71
votes
Accepted
If I'm the CEO and largest shareholder of a public company, would taking anything from my office be considered as a theft?
Yes.
Let's assume this anecdote takes place while Gates was CEO. Bill Gates doesn't own all of Microsoft, and as an officer of the company, he owes a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of ...
- 10.2k
60
votes
Company sent a check to me to buy equipment to use for work, but the bank is holding the funds and now the company is threating legal action on me
The pattern you describe fits a very common scam. The scammers send money to the victim by a reversible transaction, like a check which can bounce after initially being cleared. They ask the victim to ...
- 14.5k
50
votes
If I'm the CEO and largest shareholder of a public company, would taking anything from my office be considered as a theft?
Yes
Even if the CEO is the 100% owner of a private company.
Bill Gates and Microsoft are different people: Bill’s stuff is not Microsoft’s stuff and vice versa. If Bill takes Microsoft’s stuff without ...
- 198k
50
votes
Accepted
Is it legal for a business to refuse service to a former customer in retribution for them leaving negative online reviews of the business?
A business owner can normally refuse service for any reason unless anti-discrimination law, or some other specific law, applies. "Critic of the business" is not a protected class. Whether a ...
- 113k
49
votes
Accepted
Can a business put a specific cancel-by date into a contract?
Can a business put whatever they want into a contract?
No. There are some things a business cannot put into a contract. But I don't see anything stopping them from putting this into a contract.
It'...
- 7,110
46
votes
Accepted
Can an AI own a company?
Short Answer
No. An AI cannot own a company.
Artificial intelligences are not legal persons. The law recognizes human beings and legally recognized entities as persons. It does not recognize AIs or ...
- 195k
46
votes
Accepted
Can I frame my app business as a nonprofit if users can choose the amount to pay to download my app?
Being a "non-profit" organization, in the US at least, does not mean you don't make a profit. There are plenty of for-profit companies that don't make a profit.
What it means is that you ...
- 3,498
40
votes
How do you check the legality of a new business model?
Hire a lawyer, who is licensed and trained in law and who is obligated to be honest with you and advocate for your interests, and get him/her to review your business plan. He/she will point out real ...
- 18.8k
37
votes
Accepted
Is it legal for a train company to create an art gallery using photographs of the graffiti on their locomotives and train cars?
Copyright law doesn't say the art isn't copyrighted if it was made unlawfully.
It seems the art can be copyrighted and the act of making it can be a criminal offence.
I'm not aware of any such ...
- 14.9k
34
votes
Is it legal to bill a company that made contact for a business proposal, then withdrew based on their policies that existed when they made contact?
If you have an agreement with a company that specifies "you agree to give me something of value, in case I give you something of value", you have a contract. In order for there to be a ...
- 210k
32
votes
Accepted
Why do companies need to keep invoices for their business expenses as well as receipts?
Invoices often provide more information than a receipt about the product or service purchased, including the amount of tax paid. The information on a receipt may not be enough to substantiate a ...
- 8,641
31
votes
Is it legal for a train company to create an art gallery using photographs of the graffiti on their locomotives and train cars?
No
You are conflating two different ownership concepts: the art in which the copyright exists, and the artwork that is the expression of the art (my terminology).
The artist owns the art, the train ...
- 198k
30
votes
Accepted
Does the app TikTok violate trademark?
As usual with trademarks, the key question is "will reasonable people be confused about the source or affiliations of the product or service".
Trademarks are, as you already know, limited to a ...
- 113k
28
votes
If I'm the CEO and largest shareholder of a public company, would taking anything from my office be considered as a theft?
No. At least, not technically. Theft is taking without consent of the owner. The CEO is authorized to act on behalf of the company, and thus can give themself permission to take the computer. Even if ...
- 5,559
28
votes
Is there anything to stop a private business from barring a previous customer who takes a civil action against it?
A business has the right to refuse service, except in the case of unlawful discrimination. "Sued us" is not a protected characteristic.
Unless part of the settlement was that the business ...
- 4,694
24
votes
Accepted
Why is PayPal blocking my account according to U.S. tax law, if I've a UK account only?
The reason that you are being asked to comply with a US law is because PayPal, a US company, is required to comply with US laws. If you do not comply, it is likely that they will be non-compliant and ...
- 12.1k
22
votes
Can I frame my app business as a nonprofit if users can choose the amount to pay to download my app?
The answer by @jwh20 is good but does not summarize the nature of a non-profit organization. There are essentially three kinds of private entities.
A natural person is a human being who is looking ...
- 4,237
21
votes
Company sent a check to me to buy equipment to use for work, but the bank is holding the funds and now the company is threating legal action on me
There are many scams where companies you are not familiar with send you checks which turn out to be worthless. If you have not been an employee of this company for a substantial period of time (...
- 4,237
20
votes
Spin-off company with all parent's debt?
An arrangement like that (if successful) would be a fraudulent transfer in which creditors could gain access to the assets of the company's to which the assets were transferred, if pursued before the ...
- 195k
20
votes
How does copyrights work for mobile/web applications?
A fundamental principle of copyright law is that protection is only afforded to the concrete expression, and not the abstract idea. Therefore, if you write a sort program, what is protected is "...
- 210k
19
votes
Can a business owner refuse specific Bills and Coins?
Canada may have specific different laws, but in most countries any legal tender must be accepted for payment of a debt. There are subtleties; in the UK for example more than 20 one penny coins are not ...
- 32.9k
19
votes
If an employer owns any work you produce whilst employed, do you have to be un-employed before you can begin a startup?
Ideas aren't property
Your employer does not own your ideas. However, neither do you.
Ideas are not something that is protected by intellectual property law. To be IP, you need more than an idea.
What ...
- 198k
19
votes
If an employer owns any work you produce whilst employed, do you have to be un-employed before you can begin a startup?
Contract terms are a negotiation. If you think "company X owns all work produced whilst employed" is an unreasonable term, then your legal option is to refuse to sign it.
Of course, the ...
- 2,336
18
votes
Company sent a check to me to buy equipment to use for work, but the bank is holding the funds and now the company is threating legal action on me
This is almost certainly a scam.
For one thing, I've never had a company send me a check to buy my own equipment myself - they always purchase it themselves through their usual requisition process and ...
16
votes
How does copyrights work for mobile/web applications?
If the developer sold exclusive rights to their code, their customer has grounds to sue.
If the developer licensed their code non-exclusively, there isn't grounds.
Normally, a contract developer will ...
15
votes
Can a business put a specific cancel-by date into a contract?
Yes, a contract that gives you a right to use a facility for a specific period of time is valid; it does not matter that you didn't or don't plan to use the membership. There is also no law limiting ...
- 210k
15
votes
Is it legal for a train company to create an art gallery using photographs of the graffiti on their locomotives and train cars?
I have been wondering that since a train company owns its locomotives and train cars, then I am assuming that this means that they own any graffiti that has been painted on their locomotives and train ...
- 35.1k
14
votes
Accepted
"This provision survives the termination of this Agreement."
Jurisdiction has not been provided, so I've written a general answer:
Not necessarily; often, such provisions clauses will have their own expiration dates, for example "for five years after signing, ...
- 8,737
13
votes
What can I do if I signed an excessively restrictive contract?
I have already contacted a lawyer and paid all the money I had and
they didn't help me resolve anything, the guy just talked to me for a
little bit. He essentially just took my $600 and no action ...
- 32.9k
13
votes
Accepted
Can someone deny cash as the payment method?
The Bank of England actually makes this pretty clear with the following line:
Legal tender has a very narrow and technical meaning, which relates to settling debts. It means that if you are in debt ...
- 4,285
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible