Law Commons^™

Property's Constitution, James Y. Stern

James Y. Stern

Long-standing disagreements over the definition of property as a matter of legal theory present a special problem in constitutional law. The Due Process and Takings Clauses establish individual rights that can be asserted only if “property” is at stake. Yet the leading cases interpreting constitutional property doctrines have never managed to articulate a coherent general view of property, and in some instances have reached opposite conclusions about its meaning. Most notably, government benefits provided in the form of individual legal entitlements are considered “property” for purposes of due process but not takings doctrines, a conflict the cases acknowledge but do …

The Non-Impact Of The United States Supreme Court Regulatory Takings Cases On The State Courts: Does The Supreme Court Really Matter?, Ronald H. Rosenberg

Ronald H. Rosenberg

No abstract provided.

Property Rights And Intrabrand Restraints, Alan J. Meese

Alan J. Meese

Intrabrand restraints limit the discretion of one or more sellers-usually dealers-with respect to the disposition of a product sold under a single brand. While most scholars believe that such contracts can help assure optimal promotion of a manufacturer's products, there is disagreement about the exact manner in which such restraints accomplish this objective. Many scholars believe that such restraints themselves induce dealers to engage in promotional activities desired by the manufacturer. Others believe that such restraints merely serve as "performance bonds," which dealers will forfeit if they fail to follow the manufacturer's precise promotional instructions. Some scholars reject both approaches, …

Property, Aspen, And Refusals To Deal, Alan J. Meese

Alan J. Meese

No abstract provided.

How To Write A Life: Some Thoughts On Fixation And The Copyright/Privacy Divide, Laura A. Heymann

Laura A. Heymann

No abstract provided.

The Pathology Of Property Norms: Living Within Nature's Boundaries, Lynda L. Butler

Lynda L. Butler

No abstract provided.

Property As A Management Institution, Lynda L. Butler

Lynda L. Butler

No abstract provided.

Private Land Use, Changing Public Values And Notions Of Relativity, Lynda L. Butler

Lynda L. Butler

No abstract provided.

Introduction: Comparative Property Rights, Lynda L. Butler

Lynda L. Butler

No abstract provided.

The Natural Property Rights Straitjacket: The Takings Clause, Taxation, And Excessive Rigidity, Eric Kades

Eric A. Kades

Natural property rights theories have become the primary lens through which conservative jurists and scholars view the Constitution’s main property rights provision, the Takings Clause. One of their most striking arguments is that progressive income taxation — applying higher tax rates to higher incomes — is an unconstitutional taking of wealthy taxpayers’ property. This has become part and parcel of well-established battle lines between conservative property rights advocates and their liberal counterparts. What has gone unnoticed is that the very same argument deployed against progressive taxation also deems regressive taxation — applying lower tax rates to higher incomes — an …

Foreword: Property Rights And Economic Development, Eric Kades

Eric A. Kades

No abstract provided.

Hohfeld And Property, Michael S. Green

Michael S. Green

No abstract provided.

The Backwards Gesture: Historical Narratives In Carol Rose's Property Scholarship, Daniel J. Sharfstein

Daniel Sharfstein

Presented at the 2010 Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference.

A Transactional View Of Property Rights, Robert P. Merges

Robert P Merges

No abstract provided.

Touching And Concerning Copyright: Real Property Reasoning In Mdy Industries, Inc. V. Blizzard Entertainment, Inc, Molly Shaffer Van Houweling

Molly Van Houweling

No abstract provided.

Intellectual Property And The Law Of Land, Peter S. Menell

Peter Menell

The author expresses opinion on an essay by professor Richard Epstein on intellectual property and property rights movement. He says the professor acknowledges that governance of intellectual property involves a complex public policy balance that varies from real property governance. He stresses Epstein should agree that the uniform structure of patent law across all innovation may be a significant issue. He notes the demand for more adjustments to the patent system to distinguish among the various fields of inventive activity covered by patent law.

Intellectual Property And The Property Rights Movement, Peter S. Menell

Peter Menell

The article discusses why the effort to equate protecting intellectual property (IP) and tangible property differ in significant ways. The author criticizes the property rights movement for trying to equate IP protection with real property. He discusses the differences between philosophical, legal, economic and political bases for protecting both types of property. He also tackles the various characteristics of intellectual resources.

To Waive And Waive Not: Property And Flexibility In The Digital Era: 23rd Annual Horace S. Manges Lecture, April 6, 2010, Robert P. Merges

Robert P Merges

No abstract provided.

Autonomy And Independence: The Normative Face Of Transaction Costs, Robert P. Merges

Robert P Merges

No abstract provided.

Locke For The Masses: Property Rights And The Products Of Collective Creativity, Robert P. Merges

Robert P Merges

No abstract provided.

Kelo's Moral Failure, Laura S. Underkuffler

Laura S. Underkuffler

Presented at the 2004 Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference.

Informal Institutions And Property Rights, Lan Cao

Lan Cao

No abstract provided.

Cities, Property, And Positive Externalities, Gideon Parchomovsky, Peter Siegelman

Peter Siegelman

Cities are the locales of numerous interactions that generate externalities—both negative and positive. Although the common law provides a vast array of mechanisms for limiting negative externalities, there is a striking absence of provisions for stimulating the production of positive ones. As a consequence, activities whose social benefits are greater than their private costs are not undertaken, with a resulting efficiency loss.

In this Article, we demonstrate how cities can develop commercial districts that allow for the capture of positive externalities by following the example of suburban malls. In malls, anchor stores provide positive externalities—additional customers—to neighboring stores. Anchors capture …

Is ‘Human Rights’ The Right Approach For Protecting The Interests Of Forest-Dependent People?, Prakash Kashwan

Prakash Kashwan

Nature conservation is often promoted in the name of the greater good of humanity. However, in a large number of cases, nature conservation is associated with increased militarization of resource control (see the select bibliography below). International conservation organizations have responded to such concerns by developing proposals for what they refer to as ‘rights-based approaches to conservation’. Some of the biggest conservation organizations have also come together to form the Conservation Initiative on Human Rights (CIHR), which is a consortium of international conservation NGOs that seek to improve the practice of conservation by promoting integration of human rights in conservation …

The Author's Rights In Literary And Artistic Works, Alina Ng

Alina Ng

This paper suggests that authorship and creativity, which necessarily precedes the production of literary and artistic works, are products of authentic human expression that the law must encourage in order for works, contributing to the progress of science and the useful arts, to be produced. While the commercial market for literary and artistic works encourages the creation of diverse works to meet popular consumer demand, encouraging the production of works for the commercial market may however result in works, which may lack social, educational and cultural value or utility. Natural law philosophy, which advocates a natural order for society and …

The Social Contract And Authorship: Allocating Entitlements In The Copyright System, Alina Ng

Alina Ng

Political and moral philosophy teach that there are norms governing how individuals and states ought to behave to ensure a well functioning society. This paper argues that authorship is essentially an activity that can only occur when other individuals in society are constrained by particular moral and ethical norms, and when the copyright system is built on a theoretical framework where individuals in society agree to waive certain rights in order that authors may have the incentive to produce literary and artistic works. The law as it presently stands allocates entitlements without ethical or moral restraints on the exercise of …

Estate Acts, 1600 To 1830: A New Source For British History, Gary Richardson

Gary Richardson

A new database demonstrates that between 1600 and 1830, Parliament passed thousands of acts restructuring rights to real and equitable estates. These estate acts enabled individuals and families to sell, mortgage, lease, exchange, and improve land previously bound by landholding and inheritance laws. This essay provides a factual foundation for research on this important topic: the law and economics of property rights during the period preceding the Industrial Revolution. Tables present time-series, cross-sectional, and panel data that should serve as a foundation for empirical analysis. Preliminary analysis indicates ways in which this new evidence may shape our understanding of British …