Legal Issues Surrounding Personal, Real Property, and Intellectual Property - Research Paper Example

? Legal Issues Surrounding Personal, Real Property and Intellectual Property Legal Issues Surrounding Personal, Real Property and Intellectual Property Thesis statement This paper majors on addressing the legal issues which have impact on personal, real property and intellectual property and how technology has influenced these legal issues. This paper goes ahead and seeks to find out whether the current existing laws are sufficient for dealing with this issue or whether there is a need to upgrade them to fit into these rapid dynamic changing economic circles. Abstract Legal systems of the world have undergone a shakeup in the recent times. This has primarily been because of the changes which have taken place in the all-round development of human being. This paper focuses mainly on the implication of the technology on all legal systems which affect property at all levels i.e. definition, acquisition and conveyance. A clear definition of what personal property, real property and now the modern intellectual property is given some weight of focus. It is the stand of this paper that understanding the definitions which surround these keywords is the fundamental necessity which opens a door of understanding into the legal frameworks which govern them. Accessing the property of whatever kind in this century is defined by legal frameworks and this research aims at singling out those general principles which govern the same. There are also the common legal issues that definitely surround the personal, real and intellectual property and this research has centered on them so that the impact which the technology has brought on the same is known. When you know the law, you will know how to navigate its course. This research aims at making you know the law and be in a position to apply it without fear or doubt of any kind. Amendments are also very inevitable and this research makes a proposal of what needs to be changed so that both ethics and legalizations can be at par in serving the 21st century generations. It is noted that this generation is the most advanced in terms of technology than any other time in human history thus the new changes need incorporation in the legal frameworks. It is needless to say that the inter-relationships is also observed and all the strengths and weaknesses analyzed. Introduction Popular law makers have often quoted the words of Bentham that no property no law. This is quite very true because every conduct of human being is property oriented. It may take centuries before everybody comes into agreement that everybody engages in everyday activities with an aim of acquiring some form of property. Property, since time immemorial, has been used to define most of the social human structures the major one being legal frameworks. It is even a known fact that according to the prevailing condition of a social-political and economic condition, the legal frameworks have been used into bequeathing rights of ownership of property. This has though been based on previous experiences of any community setting. A turn of things in legal circles was born when science and technology began yielding its best. The law of property had to inevitably be changed to incorporate the new definitions of property. Due to this aspect, the ideal of intellectual property was born. Since the conception of this kind of property, its protection has been of major concern mainly because of its intangible nature. New rules and regulations have been formed to protect and enforce intelligent property. This paper will explore deeply into the forms of properties known today and there legal implications. Distinction of Real, Personal and Intellectual properties Real The distinction between these forms of properties is very interesting. Before introduction of technology, which came and complicated the legal system, a real property would simply imply anything which was attached to the ground. This basically included things which were “planted” on the ground like houses and other structures or anything which was under that particular land. For the sake of clarity, the land under discussion here implies the literal land which is the part of the earth. You will note that, some elements are attached to the house for example, the bathtubs, perimeter wall etc and hence the need for the law to define whether those elements fit in the definition of what a real property is very vital. The law in its primary form acknowledges land as the sole definition of a real property. But the introduction of technology adds something to that definition. This addition brings in the concepts of discoveries which have been found to be part and parcel of that land. Anything above or below that land which is discovered in the due course becomes part of the definition of what a real property is. For this cause, the following characteristics have been universally acceptable in identifying a real property: Economic characteristics include; location, scarcity, improvements and permanence of any investment made on that land. It also has physical characteristics which among others include; its uniqueness i.e. heterogeneous, immobility, indivisibility and indestructibility implying they are very durable. The law governing real property will aim at evaluating whether, in case of any dispute, the above characteristics have been fulfilled for a property to be categorized as real or not. Due to the nature of a real property, i.e. its permanence, it has a unique set of regulations which are comprehensive and complex. In many occasions, it is highly advocated that you involve the services of a qualified legal practitioner whenever you are contracting any transaction regarding real property. This goes along into ensuring that you do not miss a point in the whole complex process which might also take several days Personal Property This category of property is defined to be anything else other than real property which is tangible or intangible in nature. This is the commonest form of property as everybody interacts with it on a daily basis. Anything which is movable but is not part of the land will by default qualify to be a personal property (Ravindran 2004). There are cases when the law needs an interpretation regarding whether a certain property is real or not especially when it began by being a movable property and become fixed later. For this cause, it is has been a guiding principle that any property which is fixed be termed as real where as anything else which is movable and tangible or intangible asset be categorized as personal. Personal property will include all tangible and intangible assets which in case you are leaving for example your current house for another one; you can always take and carry. Now the question of portable houses which has been brought by technology will now come into question as to where they lie. Remember security bonds, share ownership and chose action assets are all personal property. The conversion of ownership is in most cases not a very complex case as is the case in the real property. Intellectual properties These kinds of properties are purely as a result of technological advancements. In the last few years, the world witnessed the increased new discoveries in the world of technology. These discoveries have been evident across all the professional disciplines. Intellectual properties are assets and the law is evolving at a steady speed to recognize their validity (Hansmann & Kraakman 2002). Four aspects have been considered in intellectual property analysis. This includes generation which is mostly discovery, valuation or rather economic value, protection which starts with patenting and finally the exploitation which means its use for economic value. Scientific ideals which are developed by scientists and technocrats become their assets as they are purely their expertise which has led to their being known. Despite this kind of property sharing most of its characteristics with those of real and personal properties, it is distinguished by its intangible nature. Its characteristics cannot be in most cases defined by what can be termed as physical parameters it posses. For its protection, it has thus been defined in the most discernible ways. This property as noted earlier has four key stages which are very instrumental in its handling as the four can determine success or failure of a business. The creation stage of this property majorly entails owning any kind of right that is associated with the property and has been invented by its employees or contractors who had been contracted to do the same. Then its protection depends on its type but basically patenting or getting the copyrights and trademark registrations are some of the avenues used. Proper utilization is something that determines the success or failure of the same. To ensure unfair competition is eradicated, the rules governing the intellectual properties are enforced. Here is where technology has really made the enforcement a big problem because of the possibility of manipulations. For example, the markets are flooded with products which bear counterfeit trademarks. A lot is yet to be done. General Principles of Ownership The three forms of properties have general guidelines which regard their ownership. This is why it is primarily very important to understand them. There indeed exist some differences of ownership of property under the three categories. The way a real property is acquired is quite different from the way a personal property would be acquired or the intellectual property. Personal property is the simplest when the issue of ownership comes into question. It is actually central in every economic setting. This is primarily because the property under this category can exchange hands and ownership easily under agreement of only two parties. The assets are movable and the documentations involved are few and not complex. As long as there is agreement of the two people involved in the transaction and that the right regulations are followed, the property changes ownership legally. Once the property is acquired, the owner is very free use the property to his satisfaction as long as he remains within the limits of the law governing usage of such a property. Real property is a bit different from the personal property and intellectual property in the sense that it has the element of permanence (Graffin & Ying 2007). This aspect leads to inclusion of several parties in a given transaction as there needs to be statutory witnessing and consultation. For ease of ownership, involvement of agency services is unavoidable and this makes the process of owning a real property complex. In some occasions, the cost involvement of acquiring real property is high and this calls for external financing. This makes the whole process to involve some amount of time and hence make ownership bound to completion of payment. A good example is a mortgage service where the full rights are acquired when every liability of the mortgage has been settled. This without forgetting that usage begins immediately and ownership follows later. Intellectual property is scientifically born or is an artistic ideal. Whoever comes up with an idea is an automatic owner of that idea upon patenting (Rees 2001). This may be a person or an entity. Once the rights of ownership have been assured, then the property now can be traded like any other property in the market. The only difference is the fact that they are intangible. Nevertheless, depending on the degree of sale of the rights, the original owner may have some control on how the idea may be used. If the rights are sold fully, then the new owner is free to do with what he pleases with the rights acquired. Access Rights When property has been acquired, the next major issue is the access of rights. Though this term may mean different to different country settings of the world, for the purpose of this paper the term is used to imply the rights which comes with the element of acquiring a property. Technology is evolving at high speeds and the property sector is to redefining the terms to incorporate the changes. Intellectual property is the most volatile (Lemley 2005). The digital copying has been very imminent. When the rights have been transferred, the new owner fully enjoys the right of access of the property. This is the case when it comes to real and personal property. For the case of personal property, the rights pass immediately and wholly as agreed on the sale agreement while for the case of real property, access rights may be limited till everything have been paid for. When you buy a book or rather a novel, despite the book being yours, the work of literature remains the property of the author. You cannot duplicate the work without prior approval (Eskicioglu 2003). This is summarized as access of rights. Common Legal Issues Relating to Personal, Real and Intellectual Properties The law and property are inseparable. There are rules allover that govern the property acquisition, protection and disposal. Though the information technology is making it harder for copy right protections, anybody who is caught violating is subject to the punishment by law. No one is allowed to steal a property belonging to somebody else in any way. But the law is also funny that if a person can prove in any way that a certain piece of artistic work is his pure original ideal but just by coincidence happens to be similar to another person’s work, then he can go scot free. Nevertheless, the unlawful can be made lawful if somebody credits the owner of a particular idea in his work. The legal definition of a property applies across the three categories. Conclusion Among the three categories, intellectual property seems hit hard by the technological advancements. Information can be manipulated and evidence lost. There also lacks a uniform international law that governs property and more the intellectual property which is prone to find applicability worldwide. There needs to be a worldwide which should unify and standardize the rules governing intellectual property. Infrastructures which look into the enforcement of regulations which protect properties are weak and need improvement. Technology is good and it can be made better if kept under control to enhance protection instead of harming it. Reference Eskicioglu, A. M. (2003) Protecting intellectual property in digital multimedia networks. Brooklyn College of the City university. Newyork Griffin, J., Nair, A., & Ying, J. (2007). Intellectual property. Intellectual Property(Vol. 1, p. xxx, 547 p.). Hodder Arnold Hansmann, H., & Kraakman, R. (2002). Property, Contract, and Verification: The “Numerus Clausus” Problem and the Divisibility of Rights. The Journal of Legal Studies, 31(2), S373-S420. The University of Chicago Press. Lemley, M. A. (2005). What?s Different About Intellectual Property? Texas Law Review, 83(4), 1097-1104. University of Texas at Austin School of Law Publications. Ravindran, Sudhir. ( 2004). “Real Property Vs. Intellectual Property”. Altacit Globalhttps://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:QCQXsfhjj9AJ:www.altacit.com/p df/12- REAL%2520PROPERTY%2520vs%2520INTELLECTUAL%2520PROPERTY.pdf+&h l=en&gl=ke&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESihGIEyEZJatJYfJwzRFOBu7M6biiJbKyCyJQQW kDxvj59wNiQDo_jG5nB1hcoIT136P9SqaQOJaScaHGahD2qLlElI6- 3rDnsGMvOmhGZ- u79U0FFf5itquGUdlY818ef5Fmf6&sig=AHIEtbSzSf6WEdKlyOc5Mv-b9_mHhA7u-A Rees, J. (2001). Intellectual property. (P. Cane & M. Tushnet, Eds.)Lance. MIT Press. Read More