Questions tagged [is-x-legal]
Is X Legal? Questions that postulate a scenario or behavior, then ask if that scenario or behavior is legal. Please read Meta before asking a question of this form!
192
questions
42
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5
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A Swiss watch company seized my watch, saying it was stolen. I bought it 10 years ago. Is that legal?
I have a watch from Blancpain that I bought in 2014 from an individual in Poland (I have a written contract). I've sent the watch to Blancpain in Switzerland for periodic inspection and they seized it,...
- 421
32
votes
2
answers
8k
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Is it legal to publish a cease and desist letter that I have received?
I've received a cease and desist letter for defamation from a local businessperson that I believe to be without legal basis - the actionable statements listed are clearly statements of my opinion. ...
- 429
29
votes
7
answers
10k
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Is there a law against destroying works of art of historic importance when you are the owner?
At work we recently had a bit of a debate about whether or not it would be legal to destroy a work of art if you are the owner of said work.
A few years ago, Banksy destroyed his own painting by ...
- 401
-2
votes
1
answer
150
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Can a software include a list of deities/gods?
Consider a software that allows users to create profiles that identify the user. If this software includes and allows users to choose what god/deity they believe in (or their favorite god/deity), is ...
user48480
1
vote
1
answer
90
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Can salaried employees be forced to attend meetings without being able to charge the time?
Background: I work in Maryland
I am a salaried employee; however, I am required to fill out a time card in order to specify which hours are worked on which contract, and am required to work a minimum ...
1
vote
1
answer
83
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Under what law could Peter Doig have been liable for saying he did not paint a painting?
It is in the news that Peter Doig has won a case, including being granted $2.5 million in fees, after he said he did not paint a picture.
From the NYT at the time the case was submitted, the claimant ...
- 3,338
2
votes
2
answers
126
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Is it illegal to temporarily park in front of my garage to wash my car if the townhouse association allows it and there are no posted signs?
I live in a townhouse community and received a packet with the association rules when I moved here. It states that you may temporarily park in front of your garage for purposes such as loading, ...
- 21
0
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0
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14
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Is there a legal context regarding non-personal data retention for older SAS clients? [EU]
Can EU based SAS company keep non-personal data that what created by an former EU-based client (for example blog posts/)?
If yes for how long?
- 137
7
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4
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4k
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Would it be legal for a business to provide only unisex multi person restrooms for use?
Let's say for some reason a business owner decided to make all their restrooms unisex. These are not single-person rooms, but larger restrooms with numerous toilets (and possible urinals).
Is there ...
- 7,444
12
votes
3
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6k
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Is it illegal to download passwords in bulk from the dark web to make a password checking tool to help people?
I remember some password managers like Google's would give me a warning about passwords that have been compromised.
My question is this. How is Google or any company able to see that the password I ...
- 227
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3
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2k
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Date on Legal letter
Very often, the letters will state to respond within x days from the date of letter. Are there any regulations for law firms, banks or credit companies to provide a reasonable window of time for ...
- 101
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1
answer
89
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Is it legal to sell money? [duplicate]
Is it legal to sell money for a profit in the United States? For example:
Selling 100 rolls of pennies for $100 ($50 profit)
Selling 1,000 rolls of quarters for $12,000
Selling 1,000 dollar bills for ...
- 557
4
votes
1
answer
155
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Legal Considerations When Self-Publishing a Book
According to https://wordsrated.com/self-published-book-sales-statistics/, 300 million self-published books are sold each year.
I am thinking about, in the future, uploading (i.e., self-publishing) ...
- 143
2
votes
1
answer
52
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Means of contract termination (Switzerland)
The Swiss company Yallo (telecommunication) does not accept written contract terminations (see here).
Is this legal according to Swiss contract law?
Since I'm a layman I could only find this article ...
3
votes
1
answer
100
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In France, is it legal to practice target shooting on your own land?
I can find a lot of information about hunting on your own land, and my land would qualify for that. However, I don't have a hunting license and I'm in fact more interested in target practice / sport ...
- 31
21
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3
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13k
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Is it legal to physically wash money?
I have some money that fell in a mud puddle. It got really dirty, and I don't want to put it in my wallet as it currently is. Is it legal to wash the money?
- 259
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2
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3k
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Legality of busking a song with copyrighted melody but using different lyrics to deliver a message
Are there any legal impediments to busking a song with melody and lyrics copyrighted in the United States---with the same melody but with different lyrics---on U.S. streets?
Does it matter if the song ...
- 1,121
2
votes
1
answer
128
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Can a writer write a novel about a fictional Dota player?
Can a writer/author write a novel about a fictional Dota (or any other video game) player, mentioning the game's name and possibly names of the fictional characters of the game? Would this be ...
user47165
7
votes
1
answer
824
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A prosecutor and a defense attorney have a romantic relationship. What consequences could happen if caught?
Perhaps more of a question concerning legal culture than individual laws. I am writing a story with this as a subplot, and I want to know what could happen to either party if a judge/prosecutor's ...
- 171
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3
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4k
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Is it considered harrassment in the US to call a black man the N-word?
I recently saw a Youtube Short featuring a man interviewing Jordan Peterson and they were discussing the legality of calling someone by racial slurs, specifically the N-word. Seemingly having actually ...
- 179
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0
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78
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Is this telephone company's terms of usage common or unfair?
Though many think the price is good, their policy does mean your telephone service is subject to change.
Is this even legal to enforce per FCC?
reserves the right to reclaim any phone number from ...
1
vote
0
answers
99
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If Kazakhstan's citizen visited Indonesia/Ukraine while wearing shirt with flag of Kazakhstan's armed forces, would he face any legal punishment?
Here is the flag:
I want answers for each country (in one post if possible). Both countries banned communist symbols, but Kazakhstan isn't a communist country. So maybe it's possible to argue, that ...
- 123
3
votes
1
answer
78
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Is consent required for paying, corporate subscribers of a B2B website?
I was intrigued by this question: Why is the Google Analytics cookie defined as "strictly necessary" and saved without consent?, and how GDPR/E-Privacy applies to paying, corporate ...
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2
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106
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Alice stole a package from Bob. Is it legal? [closed]
Alice stole Bob's Amazon package and opened it. It contained sheets of processed wood, 216 by 365 millimeters. Is this legal?
- 19
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votes
2
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506
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Is mooning people in the UK legal?
If one pulls down one's trousers and underwear to expose one's buttocks but without intention to expose any part of one's genitals, for the purpose of conveying one's disapproval and irreverence to ...
1
vote
2
answers
130
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Is adjusting the shipping rates after purchase allowed?
So, I (USA) recently made an order at an online store (Japan). I paid with debit. My order was taking a while to ship but I thought nothing of it because I'm patient and shopping online is just like ...
- 11
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2
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123
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Is using Youtube illegal if the uploader does not have distribution rights?
This question is propted by this one. The answers seems to assume that youtube has a valid licence to distribute the work. What if that is not the case? Is it illegal to watch/listen to a video ...
- 3,338
2
votes
1
answer
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Is there any framework for prosecuting environmental crimes as war crimes?
It is in the news that the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines is an environmental catastrophe. There are calls for this to be treated as a war crime:
Methane leaking from yet-to-be explained ...
- 3,338
5
votes
1
answer
157
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Is it illegal to sell duck eggs in Austria?
When I lived in Toronto I would often buy fresh duck and turkey eggs from the city's markets. Yesterday I tried doing the same thing at a market in Vienna and was told by the stall operator that it's ...
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5
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Is it a crime to "steal" your own money from a bank?
It is in the news that it has become a thing to stage a bank "robbery" to get access to ones own money in Lebanon. While these have involved things that are undoubtedly crimes (such as ...
- 3,338
4
votes
1
answer
122
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Is creating and hosting a phishing site illegal?
Would creating and hosting a phishing site imitating a site like Facebook or LinkedIn to show one person how realistic phishing scams can be (with that person's permission) be illegal in the US, ...
- 41
0
votes
0
answers
271
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Are flash loan attacks legal?
A new form of "money making activity" has emerged in recent years, the flash loan attack. In very rough terms, a loan of some cryptocurrency is taken out, the cryptocurrency is used in some ...
- 3,338
15
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3
answers
5k
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Is it legal to publish a ''copy" of the Constitution with fake text added?
Would it be legal to publish a copy of the Constitution with an extra article that is not part of the real constitution, with no indication that it was added, i.e. intending to mislead readers?
- 11.3k
1
vote
1
answer
66
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How often can a paid service be unavailable without breaching contract?
I'm curious about the theory and practice behind paying for a monthly subscription and not being able to use it for no fault of your own. I had purchased a 4 month gym pass. The gym is part of a ...
- 25
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1
answer
201
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Is it legal to reverse-engineer and reimplement a file format?
If I reverse engineer a file format used by proprietary software and write (a) a specification and (b) a third-party program for reading and writing the format, and I publish both (a) and (b) online ...
- 11.3k
2
votes
1
answer
135
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Is it legal to include a crypto miner in published software?
If I publish a program (say a text editor), and I include a cryptocurrency miner that puts all of the coins in my wallet (and the mining itself does not accomplish anything that benefits the user, e.g....
- 11.3k
0
votes
2
answers
74
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Is it legal for a broker of insurance to cancel your policy if they do not send you the warning-letter from the insurance company about cancellation?
Is it legal for a broker of insurance to cancel your policy if they do not send you the warning-letter from the insurance company and they put things on your insurance policy that you never asked for?
user46398
0
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1
answer
95
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Is it legal to record Internet audio streams?
Is it legal to record an Internet audio stream (sometimes incorrectly called "Internet radio") for later playback for private use? Does it matter if you delete immediately after listening vs....
- 11.3k
9
votes
2
answers
4k
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Is it legal for me to provide a download of an unchanged fork of an application that is on GitHub?
I plan to write some tech blogs, where one of them showcases an application from GitHub without a license. Now I just forked it as a backup because I don't want my viewers can't find it someday if the ...
- 447
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1
answer
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Is it legal to "sneak into Mar-a-Lago"?
This article lists six ways to "sneak into Mar-a-Lago." It says "it’s not illegal to go places you don’t belong," but most of the ways listed seem like fraud and/or trespassing. Is ...
- 11.3k
3
votes
1
answer
145
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Is it legal to extract digital game copies from a game console to emulate/backup/mod the game?
I have a Nintendo Switch with some digital games installed on it. I want to extract, decrypt, mod and play the games on my PC using an open-source emulator, while still being able to play them on my ...
- 131
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6
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8k
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Is it legal to own a photo of someone and spread it around without their permission?
Backstory: My friends has a picture of me, which I asked him to delete and not show to people multiple times, but he keeps it and shows it to people no matter how many times I ask him not to. Is it ...
- 145
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2
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Would it be legal to erase, disable, or destroy your phone when a CBP agent attempted to seize it?
If a Customs and Border Protection agent demanded that I give him my phone while I (a US citizen) was re-entering the US, would it be legal for me to activate some kind of "panic button" ...
- 11.3k
3
votes
1
answer
75
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Is it legal for a law firm or some company to bill a client for a report on substantiated expenses if the client were to ask for that information?
Is it legal for a lawyer/law-firm/general company to invoice a client for substantiating expenses and providing receipts for previous work?
Example, XYZ fee receipts to USPTO, WIPO,FedEX, paying ...
user44744
0
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1
answer
74
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Is it legal for a shareholder who receives no wages from company A to receive a reimbursement for business travel costs from company A?
Is it legal for a shareholder who receives no wages from company A to receive a reimbursement for business travel costs from company A in United States? Shareholder pocketed zero dollars of the ...
user44744
2
votes
2
answers
181
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Is it legal to create a cryptocurrency?
I want to create a new cryptocurrency as an experiment. Is this legal?
My cryptocurrency won't use a blockchain, so laws specifically regulating blockchains might not apply.
The system will be ...
- 11.3k
1
vote
1
answer
53
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Is it legal to report the amount paid to the lawyer minus the disbursements lawyer had made by tax-year's end in 1099-NEC "Nonemployee compensation"?
Assume X,Y are positive real number and X<Y. Suppose $X is the amount the patent lawyer disbursed to entities to file the patent for review including amounts to foreign examining agencies to ...
user46042
0
votes
2
answers
109
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Any obligation to disclose one's name and address to private parties for service of civil claims after a street altercation?
Suppose A is walking down the street and B punches A in the nose, thus committing assault. Legally, A is entitled to claim civil damages against B, and can practically do so if they know A's name and ...
0
votes
1
answer
126
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Is it illegal to declare to officials if asked that one has no fixed abode if one pays rent at an address but is often not there?
Suppose one has an active lease and pays rent for an accommodation but often travels and stays in hostels or with friends, and they are arrested and asked for an address. If one declares that one has ...
2
votes
1
answer
173
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Is it legal to "troll" spammers?
If a spammer sends me an email advertising a service, is it legal for me to reply acting like I'm interested in the service, have a fairly long conversation about it, and then say "no thanks"...
- 11.3k