Week 3: Labor & Investment; IP; Commons; Relativity Of Title & Sequential Possession Terms

Question 1

Different approaches to property

Answer 1

1. Economic efficiency of claiming ownership
2. Labor & investment (Lockean; ex: Johnson v. M’Intosh)
3. Fundamental fairness
4. Reliance interests
5. Personhood = attachments to property

Question 2

Information vs. resources

Answer 2

Information
1. Public good = nonexcludable
2. Costly to produce & competition drives down prices to margin cost of production

Tangible property
1. Problems of allocation = who owns?
2. Incentive problem = if we don’t protect IP, then people won’t invest in labor

Question 3

Sequential possession scenarios

Answer 3

1. F1 v. F2 = F1 (stability; moral entitlement)
2. C1 v. C2 = C1; TO can sue for conversion (favors possession; no moral entitlement)
3. F1 v. TO depends on property status (lost (TO), mislaid (TO), abandoned (F))
4. F1 v. TO where property was found
   - if F was trespassing, TO’s
   - otherwise, courts divided
   - if embedded in soul, then TO because on their real property
5. Stolen property
   - thief cannot sell stolen property
   - good faith purchaser exceptions