You would think that companies would not put in language that is unenforceable...
Yes, a logical person might indeed think that and thus not challenge the language when it was applied to him/her or as an earlier AC said,
if you willingly sign a contract that contained a non-complete clause, that's your issue with the company you should fight for.
I once worked for a company that included such language in all of its contracts and was amazed at how many people didn't fight it when they were ready to move on.
Also, the degree to which these clauses are enforced in a given jurisdiction often turns on the reasonableness of the restriction. If you were hired to do only a specific type of work in a specified geographical range, many courts will enforce a non-compete that prevents you from doing that type of work in that area for a "reasonable" amount of time, e.g., six months or one year.
Alaa Abi-Haidar and Luis Rocha from the Department of Informatics, Indiana University, Bloomington, USA and the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia, Portugal, will present a paper entitled Adaptive Spam Detection Inspired by the Immune System on Thursday 7 August. They will describe how in the same way as the vertebrate adaptive immune system learns to distinguish harmless from harmful substances, these principles can be applied to spam detection.
And she should probably be charged with harassment or something like that.
There's an old legal axiom that, "hard cases make bad law." This was a hard case in that an adult deliberately harassed a young girl and that harassment caused a nasty result. Since everyone was up in arms against her behavior, which was apparently not within any state or local laws, the prosecutors stretched to find anything that they could charge her with and thus satisfy the "somebody needs to do something" contingent. However, if this charge continues, the bad law will set another precedent to strip another bit of freedom from the rest of us.
I loved Myst, which really was a puzzle game (except that I'm so tone deaf, I had to have a friend come down and play the little tune). However, the really early puzzle games, where you had to give the characters written commands, drove me crazy. I'd manage to get the hero to the place where some sort of sharp object was lying on the ground. At that point, we would go through a dialogue that went something like this:
ME: Pick up knife
Computer: I don't understand "knife"
ME: Pick up sword
Computer: I don't understand "sword"
ME: Pick up saber
Computer: I don't understand "pick up"
That's when I tended to eject the floppy and try to see how far I could toss it.
But I'm sure the marketing people will love this. Now they can 'call' you while circumventing a ton of provisions...
...and leaving evidence of what they've done.
47 CFR Â 64.1200 (a) (1) (iii)
No one may make a call to a cell phone using an automatic dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice.
The easiest way to get cell phone numbers--or other private numbers--is by using an automatic dialer. And these people almost always just leave prerecorded messages. Just save their vocal graffiti and send a copy to the FTC and/or the Secretary of State in your state or the state from which they're calling.
The BSA's methodology is laughable. Using Florida as an example, the most recent data I found show that in 2007 there were approximately 18.5 million residents (http://edr.state.fl.us/population/population-1april07.pdf) and 1.5 million companies in the state (http://www.sunbiz.org/corp_stat.html). Out of these they interviewed 100 consumers and 100 companies http://www.bsa.org/country/Research%20and%20Statistics/~/media/Files/statestudy07/statestudy07.ashx at p.11). They then added the results of these interviews to their other information sources, which appear to be mainly SOP estimates. (The full methodology can be found at p.4 of http://global.bsa.org/idcglobalstudy2007/studies/methodology_globalstudy07.pdf
In other words, except for pirated software found in an audit of a specific company,these numbers appear to be as accurate as if they had beenn drawn out of someone's hat.
can someone please explain the logic in posting a message to a site which sends an email to the recipient telling them to log onto said site to read it.
It's a holdover from the early days of email when your family members used to call you to tell you they just sent you an email.
Despite the alarmist tone of TFA, the law is obviously not intended to apply to computer repair. It is meant to apply to those whose work involves the review and analysis of material stored on a computer. In other words, Media Sentry will need a PI license to check Texans' hard drives, but the Geek Squad can just keep on as they have been. Sorry, my Texas friends, but you can't avoid working on your mom's Windows Vista machine by telling her you don't have PI license.
Actually, it changed in 1996, after the case discussed below. The relevant subsection (5 USC 552(f)) now reads:
(f) For purposes of this section, the term--
(1) ``agency'' as defined in section 551(1) of this title
includes any executive department, military department, Government
corporation, Government controlled corporation, or other
establishment in the executive branch of the Government (including
the Executive Office of the President), or any independent
regulatory agency; and
(2) ``record'' and any other term used in this section in
reference to information includes any information that would be an
agency record subject to the requirements of this section when
maintained by an agency in any format, including an electronic
format.(emphasis added)
How about you spend ten minutes before you leave writing and signing a limited power of attorney giving your parents the authority to seek medical care for your children?
Further, I believe every state has laws allowing health care providers to provide emergency medical treatment to a minor without the parents'/legal guardians' consent.
Yes, this may help someone to do better in WOW or GTA IV but I'm thinking of some brilliant people whose bodies are hampered by cerebral palsy. Their main -- or sometimes only -- method of communication is through a computer which they may have trouble using because one or both of their hands is not fully functional. One of these units could make a major difference in their lives.
Amputees already have people looking at them like they are freaks, unnatural looking cybernetics won't help them any.
On the other hand, Shriners' Hospitals for Children do hundreds of prosthetic limbs for kids and allow them to have the choice of how they're covered/colored. I'm sure that lots of ten-year-olds are envious of the kid whose leg is done in day-glo or the colors of the local sports team.
No, based on experiences I have witnessed, the best first contact is your local American Legion, VFW or DAV representative. He or she knows exactly how the system works and how to get your needs met. They often have an office in the VA Hospital and title something like Service Liaison or something else equally unmemorable.
AFAIK, there is no federal law that would apply in this situation and the only Kansas statute that I could find on whistleblowing applies only to government employees. However, there appear to be a couple of Kansas cases holding that firing someone for whistleblowing is against public policy.
Good that you found it, Zeinfeld. I should probably just keep out of the PTO database since I never seem to have enough of the information that will make for a great search.
Depends on how much of the intellectual property is recognized by American courts. According to TFA, their patent has also been issued in Australia, New Zealand and the US. If they do have a US patent (and it appears that they may be involved with Patent No. 7,065,520) they wouldn't have to go through WIPO.
FYI, the American banking industry kneecaps patent holders that make it through the courts with retroactive immunity clauses with startling frequency. As of today, the bill discussed in that Washington Post article was inserted as an amendment into a large patent reform bill which has not yet passed either house. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:SN01145:@@@L&summ2=m&#status
While it's possible to bash Clinton for signing the NET Act in 1997, the blame should first be applied to President McKinley since there have been provisions for criminal copyright actions in the code since 1897. The violations were considered to be misdemeanors until 1982 (Reagan's presidency) when criminal penalties were changed to make it felony for profit-making infringements of motion pictures and sound recordings.
As stated in TFA, Twitter's TOS includes the following:
[Twitter] may, but have no obligation to, remove content and accounts containing content that we determine in our sole discretion are unlawful, offensive, threatening, libelous, defamatory, obscene, or otherwise objectionable or violates any party's intellectual property, or these terms of use.
In other words, they've left themselves an out for claims such as these.
If you want to read the whole FA without paying for it, there's a good writeup at Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aA57lFH5Exj4&refer=home
In it the Moody's folks explained that they "adjusted their analytical models" so that they didn't have to downgrade these instruments. But we're not to worry that they did anything wrong. In their words, they:
adjusted [their] analytical models on the infrequent occasions that errors have been detected,'' the[ir] statement said. ``It would be inconsistent with Moody's analytical standards and company policies to change methodologies in an effort to mask errors.,.
Slashdot Mirror
You would think that companies would not put in language that is unenforceable ...
Yes, a logical person might indeed think that and thus not challenge the language when it was applied to him/her or as an earlier AC said,
if you willingly sign a contract that contained a non-complete clause, that's your issue with the company you should fight for.
I once worked for a company that included such language in all of its contracts and was amazed at how many people didn't fight it when they were ready to move on.
Also, the degree to which these clauses are enforced in a given jurisdiction often turns on the reasonableness of the restriction. If you were hired to do only a specific type of work in a specified geographical range, many courts will enforce a non-compete that prevents you from doing that type of work in that area for a "reasonable" amount of time, e.g., six months or one year.
What about computer viruses and worms?
TaDa! This just in from Science Daily:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080806194601.htm
And she should probably be charged with harassment or something like that.
There's an old legal axiom that, "hard cases make bad law." This was a hard case in that an adult deliberately harassed a young girl and that harassment caused a nasty result. Since everyone was up in arms against her behavior, which was apparently not within any state or local laws, the prosecutors stretched to find anything that they could charge her with and thus satisfy the "somebody needs to do something" contingent. However, if this charge continues, the bad law will set another precedent to strip another bit of freedom from the rest of us.
ME: Pick up knife
Computer: I don't understand "knife"
ME: Pick up sword
Computer: I don't understand "sword"
ME: Pick up saber
Computer: I don't understand "pick up"
That's when I tended to eject the floppy and try to see how far I could toss it.
I'll just settle for the warm feeling, thanks. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/sci_nat_enl_1216739410/html/1.stm
But I'm sure the marketing people will love this. Now they can 'call' you while circumventing a ton of provisions ...
...and leaving evidence of what they've done.
The easiest way to get cell phone numbers--or other private numbers--is by using an automatic dialer. And these people almost always just leave prerecorded messages. Just save their vocal graffiti and send a copy to the FTC and/or the Secretary of State in your state or the state from which they're calling.
In other words, except for pirated software found in an audit of a specific company,these numbers appear to be as accurate as if they had beenn drawn out of someone's hat.
can someone please explain the logic in posting a message to a site which sends an email to the recipient telling them to log onto said site to read it.
It's a holdover from the early days of email when your family members used to call you to tell you they just sent you an email.
Hi, Mom.
Yes, and let's hope none of them need to call home http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/16/1442216
they'll be charging to receive phone calls next.
AFIK, here in the "good old USA," we've always had to pay for incoming cell phone calls even if it's a wrong number.
Despite the alarmist tone of TFA, the law is obviously not intended to apply to computer repair. It is meant to apply to those whose work involves the review and analysis of material stored on a computer. In other words, Media Sentry will need a PI license to check Texans' hard drives, but the Geek Squad can just keep on as they have been. Sorry, my Texas friends, but you can't avoid working on your mom's Windows Vista machine by telling her you don't have PI license.
it appears that in order to use this system, you also have to feed it your own information.
Why do have this "wild and crazy" vision of a CueCat?
Damn, I wish I hadn't already used up my mod points. You, Luscious868 should be rated at least a +5. insightful!
Further, I believe every state has laws allowing health care providers to provide emergency medical treatment to a minor without the parents'/legal guardians' consent.
Here endeth the sermonizing.
On the other hand, Shriners' Hospitals for Children do hundreds of prosthetic limbs for kids and allow them to have the choice of how they're covered/colored. I'm sure that lots of ten-year-olds are envious of the kid whose leg is done in day-glo or the colors of the local sports team.
No, based on experiences I have witnessed, the best first contact is your local American Legion, VFW or DAV representative. He or she knows exactly how the system works and how to get your needs met. They often have an office in the VA Hospital and title something like Service Liaison or something else equally unmemorable.
AFAIK, there is no federal law that would apply in this situation and the only Kansas statute that I could find on whistleblowing applies only to government employees. However, there appear to be a couple of Kansas cases holding that firing someone for whistleblowing is against public policy.
Good that you found it, Zeinfeld. I should probably just keep out of the PTO database since I never seem to have enough of the information that will make for a great search.
While it's possible to bash Clinton for signing the NET Act in 1997, the blame should first be applied to President McKinley since there have been provisions for criminal copyright actions in the code since 1897. The violations were considered to be misdemeanors until 1982 (Reagan's presidency) when criminal penalties were changed to make it felony for profit-making infringements of motion pictures and sound recordings.
Yep, as pure as the bride wearing a white dress for her wedding when she's six months pregnant.