Legal Definitions - profit

In property law, a profit (short for profit à prendre) is a legal right that allows a person or entity to enter onto another individual's land and remove a specific natural resource or product directly from that land. This right is distinct from merely using the land; it involves taking something tangible away that is considered a natural output of the property.

• Coal Mining Right

  Imagine a scenario where a mining company obtains a legal right to access and extract coal from beneath a private landowner's property. The company pays the landowner for this privilege.

  This illustrates a profit because the mining company is granted the right to enter the landowner's property and take a natural resource (coal) directly from it. The coal is considered a "produce" of the land in this legal context, and the right allows for its removal.

• Grazing Rights for Livestock

  Consider a farmer who has a legally recognized agreement to allow their cattle to graze on a specific pasture belonging to a neighboring estate during certain months of the year.

  This is a profit because the farmer is exercising a right to enter the neighbor's land and take a natural product – the grass – by having their livestock consume it. The value is derived directly from the land's natural growth, which the farmer's animals are permitted to remove.

• Collection of Wild Berries for Sale

  Suppose an individual obtains a specific legal right from a private forest owner to enter a designated area of their forest each autumn to collect wild berries, such as blueberries or blackberries, for commercial sale.

  This demonstrates a profit as the individual has the right to enter the private land and take a natural product (the wild berries) directly from their source on that property, intending to remove them for their own benefit.