Questions tagged [united-states]
For questions specific to the United States as a whole, or that span multiple state jurisdictions. If your question is related to a specific state then you should use that state's tag instead (or as well).
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Can I get copyright protection for someone else's character?
Say someone publishes a book featuring a minor side character, with a name but without the sort of strong character trait delineation that would qualify the character for copyright protection.
Say I ...
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Facts sufficient to construct a copy of a copyrighted work
In this answer, it is mentioned that facts about a copyrighted work, such as lists of how many times they use each word, are not really derivative works because, as facts, they aren't subject to ...
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Seeking Presidential Immunity
ABC News reports that former President Trump is seeking to invoke "presidential" immunity in the lawsuit regarding: E. Jean Carroll's 2019 damage claims.
In statements Trump made denying ...
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Is it legal to keep products I never ordered that were delivered to my residence?
If I ordered a box of paper from Amazon but I got 10 iPad Pros from them instead, can I keep it without notifying or returning them? If it wasn't a product delivery but instead a gift or a letter sent ...
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Differences between patent and copyright
I'm reading "Open Source Licensing" by Lawrence Rosen.
At page 30 there is written:
A patent differs from a copyright in a fundamental way: A copyright prevents a third party from copying ...
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Can you give stolen property back to the thief?
This question is inspired by this video by the lock picking lawyer, who given his name I'm assuming knows a thing or two about law.
However in the video he explains the lock was sent in by a viewer ...
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Can one receive money/gift card for services without work visa in the US?
As a non-citizen, non-PR in the US, I don't have work authorization.
However, there are times when I could participate in activities which would entitle me to monetary benefits, directly or in form of ...
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Can I make an intermediate copy of an entire work for the purpose of enabling me to criticize it?
A recent question asked about the practice of transcribing music for hire.
Say I would like to publish a critical analysis of a song. In the process of preparing this analysis I need to actually ...
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Can the federal government directly modify state law?
A recent comment inspired me to wonder whether the US federal government has the power to directly modify state law.
State legislatures will often pass bills of the form "Section so-and-so of the ...
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If your parents give you something As a gift or to make you happy, can they leggally take it from you when u move out? [duplicate]
If your parents give you something As a gift or to make you happy, can they leggally take it from you when u move out? Im 17 moving out this weekend but i need to know Because they gave me stuff ...
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(USA) Can reproduction of a public record be prohibited?
Partial image of what I suspect is a public record:
Is "reproduction prohibited" legally enforceable? That would make thousands of genealogists in violation, as well as sites like ...
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What does Section 2 of the 21st Amendment to the US Constitution do?
Section 2 of Amendment 21 to the US Constitution says the following:
The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of ...
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Could the US fed gov reduce a state's minimum wage?
I am aware the Fed can create a minimum wage law that is more restrictive than a state's, but could it nullify a state's minimum wage law and force it to be lowered?
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So My mom Had given me a xbox a couple years ago, But it was not given on my birthday or christmas, Can can she take it back, im about to move out. 17
So My mom Had given me a xbox a couple years ago, But it was not given on my birthday or christmas, Can can she take it back, im about to move out.
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Can penalties be increased retroactively by statutes?
Would a law retroactively increasing the penalties for a crime, but not criminalizing any formerly legal action, be constitutional, or would it be considered ex post facto?
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Watching bootleg DVDs [duplicate]
Say that, for my upcoming birthday, someone gifts me a copy of the hit film Shrek 2 on DVD.
Say that, instead of being professionally pressed and shrink-wrapped, my new copy of Shrek 2 is a shiny DVD+...
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What is the purpose of being tried by a "jury of your peers"?
If you are facing criminal charges (in the United States), there is a person in the court (the judge) who is an expert in law, has extensive experience, and is (at least theoretically) impartial. And ...
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Is there an email directory of police departments and sheriffs offices for submitting FOI requests?
I have been doing research related to FOI (Freedom of Information) fees and itemized invoices in particular. In this effort I have been contacting a number of departments and offices (ideally all) in ...
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Fraudulent misrepresentation by a third party
Say, for purposes of conjecture, that "Celine" fraudulently tells "Alice" that something will happen. Also assume for the purposes of this question that, in reasonable reliance on ...
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What happens when a wrongful death charge turns into murder charge?
If the family of the victim files a wrongful death lawsuit against a person, which to my understanding they can do even with zero evidence, and that same person is the suspect in the murder of that ...
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Is it legal for me to ask people who are applying to work for me if they were in a sorority in college and not hire them if they were? [closed]
Long story short, I have issues with sorority girls dating back to when I was younger that I don't really want to elaborate on here. I have little to no problem with fraternity brothers, and so I ...
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Are pledges I made in a job interview binding?
Among some "pro" tips shared in my neighborhood for desperate job seekers is the myth that promising to never unionize drastically improves the chance of landing on a job. If one were to ...
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What type of liability exists for gender discrimination in pricing for a contractor's services and under what conditions?
Suppose that business A contracts business B to perform some work for it on a regular basis. This work is performed for the customers of business A at their request. For concreteness, business A might ...
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Is ad blocking assistive technology?
Say I run a website. I put ads on my website to make money. I program the web site to refuse service to people who do not actually display the ads, since they make me no money.
Then I have a user come ...
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Who pays for checking for damages?
Say my neighbor has a very delicate piece of equipment, and I accidentally bump into it. It doesn't look broken, but it might be broken internally.
Because of the nature of the equipment, determining ...
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What is the legal status of shoplifting in San Francisco?
Shoplifting in San Francisco is quite controversially treated quite leniently as it seems. Perhaps one might go so far as to even call it (either in effect or actually) “decriminalised”. It seems that ...
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If a person is working for two companies as a regular employee who owns the copyright to software created by that employee?
The general rule is that if you are an employee software you create in the course of your employment belongs to your employer.
In the United States an employee can work for more than one company ...
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Is there a requirement for US laws to follow common law?
This is a plain question.
Is there any requirement for US laws to align with common law?
Common Law doctrine in the US courts seems to be a fallback if no existing laws / cases cover an area of ...
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When will the baseline patents for encoding/decoding the AAC format expire?
The MP4 container is the most ubiquitous video format in the world. It is commonly used with the H.264 video codec, of which there has been a lot written about when the patents for this codec will ...
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How is compensation for defendants against whom charges are dismissed called and calculated?
Bob was charged with a crime but the charges got dismissed. Apparently in some American states, he is entitled to compensation.
What is this type of mechanism called, and how much does he get?
Answers ...
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What's the easiest way to extend my J-1 grace period?
I'm a visitor from the EU to the US with a J-1 visa, and I'm currently in my grace period of 30 days before I need to leave the US.
Unrelatedly, I already have an approved ESTA visa waiver (from about ...
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Are the US consulates obligated to provide reasonable accommodations for medical conditions (for non-citizens)?
I see that some consulates have information about this on their websites for instance, but some don't. Are they obligated to provide such accommodations by the law, or it's a merely at-will decision?
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Can you initiate a lawsuit against Russia in the United States to recover seized assets?
Ever since the start of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Russia has halted payments to international creditors and individuals holding assets like stocks.
Is it possible for an average person who happens ...
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What crimes can one person cause another to commit?
Some kind of crime, like maybe those around receiving or possessing things it is illegal to have, might be able to be "committed" by someone without them actually doing anything.
If Ash ...
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Can a private contract obligate someone to exercise their right to a jury trial?
Say I think my local DA is pursuing too many low-quality cases, and pressuring people into plea deals, when they don't really have the evidence to convict.
Can I and several thousand of my closest, ...
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Can I set a fee for using my web site, and later collect it?
If I set terms of service for my web site, visitors to my web site agree to them when they use my web site (beyond, presumably, the usage technically required to obtain the text of the terms).
It is ...
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Is it legal to pay a person to not run for political office?
Is it legal to bribe a politician to not run for a federal office?
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Can US federal contractors unionize?
I was joking with some friends that if the government is allowed to randomly shut down on federal employees they should unionize and randomly shut down the government in return. This led to someone ...
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What happens to contractual rights when a company dissolves?
IP rights are created by law, and continue to exist even if the person who last owned them stops existing.
What about rights created under private contracts?
Say I granted my former employer the ...
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Can a renting apartment force you into particular services?
Jurisdiction: Georgia (state), United States
A particular apartment that is a renting community are forcing residents to madatorily pay for certain services by particular providers (i.e. if residents ...
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Is mortgage protection spam (snail mail) legal? [duplicate]
When you take out a mortgage in the US, the loan information (name of borrower, lender, size of loan, address, loan ID) is public. There are companies that crawl these databases, and use the ...
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Is it legal to take pictures of corpses?
Is it illegal to take pictures of corpses in California for non first-responders, considering the existence of bill AB-2655 that prohibits first responders from taking pictures of corpses outside of ...
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Is using a copyrighted image/video in a school assignment considered "fair use"? [duplicate]
In the majority of classes I've taken in middle/highschool, when making a slideshow, poster, or some other kind of visual presentation, teachers often remind students that they should not be using ...
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Must US brokers send an FYI about market orders to their clients who placed a market order in the past month by law?
I placed a market order with my US brokers, namely IBKR. I received the following in an email from them:
Please note that we will send you similar FYIs each month in which you place a Market Order, ...
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Did Elon Musk have a legal justification for firing CEO Parag Agrawal for cause right after closing the Twitter deal?
According to Walter Isaacson's new biography of Elon Musk, immediately after closing the deal that took Twitter private, Elon Musk's assistant delivered letters of dismissal to the Twitter CEO and ...
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17-18 year old rules
Hello everyone I am in California for a trip and as a foreigner I noticed that there are restrictions (ex: curfew) that prevent me from fully enjoying my trip, I have 17 at the moment because I was ...
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Is the principle of making extra allowances for amateur litigants stronger in the UK?
Amateur litigants, also called pro se litigants or litigants in person perhaps among other terms, are decidedly supposed to be actively accommodated and assisted by the courts in the UK so as to “...
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Are airlines only allowed to sell roundtrip tickets to individuals who want travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program?
Assume that the airline is amongst the Signatory Visa Waiver Program carriers (mirror). The Visa Waiver Program Carrier Agreement (CBP Form I-775) that such an airline must sign to be part of the ...
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How do internal border checkpoints with warrantless searches fit with the 4th amendment?
Some amendment rulings consider things not taken into account at the time they were written, but I would think they were well aware of border checkpoints at the time even, and the idea for internal ...
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Do undocumented students lose their enrollment in universities if they are expelled?
In the US, undocumented students can apply to universities. If one such student is accepted and enrolled but later deported due to not being covered by DACA or other reasons, will their enrollment be ...
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