At what I age could I sign a contract in Europe? I am 16 years old and interested in selling a website. After creating a thread in stack web development I wanted to ask a law question and that's why I got redirected here. I live in Albania, Europe and I would like to know; Am I able to sign a contract such as a buy-sell agreement by the age of 16 in Europe or in my country in specific?
Under Albanian law, the situation is somewhat open to interpretation. Law No. 7850 of July 29, 1994 (English translation) Part 1 Title 1 spells out the law of capacity. Article 6 sets 18 as the age of full majority: The person who reaches eighteen years old wins the full rights so that by his acts he gains rights and holds civil obligations. Articles 7-9 place limits on capacity for those who are younger. Those under 14 can act with approval of their legal representative, but unconditionally can be member of social organization, posses everything he gains by his work, to deposit his savings and to posses these deposits himself. Article 8 says say that he "who has not reached fourteen years old, has no capacity to act", and Article addresses 14-16 in the special case of fourteen to eighteen years who is unable to carry out his own affairs because of psychic diseases or mental illness is deprived of the capacity to perform legal transactions a court decision. These transactions can be performed through his legal representative. There is no law covering mentally-fit people between 14 and 18. The capacity to contract is neither affirmed (as for 18+) nor denied (as for 14-). Albanian Supreme Court decisions could be accessed and searched here to see if there have been any court rulings on disaffirmation of contract when one is between 16 and 18 years old. (Better translations here, Albanian original here).
The section you quote as clearly saying a thing is not clearly saying the thing. However: you cannot pass on or resell any license keys seems to say a thing clearly. However, one could argue that it's the sharer of the account who is in the wrong, and not the person receiving and passing on the account. I'd say that that piece of the agreement, combined with this: must not... let other people get access to anything we've made in a way that is unfair or unreasonable says that, yes, they are out of bounds.
Voidable Contracts First of all, it is not generally correct that &quot;minors are unable to sign contracts&quot;. However, in many cases, minors can disaffirm contracts. (This is also called &quot;voiding the contract, and such contracts are called 'voidable&quot;.) This means that, up until the minor becomes an adult, and for a limited time after that, the minor can cancel the contract and cease to be bound by it. There are some kinds of contracts to which this does not apply. Under the traditional common law, the major exception was contracts for the purchase of &quot;necessities&quot; for the minor or the minor's family. The term &quot;necessities&quot; included food, clothing, and shelter. Contracts for &quot;necessities&quot; could not be disaffirmed. In addition, contracts to purchase goods that had later been sold to a third party for value, and the goods delivered to that third party could generally not be disaffirmed. However, many US States and other jurisdictions have modified these rules by statute. California, for example, has specific laws governing contracts for minors engaged in art, film, and entertainment work and in professional sports. These laws spell out procedures that must be followed to make such contacts not subject to disaffirmance, including a court hearing and payment of a part (15%) of the earnings into a trust. See the Findlaw page &quot;Is It Legal to Sign a Contract With a Minor?&quot; which states: For most contracts, the general rule is that while it's not illegal to enter into a contract with a minor, the contract is voidable at the discretion of the minor. Voidable contracts are usually valid contracts and are binding unless the child cancels it. On the other hand, if the minor turns 18 and doesn't cancel the contract within a reasonable period of time, the contract could become binding and enforceable. The page goes on to mention some specific state provisions in Texas, New York, and California, none of which seem to be relevant to the situatiin described in the question. The page &quot;Can a Minor Enter Into a Contract?&quot; from HG Legal Services states: Many people who are under the age of 18 have some type of employment. Additionally, there are many children in the entertainment industry. Both California and New York have passed legislation that limits such a minor’s right to disaffirm the contract. Some laws allow courts to first approve the contract so that the infant cannot later attempt to void it. Additionally, contracting with the infant’s parent rather than directly with the infant can bind the child in some cases. Some states allow infants to work so long as they acquire a work permit. (Note that in legal usage &quot;infant&quot; means the same as &quot;minor&quot;, that is, a person not yet adult. It does not mean a baby.) Note that if a minor disaffirms a contract, the entire contract is undone. The minor cannot pick and choose which sections to disaffirm (cancel). Goods or money received by either party under the contract must be returned, for example. When a transaction cannot lawfully be undone, then it may not be possible for the minor to void the contract. The possibility of disaffirmance means that one cannot rely on a contract with a minor in the same way one can rely on a contract with an adult. If it is important to have a binding agreement, such as an NDA, with a minor working as an intern or employee, one would need to take steps to ensure that the contract is binding. In some cases having a custodial parent approve such a contract might be useful. The specific steps that would accomplish this in a particular jurisdiction, if it is possible at all, are something that a lawyer could advise on. Labor law In addition to the issue of possible disaffarmance, in many jurisdictions child labor laws restrict and regulate any employment of a minor, and this will probably include a position as an intern. A work permit may be required, and the hours of work may be limited, particularly during the school term. Employee Status The question reads: I'm looking to hire a few minors as paid software engineering interns. [emphasis added] A paid intern is an employee. Minimum wage laws will apply, unless there is a specific exception 29 U.S. Code § 203 (part of the US Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)) defines an &quot;employee&quot; in subsection (e) as &quot;the term “employee” means any individual employed by an employer.&quot; with exceptions and different definitions for government workers, farm workers, volunteers, and certain other cases which do not seem tol apply here. Subsection (g) reads &quot;“Employ” includes to suffer or permit to work.&quot; The US Department of labor &quot;Fact%Sheet%#13:%Am%I%an%Employee?&quot; further defines &quot;employee&quot; and gives tests for whether a persron is an employee or an independent contractor. It states that &quot;most workers are employees&quot;. It gives various factors to consider in deciding whether a worker might be a contractor or an employee. These include: Work that is integral to an employers business is usually done by employees, not contractors. If a worker exercises managerial skills, and if so, if these affect the worker's chance of profit or loss, the worker is more likely a contractor The relative investment by the worker in facilities and equipment. If there is little, the worker is more ;likely an employee. Workers who must use independent business judgement are more likely to be contractors. Detailed control of hours of work and methods indicates that the relationship is more likely one of employment. Employment Under Copyright Law 17 USC 102 states that: A “work made for hire” is— (1) a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment; or (2) a work specially ordered or commissioned ... It part (1) of this definition that is relevant here The US Copyright office Circular 09 &quot;Works Made for Hire&quot; states: To help determine who is an employee, the Supreme Court in Community for Creative Non-Violence v. Reed identified factors that make up an “employer-employee” relationship as defined by agency law. The factors fall into three broad categories. Control by the employer over the work. For example, the employer determines how the work is done, has the work done at the employer’s location, and provides equipment or other means to create the work. Control by employer over the employee. For example, the employer controls the employee’s schedule in creating the work, has the right to have the employee perform other assignments, determines the method of payment, or has the right to hire the employee’s assistants. 3 Status and conduct of employer. For example, the employer is in business to produce such works, provides the employee with benefits, or withholds tax from the employee’s payment. These factors are not exhaustive. The Court left unclear which of these factors must be present to establish the employment relationship under the work-for-hire definition. Moreover, it held that supervision or control over creation of the work alone is not controlling. However, all or most of these factors characterize a regular, salaried employment relationship, and it is clear that a work created within the scope of such employment is a work made for hire (unless the parties involved agree otherwise). Examples of works made for hire created in an employment relationship include: A software program created by a staff programmer within the scope of his or her duties at a software firm [Emphasis added] ... The closer an employment relationship comes to regular, salaried employment, the more likely it is that a work created within the scope of that employment will be a work made for hire. But because no precise standard exists for determining whether a work is made for hire under part 1 of the definition in section 101 of the copyright law, consultation with a lawyer may be advisable. If a work is made for hire, the employer or other person for whom the work was prepared is the author and should be named as the author on the application for copyright registration. Respond “yes” to the question on the application about whether the work is made for hire Given all this, it seems likely that &quot;paid interns&quot; in the situation described in the question will be employees for purposes of copyright law, and their works in the course of employment will be works madwe for hire, with the employer being legally the author. This conclusion does not depend on an employment contract, adn an action by the intern to later void such a contract will not change the copyright status of the work. Conclusion The copyright of works (including software) produced by such interns is likely to be a work made for hire, with the employer being the author and initial copyright holder. This is true regardless of any contract, because a contract is not the key factor which makes a person an employee under US law, rather the nature of the relationship is. It would be wise to consult a lawyer with experience in employment law and the laws governing minors in the relevant jurisdiction before entering into such an arrangement.
Too old to be a lawyer? Legally: No. See Part 4 of the Age Discrimination Act 2004 which... ...makes it unlawful to discriminate against someone on the ground of age in respect of the following: (a) employment and related matters; (b) education; https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2020C00283
In German Law you need to give your agreement ("Willenserklärung") to a contract or in this case terms of service. This is done by telling the other part. In some cases this can also be implied by an action (example: putting your bottle of beer onto the cashiers table is an offer to buy this bottle). As a second criteria a "Willenserklärung" needs to be the exact will of the part that declares its will (the website user in this case) §§ 133, 157 BGB or that the other side (you) could only see so (not the case here as this mainly speaks of content). If you visit a website and there are terms of services, the "Willenserklärung" is only given when the user read and agreed to the terms. If he did not, the terms of service are not applied until the user agrees to them. So I would recommend to block the website until the user agreed (overlay) as you need to proof he did when in court. Additionally there are so called AGB's in Germany. Those are contracts that are used or planed for many (more than 3) uses and set by one side (you). This may apply here, so you need to follow a lot of other rules like making sure the user had access and agreed, then there are many content restrictions and so on... I recommend consulting a German Lawyer specialized on this topic as this is very complex and includes other German laws for Media too, depending on the content of your site and terms. Also note that everything said is only based on my own knowledge and can not be used as safe legal source.
If you operate from outside Germany but within the EU, it is generally sufficient to satisfy your own country's regulations. This is a foundational principle of the EU single market, though it's not quite realized yet and has exemptions for consumer protection purposes. However, the German TMG law which includes the Impressumspflicht explicitly enshrines this principle. So from the German Impressumspflicht perspective, you're good to go. However, you will not be able to operate anonymously, because of your country's laws. GDPR requires you to clearly state your identity and contact details in your privacy notice. If you engage in internet-based commerce, the EU eCommerce Directive will have caused your EU member state to pass legislation that requires you to disclose: your name the geographic address where you are established contact details incl an email address if applicable, registration numbers from trade registers or similar if applicable, your VAT ID Note that you must have a VAT ID for cross-border B2B sales within the EU. You state that you are not selling anything via your website, and are instead collecting payments via another website. What the consequences of this are would depend on the laws and caselaw in your jurisdiction, but you will have to make these disclosures on at least one of the two websites. About Germany going after bloggers who show ads: income from ads is taxable income, and operating a business requires registration. However, the German Impressumspflicht is rarely enforced by the state. Instead, other market participants (competitors) trawl the internet for potential violations and then send a cease-and-desist letter. They can do this because skirting legal obligations distorts the level playing field, which harms those competitors. There is a thriving cease-and-desist industry built around this, but it only affects businesses that operate within Germany.
I can answer for the U.S., if that's helpful. The general rule, in the United States, is that covenants not to compete are enforceable as long as they are reasonable. What constitutes "reasonable" varies from state to state. Factors considered generally include: What kind of actual harm will come to the business if you go to a competitor? In other words, is this rote language they include in every contract, or did they put it in yours because you know all the secret formulas and have the customer list memorized? Is it reasonable in time, location, and scope? Something preventing you from taking any job anywhere in the United States for ten years won't be enforceable; something preventing you from taking a job with the exact same title in the same industry in the same town for the next six months might be. The general rule at common law was that covenants not to compete were unenforceable restraints of trade; the fact that they're enforceable at all is later law created by each jurisdiction, and that means it's going to vary based on your specific jurisdiction. If you want to know whether it's okay to take a specific job based on a specific non-compete you signed, you will need to talk to a legal professional licensed in your jurisdiction--and even she may not be able to tell you for sure.
In California, you can get a driver's license at age 16, as well as a motorcycle license. This is similar to the minimum age in most other states. According to this article, California law generally permits minors to own property. There is a restriction for motor vehicles: Vehicle Code section 15500 says that a minor can only own a motor vehicle if they have a valid driver's license. But Lewis certainly could have satisfied this. So it would have been entirely possible and legal for Lewis to own, and ride, a motorcycle at age 16, provided that he had satisfied all the requirements (driver training, etc) and been issued a license.