The buying and selling of goods and services
Questions tagged [commerce]
160 questions
75
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At what point can you walk out of a restaurant if they make you wait to pay the bill?
The other day, I ate at a restaurant; the food was fine, and I got to paying the bill. Their payment system went down. They couldn't accept cards; only cash, and I didn't have the cash on me for the bill. In the end, their payments system was…
Jez
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Service refuses to accept cash; is this misleading "convenience fee" legal?
A service advertises a price of $12. When the customer tries to pay, the service provider adds a $2.50 convenience fee for using a debit or credit card and refuses to take any other form of payment.
The $12 price was posted, as was the convenience…
nuggethead
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28
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If someone orders a pizza in the US and doesn't pay for it, could they be arrested?
If you were to order a pizza in the US and didn't pay for it afterwards, could you be arrested?
user28261
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What are the limits of the Commerce Clause?
In Gonzalez v. Raich, the Supreme Court held that the Controlled Substances Act could apply to home-grown marijuana that started in and never left California because it could still affect the interstate marijuana market, and thus fell under the…
Ryan_L
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"Not for individual resale" - really?
In at least the US and UK lots of items that are sold in multipacks come with a notice on them that often reads:
Not for individual resale
That always strikes me as slightly odd - it looks like it's intended to be a contractual term that I can…
Flexo - Save the data dump
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15
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What is the copyright status of a journal article written more than 70 years ago?
I read (mostly on Wikipedia), that copyright to a written work expires 70 years after the author's death, or 95 years after the publication by a corporation.
Having said that, the status of journal articles (scientific or other), that includes…
Dakter
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11
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Would it be legal for a US State to ban exports of a natural resource?
I am interested in whether a US state constitution could be legally amended to ban exports of specific natural resources (such as coal, lithium or copper) outside it's own state borders.
If such a ban were successful, there would presumably be a…
Brian Topping
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Does the "Interstate Commerce Clause" prohibit local or state government from "boycotting" another state
Recently I read that some municipalities in California are restricting "official travel" to Florida and Texas, presumable over legislation they consider objectionable. In the past, I know they've also implemented bans on government purchases from…
Frank
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Why can ONLY federal authorities regulate interstate commerce?
The Constitution of the United States gives Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce. It seems the federal courts have held that only Congress, and not state legislatures, can regulate interstate commerce. In Sporhase v. Nebraska in 1982,…
Michael Hardy
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Are there any laws the require subscription services to be prorated?
I'm reading the terms of use for Gogo Inflight, and in the part about refunds it says they aren't going to prorate your service if you cancel, then it says, "subject to applicable laws."
Are there any federal or state (Massachusetts) laws that force…
Carlos Bribiescas
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6
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"Commercial use" clarification
This is something I've run into several times now. A lot of biological samples are shared for research with a caveat in the MTA that they are "not for commercial use". What exactly does this cover? The specific example I'd like to know about is…
tardigrade
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6
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Do I have to pay for a drink if a vendor cannot accept payment?
Recently I was served a drink at the pub where I intended to pay by debit card and had no alternative payment method available (e.g. cash).
The card reader was faulty and I consumed my drink whilst the barman was attempting to fix the reader.…
Bad_Bishop
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5
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Do claimless advertisements need to have disclaimers?
My question concerns the requirement for advertisements to carry a disclaimer stating that they are advertisements, specifically in the United States. According to the FTC (though not in these words), an advertisement delivered through a trusted…
John
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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 illegal to sell duck (and turkey) eggs. She…
Psychonaut
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What does “potential for abuse” mean in the Controlled Substance Act?
According to the DEA’s Denial of Petition To Initiate Proceedings To Reschedule Marijuana from 2011, one reason for the cannabis plant’s Schedule I status is because it has “no currently accepted medicinal use” and it’s “chemistry is not known and…
Cannabijoy
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