Is kumaran&#39;s email an offer or invitation to treat? Why Kumaran, an electrician, develops novel lampshades. In January 2016, he developed a new lampshade suitable for use with compact fluorescent lights. On 1 May 2016, he emailed Bobby and Chew, both wholesalers, to whom he had previously sold lampshades. In his email, he asked each of them whether he would be interested in becoming the sole distributor of his new lampshade. Is this an offer or an invitation to treat?
It's not an offer. An offer must be sufficiently complete that it is able to be accepted and thereby form a contract. If the wholesalers were to write back "I accept" - what, precisely are the terms of the contract? It is an invitation to treat in that is is "...an expression of willingness to negotiate."
The relevant section of US patent law was already posted in an answer on one of the questions you linked, but I'll repeat it: 35 USC 271 (a): Except as otherwise provided in this title, whoever without authority makes, uses, offers to sell, or sells any patented invention, within the United States or imports into the United States any patented invention during the term of the patent therefor, infringes the patent. Merely making a patented invention is infringement; it isn't relevant whether you sell it. It is also infringement if you use it yourself, regardless of who made it or whether you paid them, or whether you would have otherwise bought it from the patent holder. There are some special exceptions for things like certain kinds of pharmaceuticals, but I browsed the rest of 35 USC Chapter 28, and didn't see anything that would appear to be relevant in this case.
Regular maintenance does not include repairs for being broken – I have a contract with a company that (for a monthly payment) provides regular maintenance on the furnace, which does not cover the situation where the motor wears out, or whatever. In the worst case scenario of an oil line breech, the tenant would not be liable for the tens of thousands of dollars of cleanup that would be required. Under Pennsylvania law, there is an implied warranty of habilitability, for example the landlord warrants that it doesn't rain inside the house, there is hot and cold running water, and so on. Safe heat is an example of something that is included in a place being habitable. This warranty is not waivable by lease provision (Fair v. Negley, 390 A.2d 240). However, the subjective recommendation of a repair guy has little legal cash value: what is needed is an arms-length evaluation of the safety and functionality of the system. If the recommendation is based on inefficient fuel use and long-term likelihood of eventual system failure, that is probably not sufficient to compel a repair. Excess CO on the other hand is a clear danger. The repairman should be able to at least explain the specifics of the improper setup and the consequences of doing nothing. Documentation of actions taken is a good idea.
No Let’s assume the most generous interpretation: you came up with a fully fleshed-out idea for a television show - name, characters, plot, scene-setting - the lot. You told this idea over the phone to someone else who made this show incorporating every single part of your idea. Here’s the rub: nobody owns ideas. Unless you had them sign a non-disclosure agreement before you told them (which you didn’t), they are free to use your ideas however they like.
Summary from comments. (Hat tip @jqning) Daniel Nathan Ballard writes here: [It] is not only improper it is UNLAWFUL and may result in serious repercussions... Such a misuse may constitute false advertising... (“It is no doubt true” that affixing the ‘Trade Mark Registered U.S. Patent Office” notice on goods that are not protected by a federally registered trademark creates “a prima facie case of fraud against the public… .”). ... Such use is also a form of “unclean hands” that can bar the user’s registration of the mark. ... Such a use may also bar the maintenance of an infringement case. ... And the fraudulent use of the trademark registration symbol DOES provide other marketplace participants with standing to oppose the user’s registration of the mark. http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/use-of---symbol-but-not-federally-registered-1125746.html
This is the earliest dispute resolution clause I can find for Patreon. Some points to note: It calls up (as do all subsequent revisions) JAMS Streamlined Arbitration Rules &amp; Procedures, These allow the consolidation of arbitration’s between different parties over the same issue, Patreon’s liability is limited to the amount collected from the particular user. Do Patreon's terms of service cause Patreon to lose a minimum sum of money to arbitration costs in all cases, even if the claim is immediately rejected? Not necessarily. As stated above, Patreon can ask that the arbitrations be consolidated. I see no reason why the request wouldn’t be granted. That way they only pay for one. Alternatively, they can simply pay out their maximum liability if that is less than the expected costs. For many users, it’s likely the commissions they have paid will be less than their $250 filing fee. If yes, is Patreon required to go through full arbitration for each individual claim made? Or is there some mechanism to avoid additional costs for subsequent claims that are essentially identical to one that was already decided? There are no precedents set in arbitration so each has to be decided individually. However, it’s likely there will be only one arbitration, see above. If yes, roughly what number of plaintiffs would be required for the combined claims to bankrupt (or seriously damage) a company like Patreon? Well, it depends if they are insured or not. If they are insured for legal costs then the question is how much to damage their insurer. And the answer is - a lot. Patreon has revenues in the tens of millions - insurance companies work in the billions. If they aren’t insured, there would need to be a significant number (far more than 72). Realistically, this is little more than a minor inconvenience.
As you have agreed, by contract, not to reverse engineer the product, technically it would be a "breach of contract" to do so, assuming such terms are enforceable where you live (or wherever the EULA selects as the choice of forum).
Is the question just whether a company can contact its customers to ensure that they're happy with the company's services? If so, the answer is generally yes. I can think of no reason why this would change based on the fact that someone saw her using the services of a competitor. Your mother seems to be treating the phone call as an accusation, but it appears to be standard customer-relationship maintenance. If she chooses to approach it differently, she can use it to improve her bargaining power with Gym 1.