Law in Society Ms. Baumgartner

1. Define property 2. Identify the classifications of property What is your definition of property?

Neerow won $20 million from the GA lottery. When he received the actual $13 million (after taxes) he went on a spending spree. He had a lot of plastic surgery—including a face lift. Then, he bought a condo in Florida, a new car (which he wrecked right away), clothes he never even wore, a mink coat for a friend and a large yacht. The next year, he threw wild parties including a New Year’s Eve party with 50 new friends. While living his new lifestyle, Neerow totally neglected his business—where he employed 10 people. The business almost reached the point of bankruptcy. Should he be stopped from spending his money? Why/Why Not?

Property includes tangible & intangible things Tangible – books, clothing, jewelry, cars Intangible – secret formula of Coca Cola, copyright of textbook, patents for inventions Property – the rights and interests we recognize in one another in tangible and intangible things Read What’s Your Verdict on page 285

Jon rented a house in Beach Haven, NJ for a couple of weeks after he finished writing his new book. He looked forward to relaxing and getting away from everything during that period. Did Jon acquire property under that lease?

YES—because he acquired possession for 2 weeks by renting the house

Property can be classified as real or personal Real property – rights & interests in land, buildings, & those things permanently affixed to them (fixtures) Includes the surface of the earth and water/minerals below the surface. Also can include airspace above land. Also includes buildings and anything permanently attached to buildings.

Personal property – rights and interests in anything that is not real property; tangible or intangible Tangible has physical form Intangible does not have physical form EX: intellectual property Intellectual property Intangible property created in your mind Copyright Trademarks Patents Trade secrets

Copyright – protects the expression of a creative work, such as the work of an author, artist, or composer Songs, books, computer programs, architectural plans, etc. To be copyrighted, the expression must be fixed (so others understand) and original (unique) Damages ($$) may be collected for infringement (unauthorized copying, sale, display, or performance of a copyright protected work)

Can you identify the following trademarks?

Under the federal copyright law, not all infringements are penalized FAIR USE—very limited use of copyrighted works by critics, researchers, news reporters and teachers. EX: an author quoting a paragraph from another author’s book and citing it EX: a teacher making a fair amount of copies of worksheets

Trademark - A word, mark, symbol, or device by which the products of a particular manufacturer or the commodities of a particular merchant can be distinguished from those of others EX: KODAK (includes name of owner and product) Service Mark – a unique word, mark or symbol that identifies a service instead of a product Patent – the grant of exclusive right to make, use, import, sell, and offer a novel or new, non-obvious, useful product or process EX: a unique chair or table Trade secret – commercially valuable information that the owner must keep secret (the secret formula for Coke)

Answer questions #1-6, 8-9

1. State the different ways of acquiring property 2. Differentiate the various ways of holding ownership to property

On a long trip to an away game, the five starters of the Tigerettes basketball team were talking about their MP3 players. Andrea bought hers with earnings from her job at a local animal shelter. Bridget received hers as a birthday gift. Caren inherited hers from a very hip aunt who recently passed away. Darlene, a computer geek, made her own. Elena found hers on the street and, after months of trying, had been unable to find the owner. Did each of the teammates have the same rights to her MP3 player—regardless how she got it?

All had same ownership rights except Elena—she only had rights of a FINDER (possession and use only)

Real or personal property is acquired most commonly by contract, gift, or inheritance Acquiring ownership by contract – people acquire most of their property by purchasing it Acquiring ownership by gift – must contain 3 elements…. intent to transfer ownership (cannot just promise to give someone something) delivery of the product (shift of possession from 1 to another) Constructive Delivery: having a symbol of a gift in place of the delivery of the item (keys instead of a car) acceptance of the gift/product (accept by not rejecting in a certain amount of time)

Acquiring ownership by inheritance Acquiring ownership by Accession The right of an owner of property and to all that property produces to increase their property EX: farm crops and offspring of animals belong to landowner. EX: when a new hard drive is installed in a computer, it becomes part of the computer

Acquiring ownership by Finding Anyone who loses property has the right to recover it from the finder You must prove true ownership The finder must return the item if he/she knows who the owner is or be guilty of theft Some laws say the finder must try to locate the property owner (post an ad in the newspaper, craigslist, etc.) If owner is unknown, finder may keep item until true owner appears Lost property: created when the owner does not know when/where it disappeared Mislaid property: placed somewhere intentionally but forgot where it was put. If you remember later, you still have right.

Acquiring Ownership by Occupancy Means acquiring by taking possession of personal property that belongs to no one else Property abandoned or thrown away by another In this case, the finder becomes the owner EX: picking up sea shells on the beach

Beth and Maureen inherited a 12-acre piece of land from their parents. Beth moved onto the property and Marureen stayed in her former home. Beth decided Maureen could have the back 6 acres and she would keep the front 6 acres. CAN BETH KEEP MAUREEN FROM THE PART OF LAND THAT SHE CALLED DIBS ON?

No, she has no right to exclude Maureen from the front 6 acres unless they legally divide the property in court

There are 2 basic ways to own property – in severalty or by co-ownership Ownership in severalty – exists when 1 person owns all of the personal or real property involved; most common form of ownership for personal property Co-ownership – exists when 2 or more persons have ownership rights in the same property All forms of co-ownership have 2 things in common: All co-owners have equal rights of possession Right of partition – allows any co-owner to legally begin dividing the property among co-owners

The co-ownership of the same property Includes the RIGHT OF SURVIVORSHIP Means that if one joint owner dies, the remaining owner still retains their ownership over the whole property

The parts owned by people may be equal or unequal and there is no right of survivorship If a tenant in common dies, their ownership passes along to their beneficiaries in their will

Co-ownership between a husband and wife Can only be entered into by married couples One tenant cannot sell the property without spouse’s consent If they divorce or separate, it changes to tenancy in common and those rules begin to apply

In some states, all property acquired by husband and wife during marriage is called community property Each spouse owns ½ interest in shared property While both spouses are alive, both must consent to selling the property

Owner of a property can not use it in illegal manner Cannot injure another Buildings must be safe for all who live/own

Answer questions #1-11 on your own (page 295)

Chapter 16 Assessment Vocab #1-14, 27, 28, 30, 32, 33, 39 Chapter Review Worksheets