Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with rights

IPR for a new Google business service?

Eltulipan — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 06:17:03 -0800

How do I go about proposing a new business service concept to Google? So I got this great idea for a new business service on Google. See http://www.google.com/friendconnect/home/overview?hl=en for an example. My question is how to go about protecting my idea and entering into a meaningful discussion with them on feasability. Apologies for being vague about the idea itself, for obvious reasons.

Apartment blight

generic230 — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 11:01:24 -0800

A neighbor is trying to get a permit to build condominiums in his back yard. My neighborhood is 70% residential, and I'm afraid of what this will mean. There's a hearing on Wednesday, and I'd like to go armed with information about the negative impact building apartments or condos have on property values and single family home residential areas.

This is in Pasadena, CA. I live in a great neighborhood where many of the buildings in my block, including mine, are Tudor cottages built in the 1920's. We're adjacent to a historic district called Bungalow Heaven.

A few homes, in previous years (like before I moved here 10 years ago), have done that same awful tacky thing, where they build a massive apartment building behind their tiny cottage.

Does anyone know of any studies about the impact of rental buildings encroaching on residential homes? Any and everything will be helpful.

I see a blog post in your future

arcticwoman — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:37:51 -0800

Do I have the right to transcribe and publish a recording of a psychic reading (I was the client)? Nearly ten years ago I saw a psychic and at the conclusion of the appointment she gave me a cassette tape recording of our conversation over the previous hour. I no longer believe in psychics, and I think a line-by-line analysis of the reading would be interesting to myself and other skeptics - do I have the right to transcribe and publish the recording online? Do I have to get her permission? I have nothing against this psychic in particular, and have no intention of publishing her name or any identifying information. I don't make any money off my blog - no ads or anything.

I am located in Canada.

Pedestrian's shoes; pedestrians' rights

quarantine — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 10:48:58 -0800

This is a two-part question. First, what are the ideal shoes for long-distance walking on paved or gravel roads? Second, what rights do I have as a suburban/urban pedestrian in California in terms of not being hassled by "authorities"? The first part is fairly straightforward: I'm heavy (with an intention to become lighter if I keep up my walking), and will be walking in urban, suburban, and rural areas, sometimes on hills, with no terrain more difficult than gravel.

Second, as a rather fierce civil libertarian, what am I obligated to allow a police officer / whoever to do to me and ask of me (California)? Withholding my name, ID, purpose for being in the area; denying searches, frisks; etc.? This helped some, but does not fully answer what I'm asking. Something like a specialized ACLU-style reference would be great. I'm thinking about carrying a discreet voice recorder (to help me later) at all times; could that get me into trouble, if I record police without their knowledge?

Invoices and consumer rights

Neale — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:43:36 -0800

IANALFilter: What legal rights does having an invoice grant a buyer? If a buyer has a invoice that has all the things an invoice should have - order number, items, quantities, prices, payment method, etc - is the seller obliged to honour the invoice at that price? Or can the seller 'retract' the sale?

Civil Rights Movement

shesaysgo — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:14:07 -0800

I need a significant event that happened during the Civil Rights Movement. I would like for the event to be important or significant, but under the radar. Everyone knows about Rosa Parks and the bus, etc. And if it happened in chicago, that'd be a bonus.

Have the video game rights to film: now what?!

mushroom_tattoo — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:26:41 -0800

I have a chance to acquire the proprietary rights to make games based on a popular Asian action film. Can I make money off this opportunity? The film has not yet been released in North America, but has done well across Asia. Sequels are in the works. It has recently been picked up for UK release and there will certainly be a North American release sometime in the future. I myself have no connections in the film industry but I know a few people in the console games industry, and a few independent mobile games developers. I certainly don't have the kind of capital it would take to finance the game myself. Is it worth it to just sit on the rights until the film gets released? So before I take the plunge, let me ask the hive mind: how can I make money off this opportunity?

A car buyer wants to renege on his offer after he took the car. What are my options?

mwang1028 — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:44:06 -0800

A car buyer wants to renege on his offer after he took the car. What are my options? As I was getting my non-functioning car towed, the tow truck driver offered to take the car off my hands. We verbally agreed on a price for the car, and he took the car that day. I knew his name, number, and employer, so we agreed to meet on a later date to exchange the title/cash.

I can't get a hold of him for a week, then finally contact him to find that he wants to renege on the deal and bring the car back to me because he decided he doesn't have enough money.

I just want the money and to be rid of the vehicle, do I have any rights that protect me from him returning the car?

A cameo appearance of a book cover

storybored — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:06:00 -0800

I'm making a movie which will have shots of a cover of a book. Do I need permission from the publisher to do this?

Who should speak a my human rights conference?

semacd — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:37:17 -0800

Human rights luminaries. And/or recent human rights books. Any suggestions for a human rights conference speaker or a recent human rights book to read? I'm looking for a great keynote speaker at a human rights conference. Any suggestions? No one is too famous - we can always ask! I would like the person to actually be a good speaker, though.

Also looking for a recently written book pertaining to human rights (like written in 2008 or 2009) to give to conference participants. Anything great out there that I'm missing?

No rest for the weary

levijk — Thu, 07 May 2009 18:41:57 -0800

How serious an offense is it when your employer refuses to give you a meal break? I live in the state of Washington and have reviewed Washington Administrative Code Sections 296-126-002 and 296-126-092. Today a friend of mine told me that he was explicitly denied by his supervisor a meal break during a shift that lasted more than five hours (he not an agricultural worker).
I suggested he follow protocol and take it up the chain of command but he believes his supervisor's superiors will "close ranks" and only make life difficult for him.
What should he do and what are the consequences for breaking the law?

Additionally, several incidents of rudeness and public condescension which began suddenly last month make him suspicious that he has been outed as a homosexual.

He has not asked for my advice but I'd like him to know his options because he is ready to quit. Thanks.

Should I expect a payment for the option rights to my book?

wggrace — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 05:17:26 -0800

I've had a book published and been approached by a film producer wanting to option the film rights to the book. He's sent a draft agreement but there is no fee involved. When I questioned this the response was that this was standard practice for a book that is 'not a known branded property'. I gotta be honest me and my book are about as unknown as its possible to be but should I still expect some sort of fee for this.

Neighbor impeding water runoff

tronec — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:44:38 -0800

How do I approach a business owner whose work on his adjoining property is causing excess water to pool on our lawn? . . . details inside. . . A portion of our home’s grass backyard serves as a drainage path for water from our neighbors’ yards. When the ground is saturated or frozen, sometimes water will pool in our yard, roughly 6” deep, 25’x35’, for a couple of days following heavy rains. The downstream adjoining property (zoned for business) was purchased last summer. Over the winter, the new owner dumped some 15 truckloads of soil/gravel on his property where the water used to flow on down from our lawn. Following March rains, our “pool” is now at least a foot deep and has lasted for more than a week. It encompasses a much larger area including the bases of two 30’ trees in our back yard. I don’t want the water to stand so long that it would kill the trees, nor do I want a semi-permanent bog/mosquito hatchery in our backyard.

I will speak to the property owner, but how should I approach him? What do I have to negotiate with? Do I talk with him first, or with the city/state officials to find out legally what our rights are? I do not have $ for a lawyer. (Illinois city of 20,000)

I would like at least a return to the relatively unimpeded flow of water from our yard. This would likely mean at least the installation of some sort of drainage tile on his property.

The United States vs. Money?

thenuts — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 16:21:31 -0800

I was reading comments on Fark about an article where a man was pulled over and had $26,000 in his trunk and the money was confiscated but he was not charged. The merit of this is not what my question is about, it is about whether money (or property can be a defendant in a case). Here is the comment from the thread:

That assumes honest, intelligent courts willing to apply the plain meaning of the constitution against law enforcement. It happens sometimes, but this is one of those areas where the courts have abandoned us to the thugs in uniform. Courts have repeatedly upheld this sort of thing on the perverse idea that property can be charged with a crime. Thus such absurd court cases as "United States v. $26,000" being allowed on the docket. Note that the owner of the $26,000 is not a party to the case.

Is this true? And can anyone give any examples? That comment really got me interested, I tried doing some searching but all the information I found was about recovering a settlement.

Human Rights Inquiries from Work

Raynyn — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:39:23 -0800

Can an employer discipline you for making calls to Human Rights on work time? If you feel you are being discriminated against at work, do you think it is acceptable to contact the Human Rights Commission during work time? If you feel you are being discriminated against at work, do you think it is acceptable to contact the Human Rights Commission during work time? I live in Canada, and I made a couple of calls to the Human Rights Commission when my employer was changing my duties and threatening to fire me following a medical leave. I also sent my employer an email responding to a request they had made for extensive medical information, which I believed to be beyond what was legal. My employer argues that it was not legal to make these phone calls or send them emails regarding my medical issues and return to work during their time. Are they right?

What is fair compensation for the use of photos in a film?

mateuslee — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 22:48:28 -0800

I have a website which features many photos. Today, a researcher of a documentary wrote me asking if it would be possible to use the pictures in the film in exchange for compensation. First, what is fair compensation? And second what should I keep in mind about this? The pics pertain to a non-profit cultural documentation project which I run.

The other trouble is, without going into specifics, the nature of the documentary seems a bit sketchy, it'd be as if I had a website about the big bang and someone wanted to use my NASA photos in a documentary about UFOs. What do you think about that?

landlord trying to replace carpets that don't need replacing

focus — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 13:40:21 -0800

my landlord is trying to make me pay for replacing the carpets when they do not warrant a replacement, and she will not stick to a verbally (and textually) agreed upon date of moving out early (which was her idea so that her new owner could move in asap) unless we agree to replacing the carpets. What should I do? I live in a townhouse w/ 2 roommates that we rent from a private owner. I'm the liaison between my roommates and the landlord (we are all on the lease). This is in Boulder County, CO (advocate of renters' rights, as I'm told) I believe it is her first time being a landlord. Before Christmas, my landlord called me and said that she is selling the place to a friend. She wanted to know if we could move out early so the new owner could move in ASAP. We told her that it was definitely a possibility and that we'd see what we could do. Around the 3rd week of January, we found a new place and called her to tell her that we wanted to move out.

side note: During this time we were having some pipe vibration issues that we wanted her to come take a look at. After she went to inspect the pipe situation (I wasn't there but my roommates were), she called me and told me that she thought the carpets in the downstairs were completely destroyed and wanted to have them replaced. She also said the entrance way to the townhouse was destroyed and that needed to be replaced as well. The downstairs is white shag, 1 year old, and had some noticeable stains on it in 10x10 area. She also complained about fingerprints on the railings on the steps and doors, dust on the vents, etc. Petty stuff. After she complained about the carpets, we rented a Rugdoctor and tried to clean them as much as possible. She then wanted to come inspect the carpets, but never ever gave me notice to do so and came in when nobody was there to inspect them. I didn't know about this til later.

So, I was on the phone w/ her discussing the carpet and move-date situation after we knew about our new apartment when she told me she had come on a day to inspect the carpets but never told me when and what time. I was irate and called her unprofessional. This upset her and she handed the phone to her husband who proceeded to cuss me out, threaten to get me kicked out of my new apartment, ruin my credit, make us stay the entire length of the lease, and basically physical violence. I was pretty shaken up after this. Things calmed down (me kissing her undeserving ass) and her and I sorted things out the next day through text messaging: moving out early was agreed to be Feb 11th. After that agreement, I asked if I could have it in writing and she said she would fax it over on Monday after they got back in town. Monday comes and she faxes me over an agreement that her husband put together (w/ a lawyer's help from the sound of it) and it says that if we want to move out on the 11th, we have to agree that the carpets are "completely destroyed" and we have to pay a proportionate amount of the replacing and sign it. She never gave a monetary value, just that damages would be calculated within 60 days. She has priced the new carpet and installation at $2500 for the whole townhouse with us not paying any of the top level, the entrance way of the main level, and the entire bottom level. Between my roommates, we'd be splitting in 3rds the main level, and my 1 roommate would be paying entirely for the bottom ($1000).

She told me before when I brought up professionally cleaning the carpets to save my $ and that they were going to be replaced anyway. It sounds to me (and everybody I've shared this with) that she has made some promise to the new owner about replacing the carpets. Since this letter, we've gotten the carpets professionally shampooed and they look really good (also took pics): upstairs was never an issue, the entrance way looks great (nothing more than normal wear and tear) as well as the rest of the main level, and the downstairs looks good.

This post has a few factors. First, it is entirely 1 roommate's fault for the downstairs and he knows this. side note: I dislike him greatly for a list of things too long to mention. If we replaced the carpet, my guess is that the cost would be around $1500 and that 1 roommate would be paying $1000 plus 1/3 of the entrance way. Our security deposit would cover this. I'd be out $400 of it minus the 1/3 of the entrance way and my 1 roommate would be paying me back over the course of like 6 months.

So in conclusion, should we just bend over and pay the landlord knowing full well that my 1 roommate will get the rotten (but justified) end of the deal? Or should we fight this thing because the landlord is out of her mind and the carpets have been cleaned the don't need to be replaced?

Cost breakdown:

1. Replace the carpets:
- save the rest of the month's rent (+$235)
- pay flat fee for cost of carpet (me: $150-200 and having my roommate pay me back for the amount that i have to cover him, probably $500)

2. Fight it and goto court
- pay the rest of the month's rent ($235)
- pay carpet cleaning ($120)
- stress about court ruling
- possibly get money back from court ruling

Home Cafe, Hawthorne, Nevada/ Info Please

mickeefynn — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 10:53:59 -0800

I need information about The Home Cafe, Hawthorne, Nevada. It was a popular Chinese and American food diner that saw some action during the civil rights sit-ins of the 1960s. They used a distinctive china pattern produced by the TEPCo China Co. in El Cerrito, CA. The TEPCo factory closed in 1968. The pattern used at the cafe was called Confucius. Any information about the Home Cafe including personal stories would be appreciated. I began collecting the TEPCo Confucius restaurant ware several years ago and have been scouring the web for more details about the cafe that featured it.

Need Adobe Acrobat (8 or higher) help

AstroGuy — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 12:34:35 -0800

Need help from someone with Acrobat 8 Pro (or higher) to add "usage rights" to a simple PDF file I have a simple form I created in Acrobat 7 Pro based on a Powerpoint document (I have no idea why he did it this way) that my professor used to create a form to be submitted for assignments. No problem, I thought, I'll just export it to a PDF, open it in 7 Pro, add form fields, and then people can use it (with the free Reader) to type in the info, save it, and submit it by email. But then I find out you can't do this in 7, and the resulting PDF will not allow typed in data to be saved by Reader.

I need help from some kind soul that can open this file in Acrobat 8 Pro or higher, enable Usage Rights to allow users with Adobe Reader to save a filled-in form. This is spelled out here: http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.59b4f31f.

If you can help me, please contact me via MeFi mail and I'll email you the file. Thank you!

Severe damp in rented house: What are our legal rights?

bollockovnikov — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 06:00:04 -0800

We rent a shared house in London. There are damp issues in a downstairs room which are known about by the landlord. We have just noticed a severe case of black mould infesting an upstairs wall. What are our legal rights as tenants? The damp has largely been ignored by our letting agent and landlord, although we do have an air dehumidifier in the downstairs room which was probably bought by them for previous tenants.

The black mould in the upstairs room is completely new and we reckon it has only appeared over Xmas whilst we were away (perhaps brought on by the cold spell the UK has had).

Having only recently signed a rental agreement and contract we now believe that we have legal rights as tenants to a damp-free environment. Is this true? Are the letting agents within their rights to just give us an air dehumidifier and leave it at that? or should we be pushing to have the whole property properly checked by an expert?

How much damp is legal and what rights do we have as UK tenants?

Help me pick a marriage equality charity for donations

phearlez — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 08:49:59 -0800

I'm looking for a good charity to list as a suggestion on our wedding registry. Specifically, one that works for marriage equality for everyone. My darling fiancée and I have come to a happy compromise about how to handle our wedding registry, and it involves encouraging people to make a charitable contribution in lieu of a gift.

Our overall position is that we're delighted by any donation to almost any organization, but we intend to draw attention in particular to two: Habitat for Humanity and **BLANK**

I need your help picking the second one.

We would prefer an organization primarily working towards marriage equality. We'd be okay with one focused on dealing with the recent California and/or Florida propositions in particular, but would prefer one that has a nation-wide focus. We'd be okay with one that works for gay rights in general but would prefer they are focused on marriage rights and issues in particular.

I am unhappy with the work of the HRC on this issue so I'm not willing to use them for my specific suggestion. My darling found the organization Marriage Equality USA but I haven't found them in Guidestar and I'm not supporting a charity that I can't find a form 990 for.

Who should we list, and why?

You have the right to remain anonymous?

roofus — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 15:02:12 -0800

Does the right to remain silent include the right to not to reveal your name? If you get arrested, what would happen if you had no ID, and refused to reveal your name or address? Could you be charged with a crime? Could the police hold you until they figure out who you are?

How do I blow the whistle without getting involved?

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 06:49:44 -0800

I stumbled on a phpMyAdmin page for a database of personal info along with credit card numbers, hosted by a multinational corporation. I deleted some records. How do I report it without being accused of hacking? I Googled an old address, and on the first page of results was a phpMyAdmin page with my partner's name, email, and old address. I clicked on the result and was taken to a purchase records database, complete with phone numbers, credit card numbers and expiration dates. I showed my partner the page and asked, "is this your credit card number?" and got a "yes... WHAT???!!!"

I realized I had admin privileges, so I tested deleting a record, and when it worked I deleted my partner and several other records for good measure.

Now I'd like to tell someone about it, but I'm afraid if I email the company, it will turn into a Very Bad Scene. Again, this is a large multinational company, and I don't want to get caught up in this.

Where could I report this, such as a specific person in the media or wherever, who would handle the information responsibly?

My IP address is now all over this thing. Could what I did be considered hacking?

Also, what is the best way to email someone anonymously?

Is it bad that I said that? It isn't good.

cashman — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 08:08:24 -0800

How to handle the varieties of coming-out-of-the-closet bigotry that is resulting from the current U.S. presidential election? The increasing likelihood of having a nonwhite president seems to have brought out some people's worst selves. Even guessing it was coming, I still was unprepared when recently someone close to me made it clear that they had issues with, to put it vaguely, the progress that has been made with civil rights in the U.S. Others around Mefi are having similar issues with friends, neighbors and coworkers revealing their bigoted feelings.

Any general tips on how to handle people in this situation? I suspect the tips would be different depending on the race of the person who says something bigoted and what race you consider yourself to be, but in general what would you advise?

Though I'm somewhat informed about these matters I still felt disarmed when the person did it because they are otherwise wonderful. It was and is hard to think through the feelings of betrayal and sadness and come up with any kind of meaningful way of handling it. Right now, in my case, I want to talk to the person. But I'm wary about what I might hear next that will, to put it simply, result in (job) drama. Or perhaps confrontation is counterproductive and these people should just be left alone in hopes that they'll revert to their typical behavior and perhaps admit they were scared and wrong?

I'm asking now because I doubt I'll be lucky enough to have it only be this one person that does this. I don't know whether to confront them with facts and information, have some historically relevant excerpt to call on, just ignore it (while clearly not condoning it) and let them grapple with themselves, or what. And even then, if someone who is really close to me reveals themselves as a bigot, I don't know if I can look past the anger and hurt to process how best to handle things. Should I try to cut off any emotion, remove myself from the situation mentally and proceed as if I am talking to a stranger?

If you had this happen to you recently, how have you handled it?

I, the accidental paparazzo: the celebrity I shot at Central Park wants to use my pictures

AnyGuelmann — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:46:35 -0800

I, the accidental paparazzo: the celebrity I shot at Central Park wants to use my pictures. Do I negotiate some financial compensation or just sign the release in exchange for having my name on the photo credits? A couple months ago I was, as I did most weekends during the summer, sitting on a bench in Central Park photographing people. I shot a very cute couple before I realized the guy was a singer. I put the photos, along with all others from that weekend, on flickr. I don't usually license my flickr photos under Creative Commons, so these are "all rights reserved".

Today I got an e-mail from someone producing this guy's next cd. They want to use my photos and attached the following release:

"I _____________________ am the sole and rightful owner of
the photos dated _________________. I agree to allow Xxxxx Xxxx Music, Xxxxx Xxxxx or his representative, full and
complete use of my photos for promotional, web posting or
merchandise purposes. I grant the permission free of
charge and with no conditions."

The pictures look good, but I am, at best, a pretentious amateur. The idea of having my photos on this guy's material is flattering and I would gladly do it just to satisfy my ego.
I realize there's very little possibility of getting payed, and I will sign the release if that is in fact the case, but I'd hate to be the sucker that didn't get any money while everyone else did.

How do these things work? Is there space for negotiating even though the release says "free of charge"? Do I flat out put a price on my photos?