Quasi-property
Encyclopedia
Quasi-property is a legal concept, in which some rights similar to ownership
may accrue to a party who does an act which benefits society
as a whole. Black's Law Dictionary defines "quasi" as being "almost" or "resembling" - but not actually the same as the suffix item.
Property Law
gives the owner of real property
or personal property
a "bundle of rights
" for beneficial use, such as the right to sell the property or right to lifetime use
of the property.
under American law was the case of International News Service v. Associated Press
. The Associated Press
Sued International News Service
for taking the substance of AP news
stories, rewriting the articles, and publishing the stories in its own member newspapers. This activity did not violate copyright
law because the original AP articles were not copyrighted, and also because the subsequent INS articles copied only the facts— using different language to report the story.
Nonetheless, the Court recognized an interest in the news distributor of information they had researched and gathered. A traditional property right would have granted the AP a right to exclude others from the content of their news stories good for all time and against everyone. The court described this new right as quasi-property because it only granted them the power to exclude their competitors for a limited amount of time from the substance of their articles. The general public
had free rein to distribute the subject matter of the news without restriction. Creation of the new right was justified as protecting the AP from the "unfair competition" of a party who was reproducing the information and attempting to profit
by distributing it faster than the creator.http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=248&invol=215
Another prominent example of quasi-property under US law is the continuing ownership of a person's right to publicity
even after death
.
Ownership
Ownership is the state or fact of exclusive rights and control over property, which may be an object, land/real estate or intellectual property. Ownership involves multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different parties. The concept of ownership has...
may accrue to a party who does an act which benefits society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
as a whole. Black's Law Dictionary defines "quasi" as being "almost" or "resembling" - but not actually the same as the suffix item.
Property Law
Property law
Property law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property and in personal property, within the common law legal system. In the civil law system, there is a division between movable and immovable property...
gives the owner of real property
Real property
In English Common Law, real property, real estate, realty, or immovable property is any subset of land that has been legally defined and the improvements to it made by human efforts: any buildings, machinery, wells, dams, ponds, mines, canals, roads, various property rights, and so forth...
or personal property
Personal property
Personal property, roughly speaking, is private property that is moveable, as opposed to real property or real estate. In the common law systems personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. In the civil law systems personal property is often called movable property or movables - any...
a "bundle of rights
Bundle of Rights
The bundle of rights is a common way to explain the complexities of property ownership. Teachers often use this concept as a way to organize confusing and sometimes contradictory data about real estate....
" for beneficial use, such as the right to sell the property or right to lifetime use
Life estate
A life estate is a concept used in common law and statutory law to designate the ownership of land for the duration of a person's life. In legal terms it is an estate in real property that ends at death when there is a "reversion" to the original owner...
of the property.
Examples
A notable and early occurrence of quasi-property being found by a courtCourt
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
under American law was the case of International News Service v. Associated Press
International News Service v. Associated Press
International News Service v. Associated Press, 248 U.S. 215 , is a United States Supreme Court decision that upheld the common law rule that there is no copyright in facts and developed the common law doctrine of misappropriation through the tort of unfair competition...
. The Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
Sued International News Service
International News Service
International News Service was a U.S.-based news agency founded by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1909.Established two years after the Scripps family founded the United Press Association, INS scrapped among the newswires...
for taking the substance of AP news
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
stories, rewriting the articles, and publishing the stories in its own member newspapers. This activity did not violate copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
law because the original AP articles were not copyrighted, and also because the subsequent INS articles copied only the facts— using different language to report the story.
Nonetheless, the Court recognized an interest in the news distributor of information they had researched and gathered. A traditional property right would have granted the AP a right to exclude others from the content of their news stories good for all time and against everyone. The court described this new right as quasi-property because it only granted them the power to exclude their competitors for a limited amount of time from the substance of their articles. The general public
General Public
General Public were a band formed by The Beat vocalists, Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger, and which included former members of Dexy's Midnight Runners, The Specials and The Clash...
had free rein to distribute the subject matter of the news without restriction. Creation of the new right was justified as protecting the AP from the "unfair competition" of a party who was reproducing the information and attempting to profit
Profit (accounting)
In accounting, profit can be considered to be the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market whatever it is that is accounted as an enterprise in terms of the component costs of delivered goods and/or services and any operating or other expenses.-Definition:There are...
by distributing it faster than the creator.http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=248&invol=215
Another prominent example of quasi-property under US law is the continuing ownership of a person's right to publicity
Publicity
Publicity is the deliberate attempt to manage the public's perception of a subject. The subjects of publicity include people , goods and services, organizations of all kinds, and works of art or entertainment.From a marketing perspective, publicity is one component of promotion which is one...
even after death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
.
See also
- Life estateLife estateA life estate is a concept used in common law and statutory law to designate the ownership of land for the duration of a person's life. In legal terms it is an estate in real property that ends at death when there is a "reversion" to the original owner...
- Property lawProperty lawProperty law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property and in personal property, within the common law legal system. In the civil law system, there is a division between movable and immovable property...
- Quasi-contractQuasi-contractA quasi-contract is a fictional contract created by courts for equitable, not contractual purposes. A quasi-contract is not an actual contract, but is a legal substitute for a contract formed to impose equity between two parties. The concept of a quasi-contract is that of a contract that should...
- Quasi-criminalQuasi-criminalQuasi-criminal means a lawsuit or equity proceeding that has some, but not all, of the qualities of a criminal prosecution. It may appear in either a Common law or a Civil law jurisdiction...
- Status offenseStatus offenseTwo common definitions of a status offense or status crime are1. A status offense is an action that is prohibited only to a certain class of people, and most often applied to offenses only committed by minors....
- Trust (law)