Legal Definitions - property

In legal terms, property refers to anything that an individual or organization can legally own and control. This ownership grants the holder a comprehensive set of rights, including the ability to possess, use, transfer, or dispose of the item or right. Property can take many forms, from physical objects to abstract rights, and is broadly categorized in several ways:

• Real property includes land and anything permanently attached to it, such as buildings, fences, or fixtures.
• Personal property encompasses everything else that can be owned, from movable items like vehicles or furniture to certain financial instruments.
• Tangible property refers to things you can physically touch and move, like a car or a piece of jewelry.
• Intangible property represents rights or assets that lack a physical form, such as a patent or a stock certificate. A significant type of intangible property is intellectual property, which includes creations of the mind like inventions, literary and artistic works, designs, and symbols used in commerce.
• Public property is owned by a government entity for public use, such as a municipal park or a public school building.
• Private property is owned by individuals or non-governmental organizations.

Examples:

• A Small Business Owner's Commercial Building: Imagine a baker, Maria, who owns the building where her bakery operates. She holds the deed to the land and the structure. This building is her property because she has legal ownership and the right to use it for her business, sell it, or lease it to someone else. Specifically, it is real property because it includes the land and the permanent structure. It is also private property, as it belongs to an individual rather than the government.

• A Software Developer's Unique Code: Consider a software engineer, Alex, who develops a groundbreaking algorithm for a new medical diagnostic tool. He secures a patent for this unique code. This patented algorithm is Alex's property. It is an example of intangible property because it cannot be physically touched, and more specifically, it is a form of intellectual property, representing a creation of his mind. The patent grants him exclusive rights to use and license his invention, making it his private property.

• A City's Fleet of Public Transit Buses: The City of Metropolis owns and operates a fleet of buses that provide public transportation to its residents. Each bus in this fleet is considered property because the city has legal ownership and control over it. These buses are examples of tangible personal property, as they are physical objects that are not permanently attached to land. Since they are owned by a governmental entity and used for public service, they are classified as public property.