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Comment by kordless | Hacker News Reader

Tons of startups are breaking the law? I find that highly unlikely, mostly due to the fact I spend at least an hour a week talking to my attorneys about EVERYTHING we do and making sure it's all above board and legally covered.

While I can't speak for all the other startups out there, I can say without a doubt that mine hasn't broken any laws.

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I can guarantee that you violate copyright law every day. Ever play music at work? Did you acquire the performance right/license for that? Ever fwd someone's email? Depending on content most email is copyright protected. Do you really think you haven't violated terms of service of any software/website you've used. I'd be surprised if you even have read them all.

Most those laws are enforced only against egregious offenders. Dude offering me a candy bar so I don't have to stop by corner store is not egregious.

I doubt that it's possible for you or your attorneys to understand every single law that applies to your situation, so you are almost certainly breaking some law or regulation somewhere. The difference between you and this guy is that he probably knows that he's breaking the law, but you don't.

This guy's sole function as a businessman is explicitly illegal.

You're comparing that with (usually) accidental infringement on complicated and virtually unknowable laws.

I'd estimate that about 1/8 to 1/4 of the purpose of the laws he's breaking is to protect commuters from harassment and the remainder is to protect the profits of businesses like the kiosks that sell candy, drinks, and newspapers on some of the platforms. Basically, I find those laws to be more of a bug than a feature.

I disagree. Based upon other commenters' experience with this exact fellow, he often turns abusive to people who don't want to buy what he's offering.

When it comes to public transit, strict limitations are really nice for the masses. Riding trains in Japan, where nobody chats on their cellphone next to you, buskers don't assault your ears, and vendors are limited, efficient, and polite, is a wonderful thing.

Just of the top of my head I could say Paypal (when they started out) and AirBnb operate in legal grey areas.

AirBnB operates in a grey area? That's certainly putting it nicely. How dark can grey be before it is black? :)

Paypal still isnt a licensed money transmitter in Indiana. https://www.paypal-media.com/state_licenses.cfm

And, Indiana also requires licensure for money transmission. IC 28-8-4-20 (a) A person may not engage in the business of money transmission without a license required by this chapter.

Therefore, Paypal is illegal in Indiana. But the only reason why I think they haven't been 'busted' is because nobody has complained yet to the appropriate Indiana authorities.

edit: I've been heavily criticised by OstiaAntica for this comment for being "anti-hacker". But I'm simply stating facts, and an opinion as why I think why. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3088836

More likely, Indiana doesn't have any legal jurisdiction over Paypal. Just because something is a law in one place doesn't mean it's a law in another place, even if you have customers that are covered by the law.

> I can say without a doubt that mine hasn't broken any laws.

I hope that's merely your own misinformed conclusion and not what your attorneys actually told you. Because if they did guarantee this, you should probably look into getting new ones.

Assuming you're in the US, your congress already invented* laws it's illegal to know whether they affect you or whether you are guilty of them.

Of course those are coming for terrorists, so you don't need to speak out/worry because you're not a terrorist.

So while it's very likely that your company might not be breaking any laws, if your attorneys guarantee it, they're either lying/ignorant or breaking the law themselves.

OK so how's this relevant to the guy selling candy? The point is, it doesn't matter whether it's legal for him to sell these candies, the big deal is whether it's right for him to do so.

These attorneys you're hiring, are not for guiding you on the Right Path of being a "good" company, you hired them to protect you from the Beast of the Law.

*blatantly copied the idea from Kafka, who had prior art, the thieving bastards

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