Does a right to property exist under international law? The traditional answer to this question is no: a right to property can only arise under the domestic law of a particular nation. But the view that property rights are exclusively governed by national law is obsolete. Identifiable areas of property law have emerged at the international level, and the foundation is now arguably being laid for a comprehensive international regime. This book provides a detailed investigation into this developing international property law. It demonstrates how the evolution of international property law has been influenced by major economic, political, and technological changes: the embrace of private property by former socialist states after the end of the Cold War; the globalization of trade; the birth of new technologies capable of exploiting the global commons; the rise of digital property; and the increasing recognition of the human right to property. The first part of the book analyzes how international law impacts rights in specific types of property. In some situations, international law creates property rights, such as rights in aboriginal lands, deep seabed minerals, and satellite orbits. In other areas, it harmonizes property rights that arise at the national level, such as rights in intellectual property, rights in foreign investments, and security interests in personal property. Finally, it restricts property rights that may be recognized at the national level, such as rights in celestial bodies, contraband, and slaves. The second part of the book explores the thesis that a global right to property should be recognized as a general matter, not merely as a moral precept but rather as an entitlement that all nations must honour. It establishes the components of such a right, arguing that the right to property at the international level should be seen in the context of five key components of ownership: acquisition, use, destruction, exclusion, and transfer. This highly innovative book makes an important contribution to how we conceptualize the protection of property and to the understanding that much of this protection now takes place at the international level.

International law increasingly creates, harmonizes, and restricts property rights, thereby superseding national law. This book examines this emerging regime of international property law. Looking at the intersection between international law and private property, the work argues that a global right to property should be recognized.

Does a right to property exist under international law? The traditional answer to this question is no: a right to property can only arise under the domestic law of a particular nation. But the view that property rights are exclusively governed by national law is obsolete. Identifiable areas of property law have emerged at the international level, and the foundation is now arguably being laid for a comprehensive international regime. This book provides a detailed investigation into this developing international property law. It demonstrates how the evolution of international property law has been influenced by major economic, political, and technological changes: the embrace of private property by former socialist states after the end of the Cold War; the globalization of trade; the birth of new technologies capable of exploiting the global commons; the rise of digital property; and the increasing recognition of the human right to property. The first part of the book analyzes how international law impacts rights in specific types of property. In some situations, international law creates property rights, such as rights in aboriginal lands, deep seabed minerals, and satellite orbits. In other areas, it harmonizes property rights that arise at the national level, such as rights in intellectual property, rights in foreign investments, and security interests in personal property. Finally, it restricts property rights that may be recognized at the national level, such as rights in celestial bodies, contraband, and slaves. The second part of the book explores the thesis that a global right to property should be recognized as a general matter, not merely as a moral precept but rather as an entitlement that all nations must honour. It establishes the components of such a right, arguing that the right to property at the international level should be seen in the context of five key components of ownership: acquisition, use, destruction, exclusion, and transfer. This highly innovative book makes an important contribution to how we conceptualize the protection of property and to the understanding that much of this protection now takes place at the international level.

Buy a new version of this textbook and receive access to the Connected eBook with Study Center on CasebookConnect, including: lifetime access to the online ebook with highlight, annotation, and search capabilities; practice questions from your favorite study aids; an outline tool and other helpful resources. Connected eBooks provide what you need most to be successful in your law school classes. Learn more about Connected eBooks This hugely successful cases-and-problems book is acclaimed for its textual clarity, evenhanded perspective, and contemporary, up-to-date character. Easily distinguished from other property casebooks for its clear descriptions of legal doctrine and its variations; its explanations of the social ramifications of property law; its emphasis on both statutory and regulatory interpretation; its comprehensive treatment of public accommodations and fair housing law, current tribal property issues, and property in human bodies; and its use of the problem method to teach legal reasoning andlawyeringskills. Thoroughly updated to reflect significant changes in the law of property, the Seventh Edition incorporates multiple new Supreme Court cases, including:Texas Department of Housing & Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc.,Obergefellv. Hodges, andReed v. Town of Gilbert, and 3 decided or pending cases with implications for regulatory takings,Horne v.Dep’tof Agriculture,Marvin M. Brandt Revocable Trust v. United States, andMurrv. State. Key Features: Updated to reflect significant changes in the law of property to help professors keep current and be aware of emerging disputes. These include multiple new Supreme Court cases: Texas Department of Housing & Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc., 135 S. Ct. 2507 (2015), upholding disparate impact claims under the Fair Housing Act; Obergefellv. Hodges, 123 S. Ct. 2584 (2015), finding a constitutional right to same-sex marriage; Reed v. Town of Gilbert,135 S. Ct. 2218 (2015), broadly applying the First Amendment’s free speech clause to sign regulations; and three decided or pending cases with implications for regulatory takings,Horne v.Dep’tof Agriculture, 135 S. Ct. 2419 (2015),Marvin M. Brandt Revocable Trust v. United States, 134 S. Ct. 1257 (2014), andMurrv. State, 359Wis.2d675 (Wis. Ct. App. 2014), cert. granted sub nom.Murrv. Wisconsin, 136 S.Ct. 890 (2016). New materials and problems have been included in several areas: Collisions between the sharing economy and servitude, zoning, and landlord-tenant law; Questions of the inheritance rights of children born through assisted reproductive technology; Continuing litigation over the Rails-to-Trails Act conversion of abandoned railroad tracks into recreational trails Invalidation of the copyright on the Happy Birthday song; Commonwealth v.Magadini, 52 N.E.3d 1041 (Mass. 2016), upholding a necessity defense to a trespass charge against a homeless man; and The Revised Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, adopted in 2015.

A comprehensive and in-depth analysis of how courts in the countries of Commonwealth Africa decide claims under private international law.

Considers the approach to IP under international trade, bio-diversity and climate change law, reviewing the different answers these systems offer to legal questions on the protection of IP and how these approaches may be recognised within the international IP system.

This collection presents new narratives on the emergence of intellectual property rights in the law of nations during the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. The collection reveals the extent to which various forms of intellectual property protection eventually shaped contemporary international law.