Property I

LAW 515-001 – Property I

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

10:28 AM

• The individual landowner's right to exclude is "one of the most essential sticks in the bundle of rights that are commonly characterized as property."
• The exclusive right and use of property is limited.
• Can't infringe on others' rights
• The right to exclude is not absolute.
• The rule of transformation
• If someone transforms something into an idea for something that helps society, they get property rights to that.

Possession

• Discovery/Capture
• Progression for property rights
1. Idea of Capture
• Rejected almost everywhere—not enough
2. Probable Capture
• Dissent in Pierson v. Post
3. Actual Capture
• Majority in Pierson v. Post
• Actual Capture Rule
• Must physically posses
• How to:
1. Intent
2. Dominion and Control
• Move past idea to make it clear with absolute certainty

 

Forms of Intellectual Property

• Idea
• Patents
• Protected
• Copyrights
• Media transformed into a recognizable medium
• Protected
• Trademarks
• Protected
• Protects consumers' surety that it is what it says
• Trade Secrets

 

Ideas are not protected until transformed into a protected form.

IP is transformed when it is more about what the person added than about the original.

Value is just added; it doesn't harm the original.

 

IP Protected when:

• Good for business
• Good for society

 

Celebrities must have the right of publicity balanced against the 1st Amendment.

 

Finders Law

• Lost
• Unintentionally parting with property
• Right to possess given to the finder
• Mislaid
• Intentionally putting an item somewhere, yet forgetting where
• Bailed to the locus owner so the true owner can find it
• Abandoned
• When one leaves an item and does not have intention to reclaim it
• Actually belongs to the finder
• Treasure Trove
• Intentionally placed, but so old it's determined to be abandoned

 

Categorizing

• Property
• People
• Place

 

Possession of property is sufficient title to give ownership.

Oldest possessor has the greatest ownership interest.

A new possessor will mature into the possessor of the property through first-in-time.