Editing Ownership

{{short description|Legal concept}}
{{Redirect|Own|the slang term|Owned (slang)||OWN (disambiguation)}}
{{for|the Wikipedia's content policy|Wikipedia:Ownership of content|selfref=y}}

'''Ownership''' is the state or fact of legal possession and control over [[property]], which may be any asset, [[Tangible asset|tangible]] or [[Intangible asset|intangible]]. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as ''[[Title (property)|title]]'', which may be separated and held by different parties.

The process and mechanics of ownership are fairly complex: 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, win it in a bet, receive it as a [[gift]], [[inheritance|inherit]] it, [[Discovery (observation)|find]] it, receive it as [[damages]], earn it by doing work or performing services, [[Manufacturing|make]] it, or [[Homestead principle|homestead]] it. One can transfer or lose ownership of property by [[Sales|selling]] it for [[money]], [[Trade|exchanging]] it for other property, giving it as a gift, [[Lost, mislaid, and abandoned property|misplacing]] it, or having it stripped from one's ownership through legal means such as [[eviction]], [[foreclosure]], [[Search and seizure|seizure]], or [[Eminent domain|taking]]. Ownership implies that the owner of a property also owns any [[economic]] benefits or deficits associated with the property.

== History ==
Over the [[Millennium|millennia]] and across cultures, notions regarding what constitutes "property" and how it is treated culturally have varied widely. 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. public property. Ownership is the key building block in the development of the [[capitalism|capitalist]] [[Socioeconomics|socio-economic]] system.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ownership, control and economic outcomes|url=https://academic.oup.com/cjres/article/5/3/307/478940|website=Oxford Academic}}</ref> [[Adam Smith]] stated that one of the sacred laws of justice was to guard a person's property and possessions.<ref>Theory of Moral Sentiments. Ed. A.L. Macfie and D.D. Raphael. Indianapolis: Liberty Press, 1982, II.ii.2.3</ref>

==Types of owners==

===In person===
[[Individual]]s may own property directly. In some societies only adult men may own property;<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Brown|first=Rafael Dean|date=2021-05-04|title=Property ownership and the legal personhood of artificial intelligence|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/13600834.2020.1861714|journal=Information & Communications Technology Law|volume=30|issue=2|pages=208–234|doi=10.1080/13600834.2020.1861714|issn=1360-0834|hdl=10576/17794|s2cid=230595377|hdl-access=free}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=September 2021}} in other societies (such as the [[Haudenosaunee]]), property is [[matrilinear]] and passed on from mother to the offspring.<ref>{{cite web|title=matrilineal society {{!}} Definition, Examples, & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/matrilineal-society|access-date=2021-09-02|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> In most societies both men and women can own property with no restrictions and limitations at all.<ref>{{cite web|title=Women in Half the World Still Denied Land, Property Rights Despite Laws|url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2019/03/25/women-in-half-the-world-still-denied-land-property-rights-despite-laws|access-date=2021-09-02|website=World Bank|language=en}}</ref>

===Structured ownership entities===
Throughout history, [[nation]]s (or [[government]]s) and [[religious organization]]s have owned property. These entities exist primarily for purposes other 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 person|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.

[[Cooperative]]s, [[corporation]]s, [[Trust law|trust]]s, [[partnership]]s, and [[Condominium (living space)|condominium association]]s 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 by definition does not necessarily imply a responsibility to others for actions regarding the property. A "legal shield" is said to exist if the entity's [[Legal liability|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 (such as a [[Shell corporation|shell company]]) 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 each member in a position of responsibility (liability) for the actions of every other member. A structured group duly constituted as an entity under law may still not protect members from being personally liable for each other's 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. [[Practice of law|law practice]]) in some [[jurisdiction]]s. 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 [[fiscal year]], [[Accountancy|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. For public corporations, common [[shareholder]]s have no right to receive any of the profit.

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|share-capital]] [[insurance companies]].

Entities with ''shared 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]] is a form of real estate ownership known as a [[cooperative]] (also co-operative or co-op, in [[Germany|German]] ''Wohnungsgenossenschaft'' – apartment co-operative, also "''Wohnbaugenossenschaft''" or simply "''Baugenossenschaft''") 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 [[highway]]s) or large (such as [[national parks]], highways, ports, and publicly owned buildings). Smaller examples of shared use include common areas such as lobbies, entrance [[hallway]]s 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.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 over exploitation, are distributed among many, and are only visible to these gradually.

In a [[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.

===Ownership models===
* [[State ownership]]: ownership of an [[Industry (economics)|industry]], [[asset]], or [[business|enterprise]] by the [[State (polity)|state]] or a [[public body]] representing a community as opposed to an [[individual]] or private party.
** [[Public ownership]]: ownership and operation of an enterprise by a central government;{{sfn|Ammer|Ammer|1986|p=379}} also an [[Ambiguous terms|ambiguous term]] that could refer to either social, partial state, or full state ownership.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9uGDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA421 | title=The Palgrave Macmillan Dictionary of Political Thought| isbn=9780230625099| last1=Scruton| first1=Roger |author-link=Roger Scruton| date=2007-02-07}}</ref>
* [[Private ownership]]: exclusive ownership of property by non-governmental [[Legal personality|legal entities]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=McConnell |first1=Campbell |last2=Brue |first2=Stanley |last3=Flynn |first3=Sean |title=Economics |publisher=Twayne Publishers |location=Boston |page=G-22 |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-07-337569-4}}</ref>
** [[Fractional ownership]]: ownership held in percentage [[Share (finance)|shares]] of an expensive [[asset]], sold to individual owners, who are charged fees for the [[Asset management|asset's management]] and variable use.
* [[Collective ownership]]: either joint ownership of an economic entity (e.g., a [[cooperative]]) or public ownership.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ammer |first1=Christine |last2=Ammer |first2=Dean S. |title=Dictionary of Business and Economics |date=1986 |isbn=978-0-02-901480-6 |publisher=[[Simon and Schuster]] |df=mdy-all |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rtBR4r_FT1IC&pg=PA83 |page=83 }}</ref>
** [[Cooperative ownership]]: ownership by the people who together operate and trade with an enterprise.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1Yb2eAR3ROQC&pg=PA64 | title=Dictionary of Business| isbn=9781579580773| last1=Collin| first1=Peter Hodgson| year=1998}}</ref>
** [[Common ownership]] non-exclusive ownership of property by everyone involuntarily.
* Property is also distinguished by whether it is movable ([[personal property]])<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=11g0CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA667 | title=The Encyclopedia of Theoretical Criminology| isbn=9780470658444| last1=Mitchell Miller| first1=J| date=2014-04-07}}</ref><ref>"Personal property". Sir Robert Harry Inglis Palgrave. Dictionary of political economy, Volume 3. 1908. p. 96</ref> or immovable ([[immovable property]] and [[real property]]).
* Property can also be distinguished by whether or not it is owned with [[exclusive right]]s, such rights grant owners a monopoly to refuse ownership to non-owners.
* Concerning ownership of [[means of production]] and delineating which groups receive the direct profits, capitalism's private ownership is distinguished from socialism's [[social ownership]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Scruton |first1=Roger |author-link=Roger Scruton |title=The Palgrave Macmillan Dictionary of Political Thought |url=https://archive.org/details/palgravemacmilla00scru_887 |url-access=limited |date=2007 |isbn=978-1-4039-8951-2 |edition=3rd |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |df=mdy-all |pages=[https://archive.org/details/palgravemacmilla00scru_887/page/n658 644]–645 }}</ref>
* Ownership of resources can be distinguished as either as individual or communal, analogous to private or public in delineating who has rights of use.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7n9ODwAAQBAJ&pg=PT3924 | title=The SAGE Encyclopedia of Lifespan Human Development| isbn=9781506353319| last1=Bornstein| first1=Marc H| date=2018-01-15}}</ref>

==Types of property==

===Personal property===
{{Main|Personal property}}
'''Personal property''' is a type of [[property]]. In the [[common law]] systems personal property may also be called '''chattels'''. It is distinguished from [[real property]], or [[real estate]]. In the [[civil law (legal system)|civil law]] systems personal property is often called [[movable property]] or movables – any property that can be moved from one location or another. This term is used to distinguish property that different from [[immovable property]] or immovables, such as land and buildings. This also means the direct owner of the item(s) is in full control of them/it until either stolen, [[Confiscation|confiscated]] by [[law enforcement]], or destroyed.

Personal property may be classified in a variety of ways, such as [[Good (economics)|good]]s, [[money]], [[negotiable instrument]]s, [[security (finance)|securities]], and [[intangible asset]]s including [[Chose (English law)|choses in action]].

===Land ownership===
{{Main|Real estate}}
Real estate or [[immovable property]] is a [[law|legal]] term (in some jurisdictions) that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as [[building]]s. Real estate (immovable property) is often considered synonymous with [[real property]], in contrast from [[personal property]] (also sometimes called ''chattel'' 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 (legal system)|civil law]] [[jurisdiction]]s refer instead to [[immovable property]].

In law, the word ''real'' means relating to a thing (from [[Latin]] ''reālis,'' ultimately from ''rēs'', '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 is between immovable property, which would transfer title along with the land, and movable property, which a person would retain title to.

With the development of private [[property]] ownership, real estate has become a major area of [[business]].

===Corporations and legal entities===
{{Main|Private property}}
An individual or group of individuals can own shares in corporations and other [[Legal Entity|legal entities]], but do not necessarily own the entities themselves. A legal entity is a [[legal]] construct through which the law allows a group of [[natural person]]s to act as if it were an [[individual]] for certain purposes.

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 union]]s, [[Foundation (non-profit)|foundation]]s and [[cooperative]]s, not for profit organizations, and public corporations 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.

===Intellectual property===
{{Main|Intellectual property}}
Intellectual property (IP) refers to a legal entitlement which sometimes attaches to the [[idea-expression divide|expressed form]] of an [[idea]], or to some other [[intangible asset|intangible]] subject matter. This legal entitlement generally enables its holder to exercise [[exclusive right]]s of use in relation to the subject matter of the IP. 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 (ownership right)|property]].

Intellectual property [[law]]s confer a [[bundle of rights|bundle]] of [[exclusive right]]s 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 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.

*[[Copyright]] may subsist in creative and artistic works (e.g. [[book]]s, [[movies]], [[music]], [[painting]]s, [[photograph]]s and [[software]]), giving a [[copyright holder]] the exclusive right to control reproduction or adaptation of such works for a certain period of time.
*A [[patent]] may be granted in relation to an [[invention]] that is new, useful and not simply an obvious advancement over what existed when the application was filed. A patent gives the holder an [[exclusive right]] to [[commercially]] exploit the invention for a certain period of time (typically 20 years from the filing date of a [[patent application]]).
*A [[trademark]] is a distinctive [[sign (semiotics)|sign]] which is used to distinguish the products or services of one [[business]] from those of another business.
*An [[industrial design right]] protects the form of appearance, style or design of an industrial object (e.g. [[spare part]]s, [[furniture]] or [[textile]]s).
*A [[trade secret]] (also known as "[[confidential information]]") is an item of confidential information concerning the commercial practices or [[Property|proprietary]] knowledge of a business.

Patents, trademarks and designs fall into a particular subset of intellectual property known as [[industrial property]].

Like other forms of property, intellectual property (or rather the exclusive rights which subsist in the IP) can be transferred ([[consideration|with]] or [[gift|without]] consideration) or [[license]]d to third parties. In some [[jurisdiction]]s it is possible to use intellectual property as [[Collateral (finance)|collateral]] for a [[loan]].

The basic [[Public policy (law)|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 [[author]]s and [[Inventor (patent)|inventors]] exclusive rights to exploit their works and invention for a limited period.

However, various schools of thought are critical of the very concept of intellectual property, and some characterise IP as ''[[intellectual protectionism]]''. 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 patent|software]] and [[business method patent|business methods]]. Manifestations of this [[controversy]] can be seen in the way different [[jurisdiction]]s decide whether to grant intellectual property protection in relation to subject matter of this kind, and the stark divide on issues of the role and scope of intellectual property laws.

===Chattel slavery===
{{Main|Chattel slavery}}
The term "Slavery" is commonly understood to refer to chattel slavery.
 
The living [[human body]] is, in modern societies, considered something which cannot be the property of anyone but the [[person]] whose body it is. Its opposite, in which the person in the body  does not own their body, is [[slavery|chattel slavery]]. Chattel slavery was defined as the absolute legal ownership of a person, including the legal right to buy and sell them. Persons who were so enslaved did not have the [[freedom]] to direct their own actions, and their legal rights were either severely limited or nonexistent. The [[Antebellum period]] in the [[United States]] is considered both the worst for the exploitation of chattel slaves, and also where the practice aroused such fierce opposition and support that it led to the [[American Civil War]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Antebellum South {{!}} Boundless US History|url=https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-ushistory/chapter/the-antebellum-south/|access-date=2021-09-02|website=courses.lumenlearning.com}}</ref>

Chattel slavery is currently (2020) illegal in every country in the world. However, until the 19th century slavery in one form or another existed in most societies and was thought of as the normal state of things; slaves of whatever [[ethnicity]] were considered [[racially]] inferior.<ref>{{cite web|title=A brief history of racism in healthcare|url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/07/medical-racism-history-covid-19/|access-date=2021-09-02|website=World Economic Forum|language=en}}</ref> Notwithstanding the illegality of enslavement, [[slavery in the 21st century|virtual slavery]] still exists in various forms today, although called by other names.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specials/1357_slavery_today/index.shtml "Slavery Today"]. [[BBC]].</ref>

==Critical views==
The question of ownership reaches back to the [[Ancient Greek philosophy|ancient]] [[philosopher]]s, [[Plato]] and [[Aristotle]], who held different opinions on the subject.  Plato (428/427 BC – 348/347 BC) thought private property created divisive inequalities, while Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) thought private property enabled people to receive the full benefit of their [[labour (human activity)|labor]].   Private property can circumvent what is now referred to as the "[[tragedy of the commons]]" problem, where people tend to degrade common property more than they do private property. While Aristotle justified the existence of private ownership, he left two open questions
# how to allocate property between what is private and common, and
# how to allocate the private property within society<ref>Politics 1263a8 15 as quoted in Mayhew 1995 p. 566</ref>

===Modern Western views===
In [[Modern Political Science|modern]] [[west]]ern [[politics]], some people believe that exclusive ownership of property underlies much social injustice, and facilitates [[Tyranny of the majority|tyranny]] and [[oppression]] on an individual and societal scale. Others consider the striving to achieve greater ownership of wealth as the driving factor behind human [[innovation]] and technological advancement and increasing [[Standard of living|standards of living]]. Some support the latter view, believing that ownership is necessary for [[liberty]] itself.

===Ownership society===
[[Ownership society]] was a political slogan used by [[President of the United States|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 (United States)|social security]] payments and policies. Critics have claimed that slogan hid an agenda that sought to implement [[tax cut]]s and curtail the government's role in health care and [[Retirement savings|retirement saving]].

==See also==
{{wikiquote}}
{{Wiktionary|ownership|own}}
*[[Bubuti system]]
*[[Cadastre]]
*[[Dominium]]
*[[Ownership society]]
*[[Possession (law)]]
*[[Public ownership]]
*[[State ownership]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ownership| ]]
[[Category:Legal terminology]]
[[Category:Property| Ownership]]