I know that there is a problem with creating subtitle files containing the original phrases (or even the translation of what has been said) and to release them.

There are platforms, eg. OpenSubtitles, where you can download all these subtitle files. Even though the providing of these subtitles is not legal, I would like to get only the words and their count in the movie.

If an developer sells an app, that uses a subtitle API, to retrieve the subtitle files for creating word-statistics about the movie, would this be a legal problem to any person involved?

* Is the developer breaking the law, because his app downloads the whole subtitle file temporarily to the users device?
* Is the user of the app breaking the law, because the app downloads the whole subtitle file temporarily to his device?
* Are the resulting statistics (words and their count) in anyway copyrighted?

Usage of subtitle files of copyrighted movies to get statistics about used words and their number count


I am quite confused by what seems at the outset to be a very simple question in the UK's obscenity laws. Suppose a person puts an obscene story on a website (we'll call them the Writer) and another person reads the story (we'll call them the Reader).

Is the Reader guilty of 'publishing' the material and therefore in breach of the 1959 Obscene Publications Act?

In the normal sense, 'publication' is defined in an online context as

"*to submit (content) online*, as to a message board or blog: I published a comment on her blog post with examples from my own life."
according to www.dictionary.com (emphasis added is mine).

In the context of the Obscene Publications Act, the word 'publishes' seems to have been redefined, appropriated to become a piece of legalese that no longer reflects the original meaning of the word. The wording of the Act states (emphasis mine) -

(3)For the purposes of this Act a person publishes an article who—

(a)distributes, circulates, sells, lets on hire, gives, or lends it, or who offers it for sale or for letting on hire; or

(b)in the case of an article containing or embodying matter to be looked at or a record, shows, plays or projects it [F1, **or, where the matter is data stored electronically, transmits that data**.]:

. . . F2

What does it mean to 'transmit' that data? Regina vs Waddon has shown that transmission is said to have occurred when the data is uploaded to the Website by the Author or downloaded from the Website by the Reader. In both those instances, the Author was deemed to have 'published' the article. (The reason it mattered was that although the Website was hosted abroad, the UK-resident Author had still broken the UK law when the material was downloaded in the UK so he could therefore be prosecuted).

But what about the Reader? ... This nebulous wording seems to imply all manner of things.

Is reading obscene written material online illegal in the UK?


In [*Mugler v. Kansas* 123 U.S. 623 (1887)](https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/123/623/), the Supreme Court ruled that prohibition of alcohol is not a taking. (Alcohol property rendered worthless.)

[*Hadacheck v. Sebastian* 239 U.S. 394 (1915)](https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/239/394/) said the zoning prohibits making bricks, but doesn't prohibit collecting the clay, so this one's not a taking. (OK, fair.)

In [*Pennsylvania Coal v. Mahon* 260 U.S. 393 (1922)](https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/260/393/), ([Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Coal_Co._v._Mahon)) the Supreme Court ruled that the Kohler Act not allowing some types of coal mining is a taking. (Coal property rendered worthless.)

In fact, *Pennsylvania Coal* is often used as an example of police power regulations that "go too far"—when the Kohler Act regulates far less than prohibition.

---

In *Euclid v. Ambler* ([*Village of Euclid, Ohio v. Ambler Realty Co.*, 272 U.S. 365 (1926)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Village_of_Euclid_v._Ambler_Realty_Co.), the Court ruled that a property split between multiple zoning districts, though now impossible to develop, is a valid use of police power. (Value reduced significantly.)

[*Nectow v. Cambridge* 277 U.S. 183 (1928)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nectow_v._City_of_Cambridge) said that a *re*-zoning of a property and interfering with its sale is a deprivation of property and NOT a valid use of police power. (Value reduced to zero for one sale.)

---

Are these considered reversals? There are more examples of the Supreme Court going back and forth on these issues. Why does the Court do this?

Is Nectow (1928) a reversal of Euclid (1926)? Is Pennsylvania Coal (1922) a reversal of Mugler (1887)?


I've just understood the concept of writing a contract. It is just an agreement between two people written on the paper and signed by all the parties involved. So, if it is possible to write contracts, then why do we need a specific law for companies? Can't we construct a company simply wording our terms and declaring all the rules of the "company" in a contract without registration?

For example, one of the benefits of registering a company is its liability shield it gives us. So why not mention in the contract "no individual mentioned in this contract is liable..." (please forgive me if my question is naive). Another benefit of a company is, being able to issue shares. So to cover this, the contract could contain "All assets mentioned have a shared ownership. Each person in the contract is assigned certain 'ownership points' (a different word for shares). And these ownership points declare each individual's ownership of the asserts..."

Couldn't we implement all the features of a company, one after the other, simply by writing a contract? Please tell me why this isn't possible and what I don't understand. And again, sorry for this naive question.

I would like to hear this answer in the context of any country. Though I would be able to relate well, when answered in the context of India.

Is it possible word a contract such that it brings in all the features of registering a company?


A game named Blinx, was manufactured last in 2004 by a company named Microsoft. In 2014-2015 they dropped the trademark, and so the name is usable, but the game, the intellectual material is copyrighted. If I don't use their images or their code, can I legally reproduce the game?

Does rebuilding a computer game from scratch infringe copyright?


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

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


A defendant provable lied in court. We had no right of reply to prove the lies were false. Nothing has been done afterwards. He was found guilty, but received a very light sentence probably based on these lies. Is this normal?

Lying in Court in the UK


If I commit a crime and many years later (> 25 years) send an email to the police claiming to have committed a crime, can they arrest me?

(assumming they do not think it is just a "prank email")

Severity of crime:

Level 3 or 4 as defined by <https://pap.georgia.gov/sites/pap.georgia.gov/files/CSL-s_Post_1-1-2006_considerations.pdf>

---

Some time ago, I took a criminology course and was told by the instructor that around 1000 people were known to have raped and/or killed Aboriginals in early/mid 1900 but were not sentenced since it "happened too long ago" (although there is evidence that the crimes have been committed)

Expired Punishment


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?


In the 9th episode of series 15 of "Law and Order: SVU", a serial rapist offers to plead guilty to a rape which he did not commit, while refusing to plead guilty to a series of rapes which he actually did commit (the reasons for this are complex and irrelevant to the question).

The prosecutor and police seriously consider accepting his offer, even though they know he didn't commit the crime he wants to confess to, because they don't think they can prove the crimes he actually did commit. This doesn't sound to me like something which would be legal. Could a prosecutor really agree to a plea bargain deal which would involve the defendant confessing to something which the prosecutor knows they didn't do?

I know it's TV, but "Law and Order" has a reputation for being realistic TV.

Could a prosecutor agree to allow a defendant to plead guilty to a crime they knew they had not committed, per this "Law and Order: SVU" episode?


Assume that someone creates a glossary with one word definitions extracted from a bilingual dictionary with multiple word definitions, choosing only one word to define every word in the other language. could that glossary be published without copyright infringement?

Can one publish a glossary created using a bilingual dictionary without copyright infringement?


On Youtube I often see videos of songs or other short memorable scenes from various movies posted. Since these are non-transferable I assume this is technically a violation of copyright, even if it's done for a very popular movie.

Is it a violation of copyright to post or watch such clips?

Does posting short memorable scenes or songs from a movie constitute copyright violation?


Just heard back from USTPO and they wanted examples of the mark in use in software screenshots, at the download store, etc -- which are no-brainers. Question is, can you have the (R) in the mark, or do you have to wait until it's finally registered? My gut feeling is the examiner would have a cow if they saw the (R) on the mark before it was registered.

For some reason, it seems futile to legally review a mark that doesn't contain the (R), and then let the registrant add their own (R) once it's approve.

Trademark - USPTO requirement


I accept [*Concentrate Criminal Law* (2020 7 edn)](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Criminal-Law-Concentrate-Revision-Study-dp-0198854986/dp/0198854986/ref=dp_ob_title_bk) p. 31

>
> So, it is generally thought that intention is the most serious
> kind of *mens rea*, recklessness the next most serious, and negligence the least serious.
>
>
>

[*Simester and Sullivan's Criminal Law* (2019 7 edn)](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Simester-Sullivans-Criminal-Law-Doctrine-dp-1509926682/dp/1509926682/ref=dp_ob_title_bk). p 166.

>
> (i) The test for negligence
> ---------------------------
>
>
>

>
> Even though negligence permits the finding of fault for inadvertent wrongdoing, it does
> not actually matter whether the defendant attends to or contemplates the risks. As Glanville
> Williams asserts, “the essential question, at any rate for legal purposes, is whether it was
> reasonable for you to go ahead with your conduct in the circumstances”.188 Of course, normally
> one who foresees and runs an unreasonable risk will be reckless as well as negligent.
> Negligence does not, however, *require* inadvertence. This is for two reasons. **[Quote 1] The first is that
> in the criminal law, the lesser fault standard incorporates the greater.** A defendant should
> not be able to exculpate herself by pleading that her actions were reckless or intentional
> rather than negligent. (Similarly, she should be unable to escape an allegation of recklessness
> by pleading that her actions were intended.) **[Quote 2] It follows that where negligence is enough
> for criminal liability, then, *a fortiori*, there is liability for intention or recklessness.**
>
>
>

p 167.

>
> &nsbp; &nsbp; &nsbp; The second reason is that, as we mentioned earlier, a defendant can foresee the actus
> reus without being reckless, yet may still be negligent. For example, an anaesthetist who
> recognises there is a slight risk of killing his patient is not normally reckless. But if he
> has unknowingly miscalculated the dose, then he is negligent even though not reckless.
> Recklessness involves an objective assessment of running the subjectively perceived risk.
> Negligence involves an objective assessment of running an objectively recognisable risk.189
>
>
>

[*Criminal Law Directions* (2020 6 edn)](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Criminal-Law-Directions-Nicola-Monaghan-dp-0198848781/dp/0198848781/ref=dp_ob_title_bk). p 76.

>
> Negligence is a much wider fault element than intention or
> recklessness.
>
>
>

Down the same page.

>
> At common law, negligence is rarely sufficient for criminal liability.
>
>
>

How are the two embolded quotes above true?

1. How does "the lesser fault standard" incorporate the greater?
2. How can "where negligence is enough for criminal liability, then, a *fortiori*, there is liability for intention or recklessness"? You can be negligent without being reckless or intent.

Where negligence is enough for criminal liability, then a fortiori there's liability for intention or recklessness?


Paul Davies. [*JC Smith's The Law of Contract* (2018 2 ed)](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Smiths-Law-Contract-Paul-Davies/dp/0198807813/ref=dp_ob_title_bk). p. 465

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

Which of these three homonyms fit the 'condition' colored in green beneath? p. 449.

>
> [![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/1mhGq.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/1mhGq.jpg)
>
>
>

Which 'condition' fits "‘basis’ or condition on which the benefit was transferred"?


Paul Davies. [*JC Smith's The Law of Contract* (2018 2 ed)](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Smiths-Law-Contract-Paul-Davies/dp/0198807813/ref=dp_ob_title_bk). pp. 75-76.

>
> [![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/qdgs4.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/qdgs4.jpg)
>
>
>

Can the two hypotheticals (orange and red) be distinguished? Why's the red a gratuitous promise but the orange an offer to contract?

I can't? Both stipulate £5K/year and the phrase "so long as you remain unmarried" The orange has "Please do not remarry", but this feels superfluous as "so long as you remain unmarried" is already stipulated.

"so long as you remain unmarried": Why a gratuitous promise in one fact pattern, but a contractual offer in another?


Can you trademark a word in a dictionary?

<https://www.theverge.com/2013/7/31/4574878/microsoft-skydrive-name-change-bskyb>

Sky trademarked the word Sky, so I am wondering if words such as Tornado, Banner and Diesel could also be trademarked. Someone said to me. We can't, but Microsoft had to change Skydrive to OneDrive due to Sky. The fact that the British Sky Broadcasting Group owns the word Sky sounds ludicrous to me.


Donald Trump, the president said that he wants to ban TikTok. Would such a ban violate the first amendment? If not does he have the power to act via executive order or does it have to go through Congress?

Does the US president have the authority to ban TikTok?


Consider for example the starship enterprise (registry NCC1701) from the star trek tv series. If someone takes a picture of the ship from the tv show and sticks it on a poster, it is clearly a derivative work. But what if they only show part of the ship? What if they only show a small enough part that it is not recognizably from the enterprise? Or what if they just produce a gray (the starship enterprise is gray) image, with "NCC1701" written on it?

Is that a derivative work? Would it matter if it used a different font, or a different color background? Would it make a difference if it was less iconic, e.g. a reproduction of a different ship that only appeared in one episode?

My question is not specific to start trek, but regarding any works which have distinctive subcomponents (e.g. the monolith from 2001, the rebel alliance symbol of from star wars, the one ring from the lord of the rings etc.) - how much of an original work needs to be reproduced for it to infringe the original copyright?

How much of a work needs to be used for it to be derivative?


Example:

* A US user downloads the Android app from the US Google Play Store
* The user does not view any consent form and begins using the app and viewing ads
* The user then travels to EEA/UK and continues viewing ads

Would a consent form be required to adhere to GDPR in this instance, even if personalised ads are disabled for EEA/UK users?

Do I still need to check if users are inside of EEA/UK for GDPR consent if my Android app is ONLY released in countries outside of EEA/UK?


While the US deferred prosecution against Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, they only did so in exchange for a four-page "statement of fact", which sounds pretty incriminating against Huawei as a company.

>
> “In entering into the deferred prosecution agreement, Meng has taken responsibility for her principal role in perpetrating a scheme to defraud a global financial institution,” Nicole Boeckmann, the acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said Friday. “Her admissions in the statement of facts confirm that, while acting as the Chief Financial Officer for Huawei, Meng made multiple material misrepresentations to a senior executive of a financial institution regarding Huawei’s business operations in Iran in an effort to preserve Huawei’s banking relationship with the financial institution.”
>
>
>

Since the US is still prosecuting Huawei as a company on this matter, does this "statement of fact" from Meng, which is essentially a confession, improve the prosecution's case against the company?

The FBI [at least](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/huawei-cfo-wanzhou-meng-admits-misleading-global-financial-institution) seems to say that:

>
> “Meng's admissions are evidence of a consistent pattern of deception to violate U.S. law,” said Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “The FBI will continue to aggressively investigate companies doing business in the United States when there are signs they behave with contempt for our laws.”
>
>
>

Can this statement of Meng be entered into evidence against Huawei?

(Although the full "statement of fact" has not yet been made public, at least according to the *Guardian* newspaper, the DOJ link above has a 12-paragarph summary of what Meng supposedly admitted to.)

Does Meng's "statement of fact" improve the DOJ's case against Huawei?


In Canada, the tort of civil unlawful conspiracy is laid out as follows:

1. Two or more people acted in concert, by agreement, or with a common
design or intention;
2. The co-conspirators engaged in conduct that was unlawful, which can include the breach of a statute, the violation of a contract, or
the carrying out of an underlying tort, such as misrepresentation or
fraud;
3. The conduct was directed towards the plaintiff;
 Given the circumstances, the defendants should have known that injury was likely to result; and
4. Injury or harm did result.

In case of simple motive or unlawful conspiracy, does it matter if the named individuals represent one organization? That is to say, if two or more agents of the same organization acted in cooperation to fulfill the latter 3 points, would this fulfill the first requirement?

Also, in the event that the individuals named in the conspiracy all acted as agents for the organization they all represent and on its behalf, would the the organization be guilty (assuming these points are all proven) of unlawful conspiracy, or just the named individuals, or both? Let's assume that the list of individuals involved spans the entire hierarchy of the organization, except maybe the board itself.

Tort of civil conspiracy


I would like to sell items online, and came across [this story about a person who sold a $40 printer](http://www.indystar.com/story/news/2016/06/06/he-sold-40-printer-then-he-sued-indiana-30000/85219140/) and ended up (so far) paying over $12,000 in legal fees.

What could I do to prevent this situation on a site like Craigslist?

How can I protect myself from a prolific, abusive litigant?


Would it be illegal to sell notes that I have made using my own reading and understanding of a textbook and nothing else (like nothing from lectures of classes (they were all online so there were no lectures)). I'm assuming it would be illegal if I were to copy images from the textbook but if my notes were snippets of the singular textbook and what I find to be important information, of which are mostly notes that I've written verbatim, would that be illegal and considered as a condensed version of the textbook? If so, if I were to cite the textbook would I then be able to profit from my notes?

Illegal to sell textbook notes?


I was wondering if after I purchased this theme I could remove the footer credit under a regular license for this theme?

<https://themes.getbootstrap.com/product/boomerang-bootstrap-4-business-corporate-theme/>

Removing footer credit for this specific theme


Due to the coronavirus outbreak, my university has tentatively canceled all live forms of live education, including exams. Instead, they have decided to hold exams through an online proctoring software (third-party), which requires access to the computer webcam, microphone, screen, and browsing history to work.
This is the first time the university is doing an examination in this manner, and there are no official guidelines for how these exams are to be conducted.
I am concerned about my data privacy in the context of these exams, and am wondering what my rights are and how I can exercise them. Specifically, I am wondering whether I can refuse the collection of my personal data through the online proctoring software, and whether the university may reprimand me for doing so. If both are the case, how can I truly say that I 'consent' to data collection and processing when I am coerced, so to speak, by the threat of failing my courses if I do not use this novel software?

Online Proctoring, Exams, and the GDPR?


James Madison in his speech to Congress in regards to what eventually would become the 5th amendment talked about 'infamous' crimes and how they should be handled. As far as I know he did not define what an infamous crime exactly is.

So, how exactly was term defined when the specific definition was required?

How has James Madison's term 'infamous crime' typically been defined?


If a statute states a mitigating or negating circumstance to a criminal charge, who has the burden of proof, the prosecution or the defense?

For example, if a state statute says that it is criminal for a person to threaten another, but in the same statute it says that such a threat will not constitute a crime if the threatened person was trespassing on the defendant's property, then who bears the burden of proof that the threatened person was trespassing (or not trespassing).

In other words, if the law has an exception to a criminal charge, who must prove that the exception does or does not apply? What is the precedent?

Who bears the burden of proof of a mitigating circumstance if the statute does not state it?


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

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

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


[Indian gov copyright site](http://copyright.gov.in/frmfaq.aspx)

>
> Ques: Is it necessary to register a work to claim copyright?
>
>
> Ans: No.
> Acquisition of copyright is automatic and it does not require any
> formality. Copyright comes into existence as soon as a work is created
> and no formality is required to be completed for acquiring copyright.
> However, certificate of registration of copyright and the entries made
> therein serve as prima facie evidence in a court of law with reference
> to dispute relating to ownership of copyright.
>
>
>

Do I need any legal document to display that copyright or just that the work is created by me it is sufficient?

Can I use `© 2019 My Name` in a application created by me without registering for official copyright in India?


I understand that a EULA can be a contract if the user agrees to compensate the issuer for using the software, but if the software is freeware, then the issuer gains nothing of value. Without the issuer gaining anything of value, how is there adequate consideration/why is the agreement still considered a contract?

Again, I understand that consideration need not be monetary, it can be the other party waiving a right. But that right must exist prior to entering into the agreement. The EULA grants the user the right to use the product so prior to entering into the agreement the user has no right to use it to begin with.

Why is a freeware EULA considered a contract if issuer is not receiving adequate consideration?


It is apparently not commonly known, but the phrase "Taco Tuesday" is a registered trademark of Taco John's, a restaurant chain based out of Wyoming. Why is it then that in 2019, when Lebron James tried to trademark "Taco Tuesday" for himself, that he was denied not due to the similarity to Taco John's trademark, but rather because it was deemed to common on a phrase to trademark?

>
> In this case, the applied-for mark is a commonplace term, message, or expression widely used by a variety of sources that merely conveys an ordinary, familiar, well-recognized concept or sentiment.
>
>
>

[USPTO Application 88579771](https://tsdr.uspto.gov/documentviewer?caseId=sn88579771&docId=OOA20190911#docIndex=1&page=1&tdrlink=)

It is expressed later on in the application that it was also considered to be to similar to "*TECHNO* TACO TUESDAY", and that allowing such a mark could detract from people search for the aforementioned term.

>
> Although applicant’s mark does not contain the entirety of the registered mark, applicant’s mark is likely to appear to prospective purchasers as a shortened form of registrant’s mark.
>
>
>

What I don't understand, though, is that nowhere in the application does it mention Taco John's already existing claim on Taco Tuesday. Since the company does still attempt to enforce its claim on the mark, including sending cease-and-desists to offenders, it seems odd that LBJ Trademarks LLC. was denied the claim due, in no small part, to how common the phrase is in the American lexicon, and not because it was already claimed.

Why couldn't LBJ Trademarks claim "Taco Tuesday" due to common usage?


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

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


I have an image on my website, which I created myself.
I have not added any license. The photo is just there.

Google is showing the image in their image search.
They also modified it by creating a thumbnail in reduced quality.
The thumbnail seems to be stored on their servers.

When you click on the image, Google shows the hint
"Images may be subject to copyright."

I know it's possible to write a robots.txt file to forbid Google to show my image. It's also possible to write them a message.

But why is Google allowed to use images without asking for permission?
I always thought you need a license or permission to redistribute and modify an image of someone else.

I am registered to the Google Search Console. Maybe I granted them the right to use my image there, but I don't know.
I cannot find the image on bing, yahoo or duckduckgo.

Why can image search engines use all images without asking for permission?


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

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


I'm curious about the following scenario. If a business hires people and pays them a commission, is the employer obligated to be neutral in how it directs sales to each employee, in cases where the employees have substantially similar skill, experience, and quality of work, or is equal commission rates enough?

For instance, if two car salespeople were paid the same amount per sale, but the dealership sent the majority of the potential customers to one of the two, even though they had substantially similar skill, experience, and quality of work, would that alone violate the [California Equal Pay Act](https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/california_equal_pay_act.htm)?

To create a scenario, consider a garden center that pays a small wage, but for the most part, employees get their revenue from commissions. The owner hires on their daughter, and even though other employees do a lot of work in handling customers and making sure the shop runs smoothly, the owner directs customers to her daughter for the final sale, making it difficult for anyone to get commission. Technically the wage is the same, and the commission rate is the same. But the owner is ensuring a disproportionate opportunity to obtain revenue, for substantially similar work.

How does equal pay for substantially similar work (as per the California Equal Pay Act) apply to commissions?


This morning, I was reading [this article](https://consumerist.com/2016/06/22/comcast-admits-it-incorrectly-debited-1775-from-account-tells-me-to-sort-it-out-with-bank/) on the Consumerist about a man who cancelled his business service with Comcast. In summary, he had an early termination fee of $1,775 debited from his bank account, which shouldn't have happened because it was past the term of his two-year contract. Comcast do not dispute those facts, and have repeatedly told him that a check was on its way but, two years later, the man has still not been unable to get a refund. At one point, he was told by a company representative that refunds are not issued in these circumstances, and that he should instead dispute the charge with his bank.

I am interested in the potential criminal liability in a situation like this (not necessarily this one) where a company knowingly takes money it is not due from someone's bank account and clearly has no intention of returning it.

Specifically:

1. Could the victim report this as fraud, theft or some other related crime?
2. Would the answer to the previous question differ based on whether the victim was eventually able to recover the money through litigation or by disputing the charge with their bank?
3. Would the company itself or the specific employees involved be liable?
4. Would a binding arbitration clause in the contract have any effect on criminal liability (I believe not)?

I would be especially (but not exclusively) interested in answers covering either the United States or Canada (especially Québec).

Company knowingly debit fees it is not due from bank account and does not return it: is this fraud or theft?


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

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

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


I am looking for cases where a educational non-profit organization was successfully sued for violation of copyright/Fair Use (US).

I am particularly interested in borderline cases (i.e. cases where many observers would consider the non-profit's use "fair", but the non-profit still lost anyway).

Cases where a educational non-profit organization was successfully sued for violation of copyright/Fair Use (US)


A crime is a public offense, so I would think that anything that constitutes a crime has some kind of influence on one or more persons or property, i.e. it changes the public universe in some negative way.

According to a recent CA Criminal Justice exam of mine, "A person may be guilty of a crime even where his or her act has no immediate effect upon the person or property of another." "Immediate" is not further defined. If this is true, what are some examples?

What kinds of crimes do not affect persons or property?


My fiance recently went on a 7 night cruise abroad and would not have cellular service. She hired a local pet sitter to come by her house 3 times a day to feed, water, and change her dog's paper. They agreed on 9 days for $35.00 per day. The pet sitter requested and was paid $315.00 in full prior to beginning the service.

My fiance stays in a gated community and added the sitter to her guest list so that she can access the home. After the second day, the pet sitter was denied entry through the gate by security. The sitter contacted her emergency contact to notify her that she is unable to care for the animal since she cannot access the home. Her mother took care of the pet for the remainder of the 9 days.

Upon returning back to the country, she learned from her mother everything that happened. Thankfully, the dog was okay since her mother was able to take care of the dog while she was abroad. My fiance contacted the sitter to offer 4 days' pay, $140.00, for the 2 days of service she was able to do her job to compensate for any inconveniences. The sitter maintains position that the agreement was for $315.00 for 9 days of service and that it was not her fault she couldn't do her job for the remaining 7 days, so she kept the full payment.

Is it legal for the pet sitter to keep the full payment, even though the contract was breached?

Was the sitter right for keeping full payment with only providing a fraction of the services agreed upon?

Is it legal to take full pay for partial service?


Somebody anonymous write a "scripture". It's at <http://getrichbangbabes.com> . It's filled with comedic political satire I think.

Anyone can edit and copy the book. The e-book contains many links to pictures. However, those links may not work too long. What would happen if the e-book copy and paste pictures to the e-book itself but give attribution?

What happens if latter the e-book is made commercial?

Is it okay to paste pictures to non commercial book with proper attribution


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Prove my work is not a trade secret violation


We own a joint property in the UK, and are full taxpayers of all taxes including standard rate council tax band for the region.

But my partner will be going abroad for a significant amount of time (6 months+). Will I be able to claim the single person discount for council tax, if I am living alone in the property (thus using less of council services like rubbish collection, libraries, etc)?

It looks like that - because it's a lot of revenue, so councils try to sideline this scenario stating that - you still own property jointly, so ignoring the fact that only 1 person is living there (thus using less of council facilities).

UK Single person council tax discount when owning joint property


I am interested in the interplay of the EU directive [93/13/EEC](http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A31993L0013) and the Consumer Rights Act 2015 in the UK.

Specifically the Consumer Rights Act has an exclusion from assessment of fairness where the clause specifies the main subject matter of the contract. But this is not mentioned in the directive so seems to severely limit the applicability of the directive.

I am interested because we have a mortgage that changed from a fixed rate to a tracker but the tracker has a floor preventing the rate from falling below a certain level. The floor is clearly outlined in the contract for the mortgage, however, we were unaware of it when we signed and actually assumed we have been repaying at a lesser rate than what we were.

I would like to argue that the floor introduced a significant unfair imbalance as it protected the lender from a reduction in the base rate without providing us with protection from raising rates.

It seems many Spanish mortgages with similar "floor" contracts have had the floor nullified for similar reasons and they seem to be referring to the EU directive.

I have also come across a EU Court of Justice [ruling](http://curia.europa.eu/juris/celex.jsf?celex=62011CJ0415&lang1=en&type=TXT&ancre=) regarding the directive which states:

>
> the concept of ‘significant imbalance’ to the detriment of the consumer must be assessed in the light of an analysis of the rules of national law applicable in the absence of any agreement between the parties, in order to determine whether, and if so to what extent, the contract places the consumer in a less favourable legal situation than that provided for by the national law in force. To that end, an assessment of the legal situation of that consumer having regard to the means at his disposal, under national law, to prevent continued use of unfair terms, should also be carried out;
>
>
> in order to assess whether the imbalance arises ‘contrary to the requirement of good faith’, it must be determined whether the seller or supplier, dealing fairly and equitably with the consumer, could reasonably assume that the consumer would have agreed to the term concerned in individual contract negotiations.
>
>
>

That seems to suggest that a court would need to consider if I would have accepted the terms if I had been able to negotiate them with assistance of professional advice which would have been unlikely due to the one sided nature of the clause.

UK law would seem to make the floor legally valid regardless of fairness because the floor was a "main part" of the agreement which means it is excluded from the fairness test.

I am a bit out of my depth and definitely do not understand how an EU directive / ruling could affect my argument. However, is it the case that the EU directive / EU Court ruling can override the UK law?

I would greatly appreciate any advice as to how best to formulate my argument with my lender or if I really don't have a leg to stand on from a legal perspective.

Consumer Rights Act 2015 vs EU DIRECTIVE 93/13/EEC


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

How to get a copyright on a video game?


I read a lot of books, and when I come across an interesting part, I take a photo and share it on my social media.

I also do book reviews on my blog which always includes some paragraphs from the book I'm writing about.

I also always do mention the name, and the author of the book in both cases.

Am I violating the copyright law?

Thanks

Am I violating copyright by sharing photos of pages of books I read or quoting them?


is it illegal if i convert a film to a game ?

im a Game Developer i got some idea to convert Film Story to Video Game so i worried about is it allowed by owner of film or not

at that situation if film not allowed Change Anime to Vedio Game not allowed too ?

Thanks

Is it illegal if i convert a film to a VideoGame?


I purchased [this board](https://www.st.com/en/evaluation-tools/nucleo-f767zi.html) from [Digi-Key](https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/stmicroelectronics/NUCLEO-F767ZI/497-16525-ND/6004740) for $27.97.

Later, I noticed on the ST website that there is a [license agreement](https://www.st.com/resource/en/license_agreement/evaluationproductlicenseagreement.pdf) for the board. (To be clear, I did not agree to the license when I purchased the board from Digi-Key, not even in a click-through fashion.)

What disturbs me about the license is that it seems to apply not only to the software/firmware, but to the physical board itself. And it states that:

>
> STMicroelectronics (“ST”) grants You the right to use the enclosed Evaluation Board offering limited features only to evaluate
>  and test ST products solely for Your evaluation and testing purposes in a research and development setting.
>
>
>

It's not clear that my use would be "evaluation and testing," since I intend to actually do something useful/practical with it. (i. e. I am a [maker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maker_culture) and intend to incorporate it into a project I'm building.)

Furthermore, the license says that the board may not be resold. Although I'm not really intending to resell it, I would generally consider something I bought to be fair game to eBay when I'm done with it and don't need it anymore. How does this restriction fit with the Doctrine of First Sale?

I intend to use [open source software](https://os.mbed.com/) on the board, to the extent possible. Though there are possibly some bits of the firmware (maybe the bootloader, for example) which are closed-source and cannot be replaced. Does the existence of this firmware on the board mean that ST Microelectronics can control what the board as a whole is used for?

As a hypothetical, could the manufacturer of a washing machine include a "license agreement" which prohibits selling the washing machine to someone else when you don't need it anymore? (And if the answer is "no", what makes it different than my situation?)

Can a license agreement apply to a physical object?


I noticed some water damage under the bathroom sink a few weeks ago. The plumber said that it's not the faucet, but something above the sink. Being that we live on the top floor it could be a roof leak or damage to the pipe above the sink. There is no way to say for sure unless more drywall is removed. According to the HOA the pipes are my responsiblity, while the roof is HOA/property management.

If the leak was caused by something HOA could be responsible for,

1) As I take the steps to repair the leak, what can I do to have a better case in a situation where the HOA can be held responsible for the repair?

2) Should I notify the HOA before opening up the wall?

3) Would I be able to request/collect reimbursement for what I spent on the repairs caused by the damage they are responsible to fix?

4) If the pipe was damaged by recent roof repairs, would the HOA still be liable?

I don't have much experience in legal matters and appreciate any help

Thank you

How to approach a potential HOA dispute over a water leak


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


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

Use of aliases in contracts between parties


Scenario: Someone starts talking to you while they record you without you knowing it. You notice they're recording you and they tell you the video is going on Youtube. You tell them that this is only OK if they blur out your face. They agree to do so. Then they post the video without your face blurred. Q: Can I sue this person?

The video was taken as I was walking down a highstreet.

UK Law Question (England): Can I Sue someone if they post a video of me on social media Without my Consent?


I work from home for a virtual call center. I provide my own equipment but am required to use their software to connect to them, which often has problems. When these arise, and they cannot be resolved within 30 minutes by their software vendor, I am required to clock out.

This happened to me 3 hours ago, and I am now in legal limbo. The software vendor told me to await a return call, not as yet received. I'm essentially on call now, or am I? I won't be paid for this time, so how long must I wait before I can no longer be expected to clock back in today?

Can a call center employee be forced to monitor a technical problem off the clock?


Will Derek Chauvin's situation get worse on unsuccessful appeals? Is there a rule, law, or reasons that prevent him from going deeper into the appeal process to gain a more favorable/lenient ruling?

What worst outcomes Derek Chauvin can expect on appeals?


I'm developing an intranet site used by employees of my company. The geographic location of an employee could be anywhere around the world but they will be accessing the intranet website using a VPN.

Do I need to comply with laws related to cookies or other geographic specific laws?

[Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive 2002](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privacy_and_Electronic_Communications_Directive_2002)

Does an intranet site need to comply with cookie laws if it's only used internally


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

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


If a vendor clearly ignores PCI-DSS regulations and puts my personal credit card information at risk, is there any legal action I can take against them?

In the case at hand, a vendor first scanned my hand-written order form with a phone (likely a personal smartphone) and then sent that scan to me in an unencrypted email. But this is not the first case in which a vendor has mistreated my information like this.

While I have not (yet) incurred any actual damage, I would like to be able to do my part in making vendors aware of their obligations. So far I usually send a nice email reminding them of the PCI-DSS regulations. But I always feel like that these emails are ignored at best. Is there some form of cease and desist that I can apply in this case? Is there a place or organization that I should notify? Should I sue them?

Can I sue a PCI violator


According to the answers to [Are county clerks exempt from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?](https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/3455/are-county-clerks-exempt-from-title-vii-of-the-civil-rights-act-of-1964), elected officials of pretty much any sort are exempted from the protections offered citizens under Title VII. But it seems that without this protection, municipalities could enact laws such as "no Muslim or person with a physical or mental disability may hold an elected position."

Something clearly protects this from happening. Yes, it is a violation of the constitution, but from my understanding laws are what establish protections against constitutional violations.

If elected officials are exempt from CRA Title VII, what protects their civil rights?


I live in US and I am a freelance developer.

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

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

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


Paul Davies. [*JC Smith's The Law of Contract* (2018 2 ed)](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Smiths-Law-Contract-Paul-Davies/dp/0198807813/ref=dp_ob_title_bk). p. 6.

>
> On a slightly diﬀerent tack, but in a similar vein, Judge Richard Posner has written:17
>
>
>
> >
> > Suppose I sign a contract to deliver 100,000 custom-ground widgets at $.10 apiece to A, for use
> >  in his boiler factory. After I have delivered 10,000, B comes to me, explains that he desperately
> >  needs 25,000 custom-ground widgets at once since otherwise he will be forced to close his pianola factory at great cost, and oﬀers me $.15 apiece for 25,000 widgets. I sell him the widgets
> >  and as a result do not complete timely delivery to A, who sustains $1000 in damages from my
> >  breach. Having obtained an additional profit of $1250 on the sale to B, I am better off even
> >  after reimbursing A for his loss. Society is also better off. Since B was willing to pay me $.15
> >  per widget, it must mean that each widget was worth at least $.15 to him. But it was worth only
> >  $.14 to A—$.10, what he paid, plus $.04 (**$1000** divided by **25,000**), his expected profit. Thus the
> >  breach resulted in a transfer of the 25,000 widgets from a lower valued to a higher valued use.
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> 17 R Posner, *Economic Analysis of the Law* (8th edn, Aspen, 2011) 151.
>
>
>

1. Pls see the emboldenings. Whence did the $1000 hail?
2. Whence did the 25,000 hail? This is B's quantity demanded, not A's?

Why's A's expected profit $.04?


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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Based on definitions according to [17 U.S.C. § 101](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title17-section101&num=0&edition=prelim) ([archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20201107155724/https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title17-section101&num=0&edition=prelim)):

>
> "Phonorecords" are material objects in which sounds, other than those
> accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work, are fixed by
> any method now known or later developed, and from which the sounds can
> be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly
> or with the aid of a machine or device. The term "phonorecords"
> includes the material object in which the sounds are first fixed.
>
>
>

>
> "Sound recordings" are works that result from the fixation of a series
> of musical, spoken, or other sounds, but not including the sounds
> accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work, regardless of
> the nature of the material objects, such as disks, tapes, or other
> phonorecords, in which they are embodied.
>
>
>

Is a phonorecord a sound recording on a specific material object, such as an audio book on a CD?


Why is contract not above law?

Is there any country in the world where contract overrides law? If not, why not? What if both parties intend to sign and follow a contract that is against the law?

My reason for asking is whether a contract can legitimately override EU refunds laws.

Is there any country where contract overrides law?


Paul Davies. [*JC Smith's The Law of Contract* (2018 2 ed)](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Smiths-Law-Contract-Paul-Davies/dp/0198807813/ref=dp_ob_title_bk). pp. 425-426.

1. This question's title refers to the red underlines beneath.
2. What exactly is this 'legitimate interest protected' by exorbitant credit card interest rates?

>
> [![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/7O7H7.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/7O7H7.jpg)
>
>
>

How does the 'legitimate interest protected' by exorbitant credit card interest differ from that of exorbitant interest 'on outstanding fees'?


What happens when I include parts of code(maybe logic/algo, design approach and change its implementation or implement it in a different programming language) of an open-source copy left software in my software and try to make it proprietary? So how will proprietary license issuing authorities verify authenticity of my software(code)? I will claim it as my original work and will never acknowledge that I built it by referencing an open-source work.

Verifying authenticity of software for proprietary licensing


Watching the People's Court, the judge says the plaintiff has a responsibility to mitigate their damages.

In other words the (People's) court holds the plaintiff to a standard of effort when they have lost money and are suing to get the money back.

My question, is this standard in the (People's) court part of contract law, or is it a legal standard the court uses in the administration of the law --and possibly open to (greatest) judicial interpretation? Or is it some reasonableness made up for television?

Is plaintiff responsibility to 'mitigate their damages' a law?


I'm a small business targeting name tags to the individual worker. Some orders are from the businesses themselves, but others are for lone workers that seek a better name tag. When a lone McDonalds, Best Buy, Chick-fil-a, etc. employee comes to me and wants the golden arches or other logo on their name tag, am I opening up an infringement or other liability?

The question keeps haunting me, but I think that the ordering party is essentially performing like an agent of their company and authorizing the usage of the logo. Please let me know if I'm woefully mistaken.

So that covers the manufacturing, but then I'm wondering if it is a different matter when I post a product for sale online that's particularly advertising the "Customized McDonalds Name Tag w/Logo" as the base product. If the on-demand making of them is allowed, then is this any worse?

Any input so that I don't step on my own feet would be much appreciated. Thank you!

I manufacture employee name tags. Am I exposing myself by using their company's logo on tags ordered by their employees?


I have been offered 5% of a company through a shareholder agreement form (which I have not signed) but am really worried about a clause which essentially states,

>
> Any IP discovered by me relating to the business while in
>  the service of the Company must be disclosed and becomes the property
>  of the company.
>
>
>

Typically, I might say that service is the time during which I am being paid but there is no wage associated with the shareholding.

I am a contractor and work for other customers, I am concerned that such a clause would mean that I would be obliged to disclose customer secrets as they are in similar sectors. Am I over-stressing or should I argue the clause?

What does "While in the service of the company" mean?


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

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


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

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


I'm starting a course about building website backends with NodeJS and I was wondering is it legal to use the [NodeJS](https://nodejs.org) logo as **part** of my course cover?

Can I use nodejs logo as part of my course cover?


I am not a law professional at all but I all of a sudden realized something to which I cannot find a reasonable answer. In customs (or in similar law-enforcement acts), why is the burden of proof on the subject but not on the state?

CASE 1) If Acme Inc. imports some agricultural products, then she needs to demonstrate that everything complies with the biosafety regulations rather than the officers proving a violation. Then Acme needs to perform any necessary test by herself.

CASE 2) If it is claimed Mrs. X is insane and needs a guardian, then the burden of proof is with the plaintiff. Mrs. X need not prove that she is a reasonable person to a public authority every single minute to remain officially sane.

My interpretation for the case 2 is that somebody is assumed to be reasonable by nature unless something happens. But why is some"thing" is not OK by default?

Burden of proof at customs


Suppose a private party were to pay for the production of a theatrical play in England, and one of these performances was filmed, with the intention that the filming would be later edited into a DVD. There are therefore several interested parties:

* The party that paid for everything
* The person who filmed and edited the performance (the same person in this example)
* The actors
* The venue

To which of these parties (or any others) do rights belong in the recording and DVD? Do these rights differ if the DVD is (a) publicily sold for profit, (b) privately sold for profit (e.g. just to those associated with the production), (c) privately distributed for free?

IP Rights in Recordings


I recently wrote a clone of the famous Jeopardy! game. It is copyrighted but I believe that if I my copy was made for educational and recreational uses only (no commercial) it falls under FAIR USE, am I right? If so, can I publish it on the public internet?

I am using the main screen and concept of a game, the name is the same, and the audience will just be me and the code reviewers. I am in the EU. (Something like 10 people will play the game so might it count as private use?)

Is it ok to post a clone of a famous game up for review or in a website?


I'm being asked to sign a letter of engagement with an attorney.

One of the numbered paragraphs is blank and just says "Reserved". What is the reason for it, can the attorney just insert whatever terms they want later? Clearly not, but it must have some purpose.

This letter is being presented on an online signing service if that matters.

What is a "Reserved" clause in a contract? (letter of engagement)


How does one even create the title of an app when basically most nouns in the English language have been trademarked?

* When and when isn't a trademark valid?
* For example, I was surprised that even the word corgi and jets are trademarked! Jacuzzi seems to be the strong advocate of their trademark. But, what if these words are used in combination? Such as: Front Jacuzzi Back Corgi?

Related to:
[Trademark Infringement notice for usage of a dictionary word Jacuzzi in app - Google Play Store](https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/40581/trademark-infringement-notice-for-usage-of-a-dictionary-word-jacuzzi-in-app-go)

Understanding trademark infringements in a world where many dictionary words are trademarks?


Suppose I want to draw a horse. I don't know how to draw a horse so I buy a How to Draw Animals book and follow the instructions of the book to draw a horse. Now can I use my drawing for commercial purposes?

Is copying from How to Draw books copyright infringement?


First of all: I hope this fits on this stackexchange. Sorry if it doesn't...

The title says it all. I want to write a document and I would like to put an open license on it (i.e. do whatever you want). However I am by no means willing to take any responsibility for derived work and would like the license to reflect that by requiring that any derived work not be attributed to me. So essentially I want a license that says:

"Do whatever you want with this text. Distribute it as you like. The only requirement I have is that you remove my name from any derived work".

Is that actually possible at all? Or should I then essentially pick a license that forbids derived work altogether?

Document license that explicitly forbids attribution of derived work


Topical example (concerning the Facebook bias controversy of May 2016): if Facebook knowingly discriminated against conservative stories in its Trending feature, but told users and the press that there was no bias, could Facebook be prosecuted under U.S. law?

Is lying to your customers prosecutable?


Should state that I am in the United Kingdom (England specifically if that makes a difference).

I have a contract I want to make for a web design job and I have created a contract that lays out the terms while the web design job is taking place which will then be finished once the web design job has been completed.

However, once the web design job has been completed, my intention would be to then offer the client web hosting services. However, as this would be an ongoing service, I have created another hosting contract for this which would then be renewed every 12 months.

I could send the two contracts separately and have the client sign both if I needed to but this would involve inconvenience in needing the client to sign two documents. So I wondered if I could either:

* Create a hosting clause in the web design contract which would then refer to the fact that the terms of the hosting service are defined in the hosting contract (which I would then link to either a web page or another document or could I add these terms as a schedule?)
* List the two sets of terms separately but in the same document and then have it so that there is just one place to sign at the bottom for both sets of terms.

Is this possible or would this create issues?

Can I refer to another contract in a contract?


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

The contingency agreement that states:

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

By signing below, you agree to:

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

roofing contractor contingency agreement


The short: my company have been paid to develop a software system for a client. There are (sort of) similar systems on the market already, there is currently a lot of demand for it, I want to redistribute something similar if I am within my rights to do so.

I am not employed by the client, nor has anything formal been agreed (in terms of ownership) - but I have developed a system for them according to their design and requirements. I have not sold them this product as an off-the-shelf option, it is entirely bespoke.

There are some features of this system that are arguably too bespoke, and technical approaches I have taken due to their own constraints, so if I were to aim to package it up for redistribution/sale to other customers, it would most definitely be different enough to the original, in many ways.

My questions (with regard to my rights to sell it elsewhere as a product):

---

Does 'different enough' matter? I am assuming it does, but I do not know the law as to whether the intellectual property is theirs until the product varies from what they paid for? Am I concerned with the right thing here? How different must my product be? Is this quantified anywhere in law?

Should I be concerned at all since nothing was in writing? Or are legal implications already made as a result of them paying the invoices I send them?

What else am I not considering here? I have no clue about the legals with regards to this, but I am sure it must be well covered. I've signed contracts in the past (with other clients, in totally different industries) stating that I may not work for a competitor etc. within 6 months after project completion, but nothing has been formalised here.

**EDIT: Apologies, I should clarify - I am based in the UK, so UK law is what I'm concerned with.**

Redistribution of system similar to the one commissioned (privately) by a client


I am having some trouble with some of the terminology in Licensing agreement SEC filings. Does someone know what is meant by "commercial target"? The definition just states:
"1.18 “Commercial Target” means the Target for which Licensee is granted a Commercial License hereunder."

Here is a link to the relevant document:
<https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001175505/000119312513338467/d536956dex1030.htm>

What does "commercial target" mean in a pharma licensing agreement?


Scenario 1:
Artist B buys a line image of a cat licenced on a stock image website by Artist A. (licence terms-free to distribute, modify but must credit original artist).
Artist B colours it and then places it on a creative commons clipart website without crediting the original artist. (Image can be used free for commercial use except merchandising, no accreditation required).
Person C uses Artist B's image from the clipart website without the knowledge of Artist A.
Is Person C infringing on Person A's copyright by using B's image? Is Person B allowed to post their image on the clipart website?

Scenario 2
Artist B uses Artist A's clipart to make their own version of the animal. They place this on a creative commons stock site-(free for commercial, no attribution required).
Artist C uses Artist B's version in their own work, publishes and later finds that Artist B based their work on A's clipart. Artist A cannot be located and the work is only visible on a couple of free for personal use clipart websites. The work seems to be an orphan work. It cannot be ascertained if Artist B has permission to make the derivative. What is the legal position of Artist C (assuming no fair use/fair dealings)?

Thanks

Copy Right Image


If somebody registered a distinctive website name, that has no content or services related to it (i.e. it's an empty page), is the name trademarked?

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_parking>

Are the names of parked domain websites trademarked?


My employer is trying enforce new rules about how we use our annual leave. Among other points they require the following are the ones of concern:

1. 50% of annual leave must be booked (planned, bot necessarily taken) by September
2. There must be at least two people in the office on all working days
3. The manager has priority over leave during the Christmas break this year as he missed it last year (due to the enforcement of rule number 2 that he introduced).

Due to the slightly chaotic nature of my life outside of work, planning leave a long way ahead is extremely difficult. And although I'm not too concerned about needing 2 people in the office at any time it is obviously more of a concern at Christmas. I don't live very far away from my workplace, we have full remote access and I have said I am prepared to be "On Call" for an emergency but am not physically required in the office. However my manager is adamant that I physically need to be here. Also denying out leave during that period to give himself priority seems an abuse of his position.

Am curious what restrictions they can legally enforce?

Can an employer dictate when an employee can take annual leave?


I am a web designer that works with a range of clients on a project basis. I complete a project and then offer my services at any hourly rate for any other work required in the future.

Do I have a legal responsibility to ensure any projects are GDPR compliant which are:

1. finished before 25th May 2018?
2. finished after the 25th May 2018?

GDPR liability for Web Designer


Suppose you purchased a product on eBay, realized that it was likely illegal (like a bootleg copy of the advertised copyrighted product), and returned it. Does the act of returning the product make you liable for its distribution? If one views the return and refund as a nullification of the original transaction maybe not, but if you consider the act of purchase and the act of the return as two separate actions then maybe the return is a kind of distribution, isn't it?

Does returning an illegal product back to the seller for the refund make one liable for said product distribution?


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


Imagine I write a non-fiction book, in which I make references to Simpsons characters, starting with the title.

I assume I can't take a picture from the cartoon and put it on the cover without running into legal difficulties (correct me, if I'm wrong).

But I could hire an artist, who would draw a new, original picture of the characters. The results of the artist's work would be my intellectual property. Let's assume the artist does everything right and sells me the image he or she created for me (i. e. didn't sell it to multiple people; I'm the one and only owner of the image). Then I could put that illustration on the cover of the book.

If I start selling this book with this cover on Amazon and SmashWords, how likely am I get in trouble with American legal system on a scale of 1 to 10?

1 means nothing will happen. 10 means that 5 minutes after I publish the book, black helicopters will take me to Guantanamo.

Am I allowed to put an illustration based on Simpsons on the cover of my book?


According to this article [ref here](https://dcdirtylaundry.com/new-york-fire-commissioners-call-for-new-9-11-investigation/), [ref here](https://www.globalresearch.ca/new-york-area-fire-commissioners-make-history-call-new-911-investigation/5684982), [ref here](https://www.zerohedge.com/health/new-york-area-fire-commissioners-demand-new-911-investigation) and [ref here:](https://www.ae911truth.org/news/540-new-york-area-fire-commissioners-make-history-call-for-new-9-11-investigation)

>
> ...History has just been made, as the first legislative body in the
>  country officially announces their support for reopening the 9/11
>  investigation. Citing “overwhelming evidence” of preplanted
>  explosives, the fire commissioners of Franklin Square and Munson...
>
>
>

Video of the whole event [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM9CJRClLOk)

>
> ...the Franklin Square and Munson Fire District, which oversees a
>  volunteer fire department serving a hamlet of 30,000 residents just
>  outside of Queens, New York, became the first legislative body in the
>  country to officially support a new investigation into the events of
>  9/11...
>
>
>

**What legislative body is that?** It is said that they support a new independent investigation but whose responsibility is to start an investigation like that? Are firefighters a legislative body in the USA?

[Lawyers' Committee for 9/11 Inquiry](https://www.lawyerscommitteefor9-11inquiry.org/) have been trying the open a new investigation without result for years why is it any different now?

Do firefighters contitute a legislative power?


This question is not about politics, it's purely about law.

Recently, a number of companies announced that they will be terminating contracts with anyone who has Russian registration.

One example is IONOS web and domain hosting:

>
> Ukraine Conflict – Cancellation of Your Account
>
> Dear XXX,
>
> As you may already be aware from IONOS's public statements, IONOS has made the difficult decision to no longer provide services to Russian and Belarusian customers. While we understand that you may not personally support the war in Ukraine or the policies which led up to the war, it's important that IONOS make clear our support for the people and country of Ukraine. With that in mind, your account will be terminated effective 16/03/22, so please transfer all of your data, domain names, and any related email addresses to another provider no later than the termination date. After the termination date, any domains which are not transferred will resolve to an error page until the domain expiry date, and any data associated with your account will be deleted.
>
> If you believe your website provides information services that are critical to the defense of Ukraine or which assist in ensuring the safety and well-being of the Ukrainian people, please reach out to us directly and an IONOS representative will review your site as a possible exception to the company's general policy on terminations. Please note that IONOS will make any such determination in its sole and unfettered discretion, without any obligation to you.
>
> In case you need support, please contact our Customer Service team at:
> 1-484-254-5555.
>
> We stand with Ukraine!
>
>
>

Here's what seems to be their Terms&Conditions:
<https://www.ionos.com/terms-gtc/general-terms-and-conditions/>

I read through it, and I find these clauses remotely relevant:

>
> IONOS may terminate this Agreement at any time for any reason, with or without cause, upon thirty days' written notice
>
>
>

In my understanding, this doesn't apply, because they're giving only 8 days of prior notice.

>
> You represent and warrant that you are not a national or resident of Burma/Myanmar, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Serbia, Sudan, and Syria or any other country subject to U.S. Treasury Department embargo restrictions
>
>
>

To my knowledge, Russia is not embargoed.

>
> In the event of "force majeure" (as defined below), IONOS may terminate this Agreement without liability to you. For purposes of the Agreement, "force majeure" shall mean circumstances or occurrences beyond IONOS’s reasonable control, whether or not foreseeable at the time of entering into the Agreement, in consequence of which IONOS cannot reasonably be required to perform its obligations hereunder or otherwise perform its obligations under the Agreement.
>
>
>

IONOS is an internet service, which to my knowledge is rendered outside of Russian soil. Therefore I don't see a way to declare that IONOS is "cannot reasonably be required to perform its obligations" in such situation. Also, by the time of their decision, there is no war on Russian soil.

What is the legal basis for terminating contracts with Russian residents?


I have a contract that was signed on Nov 4, 2016. It says that we can cancel the contract within three business days from the above date. Additionally, it also says "To cancel this transaction, mail or deliver a signed and dated copy of this cancellation notice to" followed by an address and "no later than midnight of Nov 9, 2016". I am wondering if midnight of Nov 9 means a minute after Nov 8 11:59PM or it is after Nov 9 11:59PM.

What does "No later than midnight of a day" mean?


I am developing a web application that involves connecting PHP with SQL Server, in order to do so it was necessary to download and install the Microsoft ODBC Driver 18 for SQL Server for Windows; reading the license it metions in the part of "Installation and use rights" that "You may install and use any number of copies of the software to develop and test your applications", I wonder if I wanted to market (not develop or test) my web application so that other users connect to my server, where I have Microsoft Driver 18 for Sql Server installed, throught a web browser to make use of my application that needs the Microsoft Driver 18 for Sql Server to be able to work (not to download the driver but to use my web application), is it possible to do it with that driver that I have downloaded or should I buy some other driver or application that allows me to market my application? If so I would like to know why.

<https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/connect/odbc/download-odbc-driver-for-sql-server?view=sql-server-ver15>

Thanks

Daniel

Can I use the Microsoft ODBC driver 18 for SQL Server in a commercial application?


I am currently interested in doing some research performing various measurements and algorithms on the most common words in the English language. I have found a few good word lists online that would be suitable, but I am concerned that they may be subject to copyright and would like to be sure about their status before I use them. The lists are in the form of a simple text file with one word per line.

I understand that collections of words such as dictionaries are subject to copyright because they contain a large amount of words and their definitions which can be considered to require original work and creativity, but what about just words without any definitions or additional information?

I have seen [this other Law Stack Exchange question](https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/6597/copyright-fair-use-and-online-dictionaries-translations-word-list?rq=1), which mentions lists of words, but the author seems to have been interested in also using some short definitions, and I am not certain the answer refers to plain word lists.

Is a list of common words copyrightable? If so, would it still be considered fair use to use the word list to generate data not related to the words themselves?

Is a list of the most common English words copyrightable under US law?


When making a Subject Access Request to GCHQ I was told that I would have to pay a fee for this Request. The GDPR does not allow for such a fee, while the UK Data Protection Act does(Part 4 – Chapter 3 - Section 94). My Subject Access Request concerns the website of the GCHQ, and not the GCHQ's surveillance activities. Does the GDPR supersede the UK Data Protection Act in this case?

Fee for Subject Access Request to GCHQ, Data Protection Act 2018


I'm writing a module for the internal company website of my current employer. Does that constitute comercial use?

What constitutes comercial use of software?


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


Bob is a clinically vulnerable adult that has a weak immune system. Eve is one of Bob's friends. Eve has been offered a vaccine for a widely spread and contagious disease that has the potential to kill Bob if he caught it from Eve. Eve does not take this vaccine, as she does not think it will affect her and it goes against her beliefs/morals.

Unfortunately, Eve catches this disease and then passes it on (transmits) it to Bob. As a result, Bob becomes ill and dies. Could Eve be tried for murder, manslaughter, or some other crime, as she chose not to be vaccinated against a disease that she (in-directly) passed on to Bob and killed him?

Bob dies because Eve chose not to be vaccinated, is this a crime?


For over a year, I'm trying to get "wordpress.org" to delete my personal data from their [bugtracker](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/) (the pseudonym is linked to my full personal address).

According to <https://wordpress.org/about/privacy/> The website states GDPR compliancy and appropriate rights are theoretically granted. There is no legal or even practical reason not to (at least) anonymize the data in question. No payments or contracts are involved.

Until today I have written about 7 mails to 4 different receivers including but not limited to the address listed in the above privacy statement, starting from August 2019. Without any reply at all.

I tried opening tasks in their bugtracker and request information about the legal holder of the domain or a contact who may be able to fulfill my request. All my requests have been blocked and deleted immediately - even one of my domains has been blocked completely.

Wordpress is putting preasure on avoiding me as hard as possible even tho I have written most polite messages and acknowledging integrity of their systems.

What could I possibly do now to get my data erased or anonymized?

Why is my GDPR (a.17) request not fulfilled?


If a corporation is criminally charged while handling privacy data wrongly (assume such a law exists if it does not) in India who is liable? Is it the chairman, deparment of privacy, employees involved, the majority shareholder who financed the company or someone else?
Assume the company was not set up just to do illegal activity and the majority shareholder and chairman took reasonable steps to ensure privacy and left the rest to privacy experts and lawyers in the privacy department.

How are corporations imprisoned?


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

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

This is basically an admission to a fact.

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

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

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

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

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


My wife has had a new boss a few months back. He does not understand the role his team plays in the organisation.

He has tried to force (he uses the word encourage) my wife to take up work that is not in the purview of her role.

He has tried to get her to take on work that other teams have to do (this is documented in the process), all under the name of improving working environment.

He has tried to force (again encourage according to him) her to change her personal development goals in the company.

My wife is 5 months into pregnancy and a few days back I had to take her to the A&E after she complained about severe abdominal pains. This followed an extremely stressful 2 hour long meeting with her boss.

I have observed that she is stressed every time there is a meeting with her boss.

What are her legal rights? She does not want to quit her job. She has absolutely no confidence in the HR.

Can she talk to the doctor and get off for a few days without affecting her maternity leave?

My pregnant wife is experiencing a lot of stress at work due to an incompetent manager. What are her rights?


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

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

The boldened sentence too many negators. I rewrote it —

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

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

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


(1) I am trying to find out whether one has to file any income tax if they are an American citizen permanently living abroad but having literally no income?

(2) While trying to search about this on the internet, I wondered why is there no tax bracket with 0% or nil income tax (the UK doesn't tax income upto £12,500 for example). This means that people earning below that threshold are exempt from paying tax. Is there no such Nil or 0% tax thing in the US? So many countries have this minimum threshold income where no filing of income tax is required. Even countries like India have such policy. But I can only see that in the US you have to pay 10% tax minimum no matter how less you earn.

I would really appreciate if you could help me regarding those 2 questions.

Thank you:)

Income tax bracket threshold for zero tax in the US and regarding no income at all


Various techniques can be used to identify stalkers, malicious hackers et al. that are either gathering data for their target or use the target's digital items without consent.

Canary files
------------

They are 'normal' files (e.g. PDF, word) that can be used to identify an attacker without his knowledge or consent. When the attacker copies the canary file (without permission) and opens it in his computer, he could -unknowingly- send his IP address to the victim.

Google Drive
------------

A victim can upload a big file that most people wouldn't bother searching for, let alone download, yet an attacker doing research on the victim probably will.
By doing so (and under certain circumstances) the following become [available](https://support.google.com/a/answer/4579696?hl=en#zippy=%2Cdata-you-can-view) to the victim:

>
> User action such as View, Rename, Create, Edit, Preview, Print, Update, Delete, Upload, Download, or Share a Drive file.
>
>
>

Google analytics
----------------

It can sometimes be used to gather information of would-be stalkers. E.g. if a victim creates a website and enables Google Analytics he could place a 'bait' in his webpage like his real name, assuming it's not too common. Then the attacker by searching "Jake Anderson home address" would leave traces like:

* approximate age
* approximate location (e.g. city)
* search term used to find the site in Google

This of course requires that the attacker is reckless with his privacy settings which is quite common.

What limitations does the GDPR create in the use of such techniques when done with the sole purpose of identifying or getting a hint on the attacker's identity?

Note that in some of the cases above the attacker has given consent to his data being used (e.g. being visible to the google drive account owner).

Identifying attackers and GDPR. In which cases is it legal?


Let’s suppose there are two companies, company A and company B. Both companies come to an agreement: company A buys some goods from Company B and these goods must be delivered in four months. Now, before these goods are delivered, an employee of company B destroys them. Suppose I am company A. What could I do? Is this matter of property law? Or contractual law? Or both?

Property/contract law issue


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

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

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

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

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

I pay for a service, but I miss the broadcast


I received a letter of intent to sign and the signature block has a line after "Accepted" as though I should put something there.

>
> <Legal Entity Name>
>
>
> ACCEPTED: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
>
>
> BY: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
>
>
> Date: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
>
>
>

This is new to me. After a cursory search I could not find any info or even any examples of this. What goes there?

What do I put on an "Accepted" line?


[![image of jim carrey](https://i.stack.imgur.com/VRr6e.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/VRr6e.png)

By opening this question, you have automatically sent some data to some random website on the internet, the website hosting the above picture. What data? This is the data that is usually sent:

* Your IP
* A cookie
* The URL you are visiting (the URL of this question)
* Your user-agent (typically including OS version, browser version, etc.)
* The time when you first saw this picture (header: if-modified-since)

This can definitely be personal data according to the GDPR, and in practice in most cases **it is**.

>
> ‘personal data’ means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person;
>
>
>

That data is sent somewhere automatically. Did you see any privacy policies? Did you accept anything? No, you don't know how that data will be used. Of course it could be sent to a stupid random website, that will never use it for anything. Or it could be sent to a big corporation, or to a content delivery network, or any website that is big enough to be able to track you with this data, because they have a lot of services (or just hotlinked images) around spread all over the web. Note: the data is actually sent to Imgur, which I believe would definitely be able to track you, given the huge amount of pictures on the internet that link to them.

I've always seen people mainly worried about third-party assets (Google Analytics or Facebook buttons, etc.), some also began to worry about Google Fonts (that's a third-party asset too actually), but I don't think anybody ever brought up the issue of hotlinked images. That's third-party stuff. And communities like this one are basically allowing users to embed third party assets.

**Who's responsible for this?** Is it the user's fault, because they should always make sure the image source complies with the GDPR? I doubt it. The website owner's fault (Stackexchange), because they should not allow hotlinking? I'd say yeah, probably. Or the third-party website's fault, for not complying with the GDPR? I'd say no, for all we know they could be based in a country that doesn't even know what the GDPR is.

So my conclusion is that hotlinking should be treated like loading a third-party asset, and if the website owner cannot check the privacy policies of every hotlinked image (for example because it would be impossible in a community like this one), then unsupervised hotlinking should be disabled because the GDPR does not allow it. Am I wrong?

GDPR and hotlinked images: are they allowed?