the hours we earn, so for working 100 hours, I'd accrue 12 hours of annual leave which can be broken down to three days at 4 hours each or less should I claim more, say two days at six hours each, and I can theoretically take as many days off as I like provided I have enough leave left.

Does the law state that I accrue holiday on the hours of **paid leave** I ask for? Or would this be something the company decides to include the hours of paid leave when calculating how many hours of leave I've accrued? I've checked my contract but it doesn't mention anything about it.

I've found plenty of information on this concerning unpaid leave and sickness, but not paid leave which was approved beforehand.

UK - Do I accrue holiday when on paid leave?


What is the legal effect of a successful "as applied" challenge? Does it cancel out the whole law or just create new enforcement guidelines which suggest that the applied conduct should not be punished?


Suppose you purchase a CD containing some computer software (e.g. a video game) and a perpetual license to use that software. Included on the disc are songs encoded as, for example, mp3 files. These are not encrypted and can be read/copied by a standard operating system. The mp3 files form part of the software in the sense that the software contains code to play the music as part of its usage experience (e.g. as background music for a title screen or menu).

My question is whether you have an implied license to use the music out of context, such as:

* playing the music file with a third party media player application (i.e. not in the manner originally intended by the software designer)
* transferring the mp3 files to another device (e.g. a portable music player) for the purpose of listening to them independently of the software on the CD.
* trans-coding the music from one (unencrypted) file format to another (for example, compressing the music from .wav to .mp3).

I am in the UK, but am also interested in hearing about international approaches to this issue.

Listening to software music out of context


From what I understand, a ["representation"](https://definitions.uslegal.com/r/representation/) is a statement of fact that underpins e.g., a contract.

My understanding is that a ["warranty"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warranty) is a promise that if something isn't true, it will be "made true" during the course of the warranty's life. E.g. "If your widget doesn't work within the first year of sale, we'll give you another one that works."

Within the above context, I am confused by the dual term "representation and warranty" or "represents and warrants" in a contract. What exactly does it mean? Put another way, how can something be both a statement of fact and a promise? Or does a term that draws on two other terms have a "third" meaning?

What's the difference between a "representation" and a "representation and warranty?"


Contracts generally have terminations clauses allowing either party to eventually end the obligation imposed on them by a contract. E.g. the buyer may have to notify the seller of termination in writing; the service may, at its sole discretion, terminate a user for breaking the rules; the agreement may terminate on a specific date and so on. In principle, a contract could be written in such a way that the service has the right to terminate the agreement, but the customer cannot terminate the agreement (so they are stuck with that cell service provider for life). Assume that the contracts in question are contracts of adhesion (take it or leave it, customer). In the scenario, (1) there may be an explicit statement that the customer is perpetually bound or (2) there is no statement regarding termination by the customer: I assume the answer is different depending on whether the contract is silent.

Is there any statutory or case law that addresses the enforceability of perpetual contracts (general common law, unless the answer is too jurisdiction in which case US)? I understand that a contract can obligate a customer to do something in exchange for receiving X, so I'm not asking if *quid* can be extinguished when there exists a viable *quo* within the statute if limits. I am also not asking about perpetual copyright licenses.

Are perpetual contracts enforceable?


![Screencap of a Simpsons episode showing Sprawl-Mart](https://i.stack.imgur.com/lA8bY.png)

Often, when I watch TV shows, I'll see or hear about an imitation of a real brand name.

As an example, here is a parody of Walmart from The Simpsons
The store in the picture is unambiguously supposed to represent Walmart. They're even using Walmart's Styling

Is there any legal reason why they do this? and if there is, does it provide any actual legal protection?

Is there a legal reason why fictional shows use imitation brand names?


As it commonly known, the [right to be forgotten](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_be_forgotten) is a fundamental right in the modern informational society. It is the right of an individual to obtain erasure of his personal data from the online and offline directories immediately upon request without undue delay.

The perfect example of implementation of this fundamental rule is [European GDPR rules](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Data_Protection_Regulation) which clearly state principles and obligations in [Article 17](https://gdpr-info.eu/art-17-gdpr/) and recitals 65 and 66. Everybody working in EU and EEA areas is obliged to abide this law and individuals have tools and mechanism to prosecute legal entities that break these regulations.

What about US? Is there any similar law within US legal system which I can use effectively to push for observance of my right to forget? I.e. to push websites, web-services and other online/offline entities to delete my personal data.

Is there any way to punish them by law if they deny to do that?

Right to be forgotten in US legal system. Practical approach for erasure?


I was wondering if a person could be charged with selling something like drugs, illegal firearms, or stolen items if they are never caught possessing them?

I have seen in movies where they will take payment and then say that the location will be given to the buyer later via a call or text. Is this enough evidence to charge the seller with crime? I have heard phrases like possession is 9/10 of the law. Then you hear of kingpins like El Chapo getting arrested and it makes you wonder. Seems like most kingpins never touch the merchandise at least on TV. Is it the same in real law?

Could a dark web seller be charged selling drugs if they are never caught possessing them? You hear of dark web drug sales a lot on the net. Is this why it's so common?

Can an individual be charged with selling an illegal substance if they are not in possession?


I am creating a privacy policy for an app that I have developed by myself. Since there is no other person legally responsible, is it ok if I use the word "I" in the privacy policy?

Extra info:

* This app will be on the app store and google play store
* "I" refers to me (the creator of the app)

Example:

>
> ***I*** use analytics services to analyze how users use the app. These services may track how long users use the app, what pages inside the
>  app users visit, and errors users encounter.
>
>
>

Is it proper to use "I" in a privacy policy?


In *[NBA vs. Motorola](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Basketball_Ass%27n_v._Motorola,_Inc.)* where Motorola did not infringe NBA's copyright by publishing scores of games. However, I am wondering if published scores are copyrightable.

For instance, the result "Bulls 99-89 Lakers" itself may not be copyrightable (since it's a fact), but what if it is published on the NBA website? If I want to use the score that is published on the NBA website (without reaching an agreement with NBA), would I infringe NBA's copyright in that case?

Are published sports results copyrightable?


I resigned from a company and it was documented in a meeting with my district manager that I would receive compensation for the way I left. It changed the way I left the organization as I had 3 different ways to leave, but as I am leaving, I am being told the meeting document is incorrect in regards to the original written contract. Does this meeting document supersede my original written contract? Do I have rights in regards to this meeting document given to me?

Written document from meeting in spite of a contract


If I agreed to plead guilty to a charge and after pleading guilty the courts impose on me that I plead guilty to the actual crime, then what rights do I have in this case? Can they charge me with an attempted burglary charge even if that's not what I plead guilty to?

I think I need an attorney. I was forced to plead guilty to this crime and I was not involved in this crime. I agreed to plead guilty to something else and that was dismissed once I plead guilty the charge was changed to attempted burglary.

Issues with a Guilty Plea


From the [Wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolley_problem) on the trolley problem:

>
> There is a runaway trolley barreling down the railway tracks. Ahead,
>  on the tracks, there are five people tied up and unable to move. The
>  trolley is headed straight for them. You are standing some distance
>  off in the train yard, next to a lever. If you pull this lever, the
>  trolley will switch to a different set of tracks. However, you notice
>  that there is one person on the side track. You have two options: (1)
>  Do nothing, and the trolley kills the five people on the main track.
>  (2) Pull the lever, diverting the trolley onto the side track where it
>  will kill one person.
>
>
>

[![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/UJuc8.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/UJuc8.jpg)

What are the legal aspects of finding yourself in a train yard in the United States when this happens? Is it a crime to pull the lever? Is it a crime to not pull the lever? Does it depend on if you're professionally qualified to pull the lever?

What is the legal take on the trolley problem?


I want to download a HTML code from this website: "<http://www.cssscript.com/pure-css-floating-labels-for-text-fields/>", the license is "Unknown", this mean that I can edit and add the code the my website without write any License text in the edited code?
In the website which I want to download the code I found this sentance:" Inspired by Matt D. Smith’s design and created by skielbasa."

Add Code With Unknown License


I just read about Apple's [App Store Review Guideline](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#in-app-purchase):

>
> Apps may not include buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms other than IAP.
>
>
>

What's the scope of this requirement? Does it only apply to payment to `unlock features or functionality within your app` or all payment behavior? Do online payment apps (Line Pay, Alipay) violate this guideline? After all, their sole purpose is to direct customers to their own payment mechanism.

Mobile payment app: infringement of Apple's IAP guideline?


Let's say that someone scams me, yet I manage to find this person and tell that if I'm not paid some money I will press charges as theft by deception. Does this also qualify as extortion? Generally, is asking money to not inform authorities or to not witness for someone a crime of any kind?

EDIT: While there is already a similar question with an answer that just says yes, I wish I could know the details (law, case, reference...).

Does asking money to not press a criminal charge also constitute extortion?


Let's consider this case.

John and Bill works together for apartment reparation in 10th floor. John unintentionally put big heavy hammer near the open window, after 5 minutes Bill accidentally (unintentionally) hit this hammer and it fall down from 10th floor and killed somebody.

Both of them went to court. Let's say we have ideal case. Everybody accept this story. There is no doubt that it was accident. John confirm, yes, I unintentionally put hammer near windows, Bill confirm yes, I accidentally (unintentionally) hit hammer and it fall down.

Theoretically if John would not put this hammer near the window, Bill would not drop it down and nobody would be killed. In this sense John is guilty.

From other side if Bill would be more careful and would not drop this hammer also nobody would not be killed. In this sense Bill is guilty.

My question: If it is classified as "[Negligent homicide](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negligent_homicide)", What normal judge in Western World will decide about this case? Who is guilty and who will go to jail?
John, Bill or both?

If both are guilty, will they have the same responsibility, like 5 years in jail for john and 5 years in jail for Bill or Bill will get more?

Update:

If it is difficult with criminal-law, let's say hammer fall down to the car and let's assume nobody has insurance. Who will pay for the car reparation in this case? John, Bill or both? and if both, each will pay 50% or different?

Shared responsibility in criminal law


I know in some contracts it specifically states "this contract can only be modified in writing by an addendum". I've read this is redundant as it's always true. I've also seen explicit terms in addenda saying things like "this addendum takes precedence, supersedes or prevails over any conflicts, contradictions or inconsistencies with the contract". Is this necessary? Isn't this type of statement redundant too as that's the whole point of an addendum?

Is there a natural limit to an addendum, for example is a new contract ever required? For example say the initial contract says "Joe will pay Sam $100 each month" but then the addendum says "Joe will pay Robert $200 bi-monthly". Is this the point of having the clause about supersede/precedents?

Basically what I'm asking is, are there any rules for addenda, for example can they both add to, remove from and modify the original contract?

When and how does an addendum apply?


Why don't most privacy policies include links to the privacy policy of the company that is hosting the website? One would think that that given all the data that the host collects, that would be required.

Website Privacy Policy: Include link to internet host's policy?


Lets say I create a program that generates random text based on a seed value.

I then create a secondary program, which uses incremental seeds with the initial program to generate several trillion strings of text. It compares each string against a library of copyrighted works to see if there are matches, and writes down the seed alongside the name of the work if it does.

The end result is a list of seeds that can be used with the original program to generate a specific copyrighted work.

What would then be the legal status of these seeds? Would sharing them be considered copyright infringement?

How would copyright law affect a seedable random text generator?


On my website I'm displaying the available payment options on the main shop page.
It's just there to inform the visitor; there is no interaction with these icons.
I changed the look of them to fit the design of my site better.

Most of these companies have **strict Identity-Guidelines** that don't allow these changes.

**Does posting these modified images violate copyright law?**

[![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/1YgXY.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/1YgXY.png)

Changing the look of payment options on a Website? Identity-Guidelines


I wonder whether it is legal to debloat and remove ads from Windows 10?

Is it legal to remove Metro apps from Windows 10?


i have a question pertaining to the copyrights of web content.
I understand that the web design of a website belonging to a business is protected by the copyright law. However can this be said for web icons that exist on the webpage?

Web icons copyrightable?


I am tasked with making a due diligence of legacy software. Part of this is to reassess all software dependencies and their licensing. However, there are various ambiguities, occurring most commonly in old code.

I am now facing this particular issue:
I have a dependency that I have seen to be indicated in the code to be licensed under `L-GPL`. With a fair amount of certainty this can be identified as the [GNU Lesser GPL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Lesser_General_Public_License). However, I cannot find information about the version this refers to.

My question is what version should I assume, and I can think of several options:

1. The version of the time of creation of the software, namely [LGPL 2.1](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/lgpl-2.1.html), or
2. The version of the time of our use of the software, which practically would allow me to choose today's most recent version, i.e. [LGPL 3.0](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl-3.0.en.html).

To my understanding the difference between the two is negligible, but the combination of legal and technical context urges me to try to be specific as much as possible.

Please, excuse me if this question has already been asked in some other form and I haven't been able to identify it with my searches.

License ambiguity - When license version is not specified by author?


The company L was offering me a lower salary than my previous job. I negotiated and was ready to turn it down if they can't make the salary enough to make a true lateral move. Finally, after 3 rounds of negotiation, they gave me a number just enough for me to make a true lateral move and I accepted the offer.

Before I accepted a job offer, I asked the HR how much 401K matching is and was told that it is six percent, period. After my first day, I found out that the matching is only "20% of the first 6%". That equals 1.2%. I blamed HR for providing misleading info and asked if they can keep their words or raise my salary to match the loss. My boss said he couldn't and accused me of "not happy with what the company offer" and terminate my employment after 1 week of hire with a 2-week notice.

FYI: Although my previous job has a lower salary, the bonus, the 6% 401K matching, and benefits are much better. Before accepting the offer, I calculated all salary and benefits to compensate for what I lost if I accept the offer, and came up with a number, which the company agreed to offer me by going over their budget.

I guess the company found me too expensive and rather keep the other person (they hired one guy and me in the same position) which could be cheaper. Now I have to file unemployment insurance (UI) which provides just 1/5 of my salary. My family cannot survive with the UI benefit.

Can I sue the company for providing misleading info and terminate the employment even when I didn't do anything wrong? If I knew the 401K matching earlier, I would either put it into the calculation to compensate for the loss of benefits or turn down the offer. The offer letter didn't say anything about at-will, just FYI.

I'm in Georgia, US.


I was wondering what the legality is in the following situation.

User signs up to site A. Just above the submit button user is notified that signing up to site A will also sign user up to site B (which they may not ever use). They have no choice.

Site A is a blog and site B is an e-commerce site, both 'owned' by the same person.

Is this, firstly, legal? If so, is it advised? Or should the user always have the option to choose whether they want to signup or not?

Automatic website signup without user consent


The character is leaning his head across state lines and getting high of an unknown substance, which isn't federally scheduled, and is legal in one state, but illegal in another. In the illegal state, a DUI is a citation, while in the legal state, a DUI is a gross misdemeanor.

The character is on his motorcycle with the rest of his body sitting sidesaddle on a motorcycle that is parked and turned off in the illegal state, but is consuming and possessing the drug in the illegal state.

When he's done, he throws the cigarette in a nearby puddle in the legal state and gives the officer the middle finger in the legal state, turns on his engine, rides away into a nearby shed and lets the drug take him over.

The cops in the illegal state don't write tickets for DUIs unless they're generally in big vehicles, and he was on a motorcycle, which they don't ever charge people with DUIs for...

So did my character find a loophole and outsmarted the police in both states?

Writing a story. A criminal is on the border of a state with different drug possession laws


I have seen others, and may have once or twice, stepped into an open parking spot to "reserve it" for my friend who is coming by, say within a minutes.

* What laws if any are those "saving a spot" breaking?
* What recourse does the blocked driver looking for an open parking spot have?

Saving a parking spot and legal recourse


If an officer pulls a car over and I get out start running, the officer ends up hurting himself, can I be charged with a felony and how much jail time if any?

Running from the police


I helped in the implementation of a friend's project by doing some coding work, but did not get an acknowledgement of it in his research paper, tied with the thesis. How can I claim my right? I actually wrote a module for him.

How to claim the copyright of the code written by me


Let's say I create a computer program that randomly chooses words and records them. Now, this generator spits out an exact word-for-word copy of a non-public-domain book.

If I publish this (without knowing it's a copy), would I be in violation of the original book's copyrights? What if I could reasonably prove that it was generated randomly?

Is a randomly-generated book a violation of copyright?


I am aware that ebooks actually have a license (usually) which prohibits a user from sharing an ebook.

I am curious, if, as a programmer, I can have a system (say an online session) where only one user (not necessarily the original purchaser) can use/view an ebook (i.e. it is not replicated or distributed) at any given time, will it be legal for me to share my ebooks?

Can I 'lend' an ebook?


I'm in more interest of intellectual property stuff. For example if I'd like to take a picture of some masterpiece painting in the Louvre museum, can I spread thic pic or even sell via different photostocks. And can I take a pics with 360 cameras in museum for commercial purposes? Thanks

What is the status of arts at museums?


I'm working on a series of books that I plan on publishing only as epubs (e.g. Kindle). Just as books are marketed as "Penguin" or "Alfred Knopf," I'd like to get a trademark that I can list on my books.

I've learned that can't get a trademark for a single title. You have to have a **series** of titles to qualify.

However, it isn't clear to me what is meant by "series." Do they mean well define series, like "My Horse Book," "My Horse Book II," etc.? Or does series in this case simply refer to multiple books?

I'm already working on half a dozen books focusing on a variety of topics, including state symbols, political science and philosophy.

What constitutes a series of books for trademark purposes?


In the USA, can an employer be held liable for their employee's federal income tax – specifically if the employer failed to inform employee of their responsibility to pay their own income taxes?

Let's say an employer reports a worker to the IRS as a contractor (1099), but fools the worker into thinking they are a full-time (W-2) employee. Would there be a legal case to be had in holding the employer liable for that worker's federal income tax?

Can an employer owe money for an employee's income tax?


Simply put, I'm developing a 'social' app centered around similar interests in brands (specifically restaurants). The main function of the app has users add restaurants to a 'shareable favorites list' of sorts. I intend on generating profit through ads or possibly otherwise in the future

If I intend on generating profit from ad revenue, am I allowed to reference said brands/franchises? Does the answer change if I use a trademarked logo? If not, does it change if all entries of restuarants and logos are added to the database by users and not the app owner(s)?

*Ex. If my app's feature allows users to access entries for McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's (which have respective locations and trademarked logos attached to them), will I get sued for making a profit off of that feature the app?*

Is it illegal to reference other brands in an app for profit?


Many years ago I was walking down the street when several patrol cars quickly pulled up, police jumped out and sternly stated, "Stop. Can I see some ID?" (with hands on guns/tasers ready for a chase).

Naturally I stopped and showed ID. No problem.

Once the officers saw I was cooperative and not trying to be difficult, they lowered their defenses and became much more cordial.

I learned that I "matched the description" of someone who apparently had just moments before committed an armed robbery a few blocks away. Okay, so I get why I was stopped. Again, no problem. They took my information and let me go on my way.

A few days later, two officers knocked on my door and asked if I would "come down to the station to be part of a photo line-up." Note that I have no criminal record and there is most likely nothing "on file" that would have been sufficient for the police to use.

Due to my circumstances - just got off work, had a job that left me smelling of gas, tar, and asphalt and very, very greasy and grimy and I hadn't had a chance to clean up yet - I politely turned down their request. This wasn't a problem. The officers went on their way.

Much later I read somewhere that one should **never** pose for a photo line up because if the "witness" makes a mistake you could be in a whole lot of trouble quickly with little or no cause for it.

**Is it ever a good idea to pose for a photo line up if you haven't been charged with anything?**

Is it ever a good idea to volunteer for a "photo line up"?


The question:
If I am missing time at work, and spending free time, to do research to free myself from a 'crime' I didn't commit, can I sue 'the plaintiff'?

The background:
A rental car company is accusing me of doing ~2000 dollars worth of damage to the locks on one of their cars, they said that I must have locked myself out and trashed the door trying to break in.

I have hours of footage of the car in the hotel lot where I parked it, pictures showing the car in the condition it was returned, and the car was inspected when dropped off. There is more information I could provide, but it suffices to say that I have mountains of incontrovertible evidence showing that I never broke the car. Three dealers have quoted me a price of ~$300 to repair the damage they are describing. In addition, they have tried to charge me twice today, once for 2000, and once for 500 dollars, and I had to cancel my credit card to prevent them from continuing to try to get whatever sum they can. I have spent the last eight hours gathering this information, I plan to write them a letter tonight, mail it tomorrow, will probably be in contact with them again at least once more, and so will be spending more of my time defending myself against a 'thief'. I have read online that rental car companies will do this sometimes, and that there is no way out of their fees, but that part I already have covered. the question is:

Is there some way for me to inconvenience them (monetarily or otherwise) to get a sense justice?

Being Paid for Preparation Time


One of the big consultancy firms has a really good methodology on company health evaluation. This methodology and their work is widely published on the internet and also in books.

Now I want to use this methodology, analysis in roughly the same way as the consultancy it presented in their book. Purpose is too slightly adapt it and make it available for the medium sized companies (not the big multinationals).

There are some deviations but roughly the figures and tables will be used. Also wording will be a bit different

Obviously in the books/websites it is stated that it is their copyright.

Is it allowed to make use of their methodology and analysis? What are the constraints?

Copyright on methodology from published book


I have a divorce ruling from 4 years ago (30+ year marriage) which has granted me maintenance based on my ex's income. He has recently decided to retire and filed a motion to modify and/or remove this maintenance.

The paper I received says that he sent it before 5pm on 9/18, but I just received it today 9/27 (via first class mail) and the judge is hearing the motion 10/4. I plan on filing a written opposition to his motion, but I'm not sure I can get it filed in time. Is there a way I can delay/dismiss the hearing on the grounds that I wasn't given proper notice?

I live in Illinois

Not enough time to oppose a motion


Seller had a standard Real Estate contract with a section entitled "Cash Funds and Financing Contingency" the checked paragraph stated:

* No Contingency on Obtaining Cash Funds

. "Buyer represents there are no contingencies on Buyer obtaining the necessary cash.....sub chapter A, Verification of Cash Funds... Buyer to provide evidence that is satisfactory to Seller of the availability of Cash funds... within a certain time frame...
The Buyer HAS NOT provided evidence nor additional earnest monies per contract.... does this release seller from contact ... as a Breach of Contract?... as now the Buyer is NOT providing evidence but threatening a law suit....

Buyers "breach of contract" by not providing "proof of funds"....is it enforcable and nulls purchase contract?


As I understand it, the Right to be Forgotten was promulgated solely as an EU regulation[1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_be_forgotten#European_Union).

Assuming that the UK follows through and leaves the EU, would search engines no longer have to remove results related to British subjects?

What effect does Brexit have on Britons' Right to be Forgotten?


MAGIX likes to sell sound packages that they proclaim as "license-free and royalty free content for non-commercial use only" (e.g <https://www.cloudswave.com/creative-tools/s/magix-soundpool-dvd-collection-20/compare/magix-video-slideshow-sound-archive-8/> ). Sometimes they offer products that they advertise as "completely license and royalty free" but if you inquire they still tell you they are for non-commercial use only. I would have thought that prohibiting commercial use inherently require a license, and that "license-free" inherently meant that the content could be used commercially. Is my assumption incorrect?

How can sound assets be "license and royalty free" but also "non-commercial use only"?


I keep my property at an LLC, and I signed a contract with this Owner A. The Owner A of the LLC gave very short notice that he is going to transfer ownership to another person, Owner B (whom I don't like). I want to leave immediately but my contract with Owner A says I need to give 30days notice. Once ownership gets transferred to Owner B, is my contract still valid? Does it automatically transfer to Owner B? Do I still need to give 30days notice? Or is my contract now terminated and I am free to leave and take my belongings?

Does transferring ownership of an LLC void contracts?


A software product (a web service) is being developed.

In essence, I want the software code to be hosted publicly on GitHub. Anyone should be able view, download, modify, use for personal use, and contribute back with improvements as they want, meaning most of the "open source" principles - but not all, as...

...Only I may make commercial usage of the software code.

But the more I search on the Internet, the more confused I get about this topic. According to me, **this situation has to be a common desire by developers or organizations**, but yet it seems hard to find a clear answer to exactly how an organization can achieve this.

I have a hard time believing that each person or organization has to call in a lawyer that writes a custom license each time, right? In other words, reinventing the wheel all the time.

Isn't there a straightforward, popular, or common license or license model that achieves this?

Perhaps "dual licensing" is the only way to achieve this? If so, are there any examples of GitHub projects that do this?

What (combination of) licenses is popular for public/shared proprietary software (“Feel free to contribute, but only we can make commercial use”)?


I live in California. It is illegal for people record my video and voice in a private area without my permission.

In a normal situation, I think that I can call police.

However, can I ask the person provide me money in exchange that I am not going to call police?

Is that illegal to settle with money?


Per U.S. laws, can a person ever pay a fine to avoid imprisonment?

Can a person pay a fine to avoid imprisonment?


Say I pose as another person on social media and use their name, photos, etc.

Given that it's just a mock-up account and it's not used solely for criminal activity or among other means to harm or damage the person in question, would mimicking their profiles alone be illegal?

Is posing as another person illegal if all you're doing is re-hosting their images and using their name, but not engaging in any questionable activity under their name (for example, saying racial slurs, etc.)?

Posing as another living person on social media -- illegal or no?


Does using snippet sentence from sites like Wikipedia, BBC, Times, Science Daily, etc. for use in a dictionary that will be published online violate copyright?

Are sentences on websites subject to copyright?


[![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/vqNX4.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/vqNX4.jpg)

I have a propriatery audio fingerprinting algorithm that I created over the years, and I use it to scan radio and tv stations for music, then create reports for it, etc.

Croatian Discographers Union doesn't agree with transparency my system provides, and are determined to shut me down. So they claim that I am infringing their rights as they have under Art. 10 of the Rome Convention.

Since I am never making any copies of their phonograms (supplied as mp3 by the system users') and audio fingerprint in nature isn't enough to re-construct any part of the audio signal - I am wondering if their claim stands or can be brought down and with what arguments.

Basically, they claim that process of fingerprinting is similar to reproduction...

Audio fingerprinting legal issues


Kumaran develops novel lampshades. In January 2016, he developed a new lampshade.

On 1 May 2016, he emailed Bobby and Chew, both wholesalers, to whom he had previously sold lampshades. In his email, he asked each whether they would be interested in becoming the sole distributor of his new lampshade.

On 5 May 2016, Bobby and Chew both emailed Kumaran independently, each stating that he was interested in becoming sole distributor for the lampshade and requested further information.

On 7 May 2016, Kumaran emailed Bobby: “I offer you the post of sole distributor of the lampshade at a basic 10% commission. If I hear nothing from you by 14 May 2016, I will assume that this is acceptable to you.”

Bobby immediately posted a letter, by registered mail, to Kumaran’s home in which he accepted Kumaran’s offer. The letter did not arrive until 16 May 2016.

In the meantime, Chew, having heard nothing further from Kumaran, posted a letter to Kumaran in which he offered to become Kumaran’s sole distributor for a 20% commission. Kumaran received Chew’s letter on 15 May 2016. Kumaran immediately telephoned Bobby and told him that the post of sole distributor was no longer available to him.

Bobby insists that there is a binding contract to appoint him as sole distributor. Is Bobby correct?

Are contracts legally bound when acceptance is mailed, or only once received?


Would there be anything illegal if i were to write a script based in the same world as one already existing movie, making reference to some of the characters?

For example, if I wrote a script based on The Matrix, but not about Neo and them. But based on a new character who lives in the Matrix and see the events. Would it be alright to include characters like the Agents or Oracle. Would I be able to copy-write the script?

Writing a Script Based on Existing World


Is there any legal mechanism for a citizen without resources, to be able to sue the state for infringing his/her constitutional rights? In Argentina for example, I know there is a "defensor del pueblo" at national and provincial level, but as far as I know, he acts by his own and not by petitions besides they are a few for so many people.

I don't know if here questions can be asked about how it is for more than one country, my interest is worldwide and more particularly Latin American countries, since certain types of freedom of speech/beliefs/equality under the law, fair trial, etc. abuses, and constitutional violations by part of international lobbys inserted and exercising its influence from inside of the states are seen across most western countries.


This all happens in Minnesota.

Employee E worked for company A and had standard noncompete agreement. Agreement has an assignment clause assigning rights to any successor. Company B buys most business units of company A and hires most employees. Seller of A starts new company N. E stays with seller of A and works for new company N. Assume it's clear that language of noncompete contract assigned to B all rights of all of A's employees who now work for B.

A was in the business of providing medical billing services to hospitals. E worked in that industry when hired by A. During employment E developed a product to detect fraud within hospitals and stopped working on billing and started working on the product. When B buys A, it only buys the billing business. Seller of A starts new business explicitly to sell fraud product and invites E to come along. There is an implied option for E to stay on and work for B, but B does not express interest in E and has no contact with E before the sale. Seller has an explicit new agreement with B (it is specific to seller the person) that seller will not engage in medical billing business. E has no new agreement.

Seller commences new business N. E has no new agreement or paperwork with N. Not even a tax form. N is a small company and does not provide health insurance but since E received benefits under his spouse's employer there was no change in status in that regard. The only change is that auto deposit pay checks were now from N.

Hospital who previously worked with seller at company A contacts seller, asking for consulting work on a billing problem. Because of seller's agreement with B, the consulting contract is written between hospital and B, with N working under a separate agreement with B. Basically N does all the work while B prints invoices and sends 50% of money to N.

Seller goes to hospital and brings E along for the consulting job. In the course of the work, hospital offers E a job. Not just a job, the job - the one that's being filled by the contract work. Counsel for hospital sees no problem with the offer as it relates to hospital's actions and let's assume that's a correct assessment. But what about E?

Is there any legal doctrine whereby E's agreement with A continued to apply to E in his work for company N? What about B? Do they have any standing to block E's going to work for a B's customer? My thinking here is that E technically has a noncompete agreement with B but perhaps there is a generally accepted public policy theory whereby employers can't enforce agreements against former employees especially under these facts.

Reasonable minds may suggest that neither B nor N have an interest in blocking the employment. But let's assume seller is pissed bc now E won't be available to develop product for N and B is pissed because the hiring stops the gravy train and cuts off future potential work.

Noncompete, nonsolicit, nondisclose agreement company that was sold. But wait, there's more


I recently joined a large IT company, before joining I had concerns with my contract, it states that they own all rights over what I create (from ideas, software, you name it).

I love making my own games, and I have a game I've worked on for over 2 years (long before I joined their company), so I did not like this part of the contract and said I could not sign unless they confirm that they won't try to take my game from me.

I sent an email to the recruiter (who works for that company) and asked her to confirm that point X.x of the contract is only concerning products competing with the company.
I got the response:

>
> As previously highlighted you do not need to be stressed at all in
>  regards to below situation with your company. As I have explained to
>  you what we protect us against in the contract is competing business,
>  if that was the case with yours. So I hereby can confirm below is the
>  case – and that it would only be an issue if you develop a competing
>  product or use our inside know how to create your business products.
>  Hope that makes sense. So ALL is good.
>
>
>

I felt like this was enough, but now I'm about to release my game and I really don't like the wording in the contract. Will this email I have protect me from them trying to steal my game?

I am located in Scandinavia.

Signed a contract with employer stating they own all my IP; they sent an email saying its only for competing products. Should I be worried?


The story of the [monkey who took a selfie](http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2015/09/25/382768.htm) is, by now, probably widely known. Summary: a court said that the owner of the camera is not entitled to rights because the picture was taken by the monkey, not the human.

My question is the following: I saw a [video of a cat playing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0zgQAp7EYw) the piano.
(Hear me out...)

(Her name is Nora).
Now, I understand the *video* is the property of its author: a human being.

But what about the **"music"**. Just the notes.
I also understand that if the "music" was taught by a human being (like what happens sometimes in a circus) the music is the human's, but in this case, when (it seems) the "music" is really "played" by the cat (rather randomly), is it copytight-able ? I understand the anumal cannot actually have the property, but can his owner?

EDIT: I fogot to state one way this question can be tricky:
One difference is that the photographer didn't **own** the monkey, but the cat is definitely **owned**.

(The [countries](http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/aug/22/monkey-business-macaque-selfie-cant-be-copyrighted-say-us-and-uk) are UK and US)

On the intellectual property of animals, a story of monkeys and cats!


>
> NASA content - images, audio, video, and computer files used in the rendition of 3-dimensional models, such as texture maps and polygon data in any format - generally are not copyrighted.
>
>
>

* <https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/guidelines/index.html>

Aren't works automatically protected by copyright upon creation?

How Can NASA Images/Videos Not Be Copyrighted?


If a person makes a story up and doesn't copyright it can anyone copy it and then copyright it themselves?

What happens if a story is not copy righted


I have no background in law.

I capture drone footage as a hobby, and want to license it to my local church for use in some of their non-commercial video productions. I want to ensure that they are not allowed to resell it, distribute/share it, use without permission etc etc without obtaining permission from myself.

I am supplying the footage on a hard drive, and am including a copyright notice on the disk (I shall also be drawing their attention to it via email).

What can I do to ensure my footage is covered appropriately? Do I need to write a license agreement? Are you able to point me towards a fully formed license agreement template which I can use? Would it be better to just write an extended copyright notice which details that the footage may not be used without permission?

I am fully aware of the Creative Commons licenses, but these allow the footage to be used by others which is something I want to restrict (almost open-sourcing the footage).

Writing a license agreement for my stock footage - where do I start?


Every time I go to porn sites on the internet, it always asks if I'm 18 years or older before I can enter. Are websites legally required to do this?

I honestly don't understand the point of it, if I was under 18, couldn't I just click the box saying I'm 18 years old then enter?

Are Pornographic Websites Really Only for 18+?


As an example, let's say a friend of yours is selling their car, and they also need some DIY work doing on their house. If you do the DIY work for them, and they give you the car as payment, do you need to pay tax on this?

If you pay with something other than money, do you have to pay tax?


According to the [working time directive](https://www.gov.uk/maximum-weekly-working-hours/overview):

>
> You can’t work more than 48 hours a week on average
>
>
>

Suppose that an employee has been coerced into working more than 48 hours a week. According to the same page:

>
> Your employer can ask you to opt out, but you can’t be sacked or treated unfairly for refusing to do so
>
>
>

Suppose also that:

* The employee is not in a profession exempt from the working time directive
* The employee has not signed an opt out clause
* The amount of hours worked is not in question, e.g. is logged in a timesheet system

My question is, **what action can the employee take in a case like this?**

What action can I take if an employer asks me to work more than 48 hours per week?


I was told that there might be legal aspects that I'm not aware of so I'm asking this question.

Since late November two AIs I've built have been generating predictions about stocks found on the NASDAQ. I've been publishing these predictions and their results on a simple WordPress site.

Looking around I see multiple people appending predictions with statements such as "Please do your due diligence". Doing a little research, I found that it is because they believe that there are legal ramifications to providing finical advice and that this line will absolve them of any legal responsibility.

I would like to know if:

a) These people (people who make predictions) are correct to fear that others (complete strangers) might make a financial decision based on the prediction (or some action) and then take legal action against them (the person who made the predictions).

b) If the above is true. Does adding the line (or variation) "Please do your due diligence" absolve them of legal responsibilities or is it as effective as a "Sovereign citizen" defense. I know of no known case where this defense worked. AKA: For a chance of success in court do not use this defense.

At the end of the day, I want to learn and create AIs and share my experience and growth in this field. The stock market is easy in terms of access to data and the ability to validate predictions (easier than building a chess AI). Because I chose this field it seems that I need to do some due diligence and figure out what is my legal exposure.

On my site, in the about section, it does describe that my project is a learning experience for me.

Added info in case it helps: I'm in Canada and the AIs are predicting stocks on the NASDAQ.

Legal exposure in publishing stock predictions