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Ownership is the state or fact of exclusive rights and control over property, which may be an object, land/real estate, intellectual property (arguably) or some other kind of property. Property is any physical or virtual entity that is owned by an individual Personal property is a type of Property. In the Common law systems personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. Landed property or landed estates is a Real estate term that usually refers to a property that generates income for the owner without the owner having to Intellectual property ( IP) is a legal field that refers to creations of the mind such as musical literary and artistic works inventions and symbols names It is embodied in an ownership right also referred to as title. Title is a legal term for a bundle of rights in a piece of property in which a party may own either a legal interest or an equitable interest The rights

Ownership is the key building block in the development of the capitalist socio-economic system. Capitalism is the Economic system in which the Means of production are owned by private Persons and operated for Profit and where The concept of ownership has existed for thousands of years and in all cultures. A year (from Old English gēr) is the time between two recurrences of an event related to the Orbit of the Earth around the Sun Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate" generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic Over the millennia, however, and across cultures what is considered eligible to be property and how that property is regarded culturally is very different. Ownership is the basis for many other concepts that form the foundations of ancient and modern societies such as money, trade, debt, bankruptcy, the criminality of theft and private vs. A society is a Population of Humans characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals that share a distinctive Culture and Institutions Money is anything that is generally accepted as Payment for Goods and services and repayment of Debts. Trade is the willing exchange of goods, services, or both Trade is also called Commerce. Debt is that which is owed usually referencing Assets owed but the term can cover other obligations Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay their Creditors Creditors may file a bankruptcy petition against In the sociological field, crime is the breach of a rule or Law for which some governing authority or force may ultimately prescribe a Punishment public property.

The process and mechanics of ownership are fairly complex since one can gain, transfer and lose ownership of property in a number of ways. To acquire property one can purchase it with money, trade it for other property, receive it as a gift, steal it, find it, make it or homestead it. Money is anything that is generally accepted as Payment for Goods and services and repayment of Debts. One can transfer or lose ownership of property by selling it for money, exchanging it for other property, giving it as a gift, being robbed of it, misplacing it, or having it stripped from one's ownership through legal means such as eviction, foreclosure and seizure. Ownership is self-propagating in that if an object is owned by someone, any additional goods produced by using that object will also be owned by the same person.

Contents

Types of owners

In person

Individuals may own property directly. In some societies only adult men may own property; in other societies (such as the Haudenosaunee), property is matrilinear and passed on from mother to daughter. The Iroquois Confederacy (also known as the "League of Peace and Power" the "Five Nations" the "Six Nations" or the "People of the Longhouse Matrilineality is a system in which lineage is traced through the mother and maternal ancestors In most societies both men and women can own property with no restrictions.

Structured Ownership Entities

Throughout history, nations (or governments) and religions have owned property. These entities exist primarily for other purposes than to own or operate property, hence they may have no clear rules regarding the disposition of their property.

To own and operate property, structures (often known today as legal entities) have been created in many societies throughout history. The differences in how they deal with members' rights is a key factor in determining their type. Each type has advantages and disadvantages derived from their means of recognizing or disregarding (rewarding or not), contributions of financial capital or personal effort.

Cooperatives, corporations, trusts, partnerships, condominium associations are only some of the many varied types of structured ownership; each type has many subtypes. Legal advantages or restrictions on various types of structured ownership have existed in many societies past and present. To govern how assets are to be used, shared or treated, rules and regulations may be legally imposed or internally adopted or decreed.

Liability for the Group or for Others in the Group

Ownership implies responsibility, for actions regarding the property. A "legal shield" is said to exist if the entity's legal liabilities do not get redistributed among the entity's owners or members. An application of this, to limit ownership risks, is to form a new entity to purchase, own and operate each property. Since the entity is separate and distinct from others, if a problem occurs which leads to a massive liability, the individual is protected from losing more than the value of that one property. Many other properties are protected, when owned by other distinct entities.

In the loosest sense of group ownership, a lack of legal framework, rules and regulations may mean that group ownership of property places every member in a position of responsibility (liability) for the actions of each other member. A structured group duly constituted as an entity under law may still not protect members from being personally liable for each others' actions. Court decisions against the entity itself may give rise to unlimited personal liability for each and every member. An example of this situation is a professional partnership (e. g. law practice) in some jurisdictions. Thus, being a partner or owner in a group may give little advantage in terms of share ownership while producing a lot of risk to the partner, owner or participant.

Sharing Gains

At the end of each financial year, accounting rules determine a surplus or profit, which may be retained inside the entity or distributed among owners according to the initial setup intent when the entity was created.

Entities with a member focus will give financial surplus back to members according to the volume of financial activity that the participating member generated for the entity. Examples of this are producer cooperatives, buyer cooperatives and participating whole life policyholders in both mutual and share-capital insurance companies.

Entities with share voting rights that depend on financial capital distribute surplus among shareholders without regard to any other contribution to the entity. Depending on internal rules and regulations, certain classes of shares have the right to receive increases in financial "dividends" while other classes do not. After many years the increase over time is substantial if the business is profitable. Examples of this are common shares and preferred shares in private or publicly listed share capital corporations.

Entities with a focus on providing service in perpetuam do not distribute financial surplus; they must retain it. It will then serve as a cushion against losses or as a means to finance growth activities. Examples of this are not-for-profit entities: they are allowed to make profits, but are not permitted to give any of it back to members except by way of discounts in the future on new transactions.

Depending on the charter at the foundation of the entity, and depending on the legal framework under which the entity was created, the form of ownership is determined once and for all time. To change it requires significant work in terms of communicating with stakeholders (member-owners, governments, etc) and acquiring their approval. Whatever structural constraints or disadvantages exist at the creation thus remain an integral part of the entity. Common in for instance New York City, Hamburg and Berlin in Germany is a form of real estate ownership known as a cooperative (also co-operative or co-op, in German Wohnungsgenossenschaft - apartment co-operative) which relies heavily on internal rules of operation instead of the legal framework governing condominium associations. These "co-ops", owning the building for the mutual benefit of its members, can ultimately perform most of the functions of a legally constituted condominium, i. e. restricting use appropriately and containing financial liabilities to within tolerable levels. To change their structure now that they are up and operating would require significant effort to achieve acceptance among members and various levels of government.

Sharing Use

The owning entity makes rules governing use of property; each property may comprise areas that are made available to any and every member of the group to use. When the group is the entire nation, the same principle is in effect whether the property is small (e. g. picnic rest stops along highways) or large such as national parks, highways, ports, and publicly owned buildings. A national park is a reserve of land usually declared and owned by a national Government, protected from most Human development and pollution Smaller examples of shared use include common areas such as lobbies, entrance hallways and passages to adjacent buildings.

One disadvantage of communal ownership, known as the Tragedy of the Commons, occurs where unlimited unrestricted and unregulated access to a resource (e. The Tragedy of the Commons is the title of an influential article written by Garrett Hardin, first published in the journal Science in 1968. g. pasture land) destroys the resource because of over-exploitation. The benefits of exploitation accrue to individuals immediately, while the costs of policing or enforcing appropriate use, and the losses dues to overexploitation, are distributed among many, and are only visible to these gradually.

In an ideal communist nation the means of production of goods would be owned communally by all people of that nation; the original thinkers did not specify rules and regulations. Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based

Types of property

Personal property

Main article: Personal property

Personal property is a type of property. Personal property is a type of Property. In the Common law systems personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. Property is any physical or virtual entity that is owned by an individual In the common law systems personal property may also be called chattels. Common law refers to law and the corresponding legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive It is distinguished from real property, or real estate. In the Common law, real property (or realty) refers to one of the two main classes of Property, the other class being Personal property ( Real estate is a legal term (in some jurisdictions notably in the USA, United Kingdom In the civil law systems personal property is often called movable property or movables - any property that can be moved from one location or another. Civil law or Romano-Germanic law or Continental law is the predominant system of law in the world. Personal property is a type of Property. In the Common law systems personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. This term is in distinction with immovable property or immovables, such as land and buildings. In the Common law, real property (or realty) refers to one of the two main classes of Property, the other class being Personal property (

Personal property may be classified in a variety of ways, such as goods, money, negotiable instruments, securities, and intangible assets including choses in action. Money is anything that is generally accepted as Payment for Goods and services and repayment of Debts. A negotiable instrument is a specialized type of " Contract " for the payment of money that is unconditional and capable of transfer by negotiation A security is a Fungible, Negotiable instrument representing financial value Intangible assets are defined as identifiable non-monetary Assets that cannot be seen touched or physically measured which are created through time and/or effort and that are Chose (pronounced "shows" French for "thing" a term used in the Common law tradition in different senses

Land ownership

Main article: Real estate

Real estate or immovable property is a legal term (in some jurisdictions) that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings. Real estate is a legal term (in some jurisdictions notably in the USA, United Kingdom In the Common law, real property (or realty) refers to one of the two main classes of Property, the other class being Personal property ( Law is a system of rules enforced through a set of Institutions used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience politics economics and society In Architecture, Construction, Engineering and real estate development the word building may refer to one of the following Any man-made Real estate (immovable property) is often considered synonymous with real property (also sometimes called realty), in contrast with personal property (also sometimes called chattel or personalty). In the Common law, real property (or realty) refers to one of the two main classes of Property, the other class being Personal property ( Personal property is a type of Property. In the Common law systems personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. However, for technical purposes, some people prefer to distinguish real estate, referring to the land and fixtures themselves, from real property, referring to ownership rights over real estate. The terms real estate and real property are used primarily in common law, while civil law jurisdictions refer instead to immovable property. Common law refers to law and the corresponding legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive Civil law or Romano-Germanic law or Continental law is the predominant system of law in the world. In Law, jurisdiction (from the Latin ius iuris meaning "law" and dicere meaning "to speak" is the practical Authority In the Common law, real property (or realty) refers to one of the two main classes of Property, the other class being Personal property (

In law, the word real means relating to a thing (from Latin res, matter or thing), as distinguished from a person. Thus the law broadly distinguishes between [real property] (land and anything affixed to it) and [personal property] (everything else, e. g. , clothing, furniture, money). The conceptual difference was between immovable property, which would transfer title along with the land, and movable property, which a person would retain title to. (The word is not derived from the notion of land having historically been "royal" property. The word royal — and its Spanish cognate real — come from the unrelated Latin word rex, meaning king. )

With the development of private property ownership, real estate has become a major area of business. Property is any physical or virtual entity that is owned by an individual A business (also called firm or an enterprise) is a legally recognized organizational entity designed to provide goods and/or services to

Ownership is passed when one party asks for another party's property under all circumstances.

Corporations and legal entities

An individual or group of individuals can own corporations and other legal entities. A legal entity is a legal construct through which the law allows a group of natural persons to act as if it were an individual for certain purposes. Law is a system of rules enforced through a set of Institutions used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience politics economics and society In Jurisprudence, a natural person is a human being perceptible through the senses and subject to physical laws as opposed to an artificial legal or juristic person As commonly used, individual refers to a Person or to any specific object in a collection Some companies and entities are owned privately by the individuals who registered them with the government while other companies are owned publicly.

Some duly incorporated entities may not be owned by individuals nor by other entities; they exist without being owned once they are created. Not being owned, they cannot be bought and sold. Mutual life insurance companies, credit unions, and cooperatives are examples of this. No person can purchase the company, as their ownership is not legally available for sale, neither as shares nor as a single whole.

A a publicly listed company, known as a public company, is owned by any member of the public who wishes to purchase stock in that company rather than by a relatively few individuals. Generally a company is a form of Business organization. The precise definition varies Public is of or pertaining to the people relating to or affecting a nation state or community opposed to private; as the public treasury a road or lake A company that is owned by stockholders who are members of the general public and trade shares publicly, often through a listing on a stock exchange. A mutual shareholder or stockholder is an Individual or company (including a Corporation) that legally owns one or more shares of In financial markets, a share is a Unit of account for various financial instruments including Stocks Mutual funds Limited partnerships A stock exchange, share market or bourse is a Corporation or Mutual organization which provides "trading" facilities for Stock Ownership is open to anyone who has the money and inclination to buy shares in the company. Money is anything that is generally accepted as Payment for Goods and services and repayment of Debts. Owners, however, are generally classified in three groups. Those with 5% Ownerships of the stock usually hold significant sway over the company. Mutual Funds and regular institutions can also own the stock; if they own enough, can are considered as part of the 5% ownership category. A mutual fund is a professionally managed type of collective investments that pools money from many investors and Invests it in Stocks bonds, They usually are differentiated from privately held companies where the shares are held by a small group of individuals often members of one or a small group of families or otherwise related individuals (or other companies). The term privately held company refers to ownership of a business company in two different ways first referring to ownership by non-governmental organizations and second For a discussion of the British and Irish variant of this type of company, see public limited company. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world A Public Limited Company ( PLC, plc or plc or p l c is a type of Limited company in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland which is

Intellectual property

Main article: Intellectual property

Intellectual (IP) property refers to a legal entitlement which sometimes attaches to the expressed form of an idea, or to some other intangible subject matter. Intellectual property ( IP) is a legal field that refers to creations of the mind such as musical literary and artistic works inventions and symbols names The idea-expression divide or idea-expression dichotomy is a concept which explains the appropriate function of Copyright laws which are generally designed to An idea is a form (such as a Thought) formed by Consciousness (including Mind) through the Process of ideation. Intangible assets are defined as identifiable non-monetary Assets that cannot be seen touched or physically measured which are created through time and/or effort and that are This legal entitlement generally enables its holder to exercise exclusive rights of use in relation to the subject matter of the IP. In Anglo-Saxon law, an exclusive right is a de facto non-tangible Prerogative existing in law (that is the power or in a wider sense Right The term intellectual property reflects the idea that this subject matter is the product of the mind or the intellect, and that IP rights may be protected at law in the same way as any other form of property. MIND ( Moving In New Directions) (est 1975 is an alternative education high school in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Property is any physical or virtual entity that is owned by an individual

Intellectual property laws confer a bundle of exclusive rights in relation to the particular form or manner in which ideas or information are expressed or manifested, and not in relation to the ideas or concepts themselves (see idea-expression divide). The bundle of rights is a common way to explain the complexities of Property ownership In Anglo-Saxon law, an exclusive right is a de facto non-tangible Prerogative existing in law (that is the power or in a wider sense Right The idea-expression divide or idea-expression dichotomy is a concept which explains the appropriate function of Copyright laws which are generally designed to It is therefore important to note that the term "intellectual property" denotes the specific legal rights which authors, inventors and other IP holders may hold and exercise, and not the intellectual work itself.

Intellectual property laws are designed to protect different forms of intangible subject matter, although in some cases there is a degree of overlap.

Patents, trademarks and designs fall into a particular subset of intellectual property known as industrial property. Intellectual property ( IP) is a legal field that refers to creations of the mind such as musical literary and artistic works inventions and symbols names

Like other forms of property, intellectual property (or rather the exclusive rights which subsist in the IP) can be transferred (with or without consideration) or licensed to third parties. Consideration is a central concept in the Common law of Contracts and Contract theory: it is value paid for a promise giFT Internet File Transfer ( giFT) is a computer software daemon that allows several File sharing protocols to be used with a simple client having a The verb license or grant license means to give permission The noun license is the document demonstrating that permission In some jurisdictions it may also be possible to use intellectual property as security for a loan. A security is a Fungible, Negotiable instrument representing financial value

The basic public policy rationale for the protection of intellectual property is that IP laws facilitate and encourage disclosure of innovation into the public domain for the common good, by granting authors and inventors exclusive rights to exploit their works and invention for a limited period. The term innovation means a new way of doing something It may refer to incremental radical and revolutionary changes in thinking products processes or organisations The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone The common good is a term that can refer to several different concepts

However, various schools of thought are critical of the very concept of intellectual property, and some characterise IP as intellectual protectionism. For the protectionist Australian political party from the 1880s to 1909 see Protectionist Party There is ongoing debate as to whether IP laws truly operate to confer the stated public benefits, and whether the protection they are said to provide is appropriate in the context of innovation derived from such things as traditional knowledge and folklore, and patents for software and business methods. Traditional knowledge (TK indigenous knowledge (IK and local knowledge generally refer to the matured long-standing Traditions and practices of Software patent does not have a universally accepted definition Business method patents are a class of Patents which disclose and claim new Methods of doing business. Manifestations of this controversy can be seen in the way different jurisdictions decide whether to grant intellectual property protection in relation to subject matter of this kind, and the North-South divide on issues of the role and scope of intellectual property laws. A controversy or dispute is a commencement of a conflict between statements of accepted fact and a new or unaccepted proposal that disagrees with argues against In Law, jurisdiction (from the Latin ius iuris meaning "law" and dicere meaning "to speak" is the practical Authority The North-South Divide is the socio-economic and political division that exists between the wealthy developed countries, known collectively as "the

Chattel slavery

Main article: Chattel slavery

The living human body is, in most modern societies, considered something which cannot be the property of anyone but the person whose body it is. As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another The human body is the entire physical and mental structure of a Human Organism. The term person is used in Common sense to mean an individual Human being. With regard to living things, a body is the integral physical material of an individual This is in contradistinction to chattel slavery. As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another Chattel slavery is a type of slavery defined as the absolute legal ownership of a person or persons, including the legal right to buy and sell them. The slaves do not have the freedom to live life as they choose, but as they are instructed by their owners, and their rights may be either severely limited or nonexistent. In most countries, chattel slaves were considered as movable property.

Slavery is currently illegal in every country around the world, however, up until the 19th century slavery and ownership of people had existed in one form or another in nearly every society on earth. Notwithstanding the illegality according to codes of law, slavery still exists in various forms today.

Social Views of Ownership

In modern Western popular culture some people (principally among the far political left) believe that exclusive ownership of property underlies much social injustice, and facilitates tyranny and oppression on an individual and societal scale. Others (principally among the political right) consider the striving to achieve greater ownership of wealth as the driving factor behind human technological advancement and increasing standards of living. In Politics, right-wing, the political right, and the Right are positions that uphold traditional values and/or authorities

Vedantic view

The Brahiminist theology called Vedanta believes that the root of ownership is the feeling that one is separate from the rest of the universe. Given this understanding, one disconnects oneself from the universe, and then attempts to reconnect with objects through a relationship which is called ownership. Vedanta believes that the feeling of ownership is an illusion, which remains with oneself as long as one considers oneself as separate from the Universe. When one understands the fundamental reality that there is only one entity called the Universe, there is no need for ownership and one gets rid of this illusion.

Ownership Issues in Politics

Ownership society is a political slogan used by United States President George W. Ownership society is a slogan for a model of Society promoted by United States President George W Bush to promote a series of policies aimed to increase the control of individual citizens over health care and social security payments and policies. Critics have claimed that slogan hid an agenda that sought to implement tax cuts and curtail the government's role in health care and retirement saving.

Controversies over the Universality of Ownership

Native America

A modern myth is that some societies, notably Native American ones, appeared to exist without the concept of personal ownership. Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States Members of a society would feel free to take any objects they had need of, and expect them to be taken by others. Recently, however, researchers have started to question just how collectivist Native American societies really were. Citing earlier studies done by anthropologists and historians "who were able to interview tribal members who had lived in pre-reservation Indian society," they argue that in fact, "most if not all North American indigenous peoples had a strong belief in individual property rights and ownership. " [1] These researchers further assert that Native American collectivism is a myth originating from the first encounters with tribes who, because of their hunting-orientation "did not view land as an important asset", and indeed, did not have a private property system with regards to land. The collectivist myth was initially propagated by reporters and politicians who never actually had contact with Native Americans and then made into a reality by the collectivist property rights system forced on Indians by the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act. The Indian Reorganization Act, 1934, also known as the Wheeler-Howard Act or informally the Indian New Deal, was a U

See also

A cadastre (also spelled cadaster) is a comprehensive register of the Metes and bounds real property of a country and commonly includes details of Ownership society is a slogan for a model of Society promoted by United States President George W Public ownership (also called government ownership, state ownership or state property) refers to Government Ownership of any

Dictionary

ownership

-noun

  1. The state of having complete legal control of the status of something.
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