Property rights in England and Wales

What is ‘PROPERTY LAW’?

PROPERTY LAW

• deals with entitlements to property • PROPERTY- an object (ex. table, land etc.) • Includes land law, the law of personal

property, and law relating to claims, trust law and the law on security rights

• Property law differs from country to country, in English law the term ‘property law’ frequently refers to land law.

• In English law, property and trust are intimately connected, but as the continental legal systems do not know the so called ‘common law trust’, trust law in the English legal sense of the world is unknown in the civil law. In general, the law on security rights is everywhere considered to be part of property law.

The main division in English law

a) real property –> the property law relating to land-> land ->immovableb) personal property –> property law relating to things other than land c)trustee d)Intellectual property

Land

• land is a major part of the wider English property law (feudal structure)

• English land law involves the acquisition, content and priority of rights and obligations among people with interests in land

• the traditional content of English land law relates to property rights that derive from common law, equity and the registration system

Immovable property

• an immovable object, an item of property that cannot be moved without destroying or altering it - property that is fixed to the earth, such as land or a house.

• includes premises, property rights (for example, inheritable building right), houses, land and associated goods, and chattels if they are located on, or below, or have a fixed address. It is delimited by geographic coordinates or by reference to local landmarks, depending on the jurisdiction.

• immovable property includes land, buildings, hereditary allowances, rights to way, lights, ferries, fisheries or any other benefit which arises out of land, and things attached to the earth or permanently fastened to anything which is attached to the earth. It does not include standing timber, growing crops, nor grass. It includes the right to collect rent, life interest in the income of the immovable property, a right of way, a fishery, or a lease of land.

Personal Property

• Relates to physical things • property that is movable (opposed to real

property or real estate)• In common law systems, personal property

may also be called chattels or personality.• This term is in distinction with immovable

property or immovables, such as land and buildings.

Classification:

• Tangible personal property-refers to any type of property that can generally be moved

• Intangible personal property-refers to personal property that cannot actually be moved, touched or felt, but instead represents something of value such as negotiable instruments, securities, service (economics), and intangible assets including chose in action.

• Distinctions-Accountants also distinguish personal property from real property because personal property can be depreciated faster than improvements (while land is not depreciable at all). It is an owner's right to get tax benefits for chattel, and there are businesses that specialize in appraising personal property, or chattel

Difference between real property and personal property

The Final point of difference is the trust, which is a product of the jurisdiction called ‘equity’, is a device by which rights, either personal or proprietary, can be held for the benefit of other persons or certain purposesTrust involves no division of rights, but the subjection of the right-holder to certain duties in the way that right is exercised.

Trustee(the holding of a trusteeship)

• legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another, also a trustee can be a person who is allowed to do certain tasks but not able to gain income

Duties:• Carry out the expressed terms of the trust instrument• Defend the trust• Prudently invest trust assets (in New South Wales, this is

mandated by Trustee Act 1925 (NSW) )• Be impartial among beneficiaries• Account for actions and keep beneficiaries informed• Be loyal• Not delegate• Not profit

- however, may charge fees for services to the Trust • Not be in a conflict of interest position• Administer in the best interest of the beneficiaries

• trust can be set up either to benefit particular persons, or for any charitable purposes (but not generally for non-charitable purposes): typical examples are a will trust for the testator's children and family, a pension trust (to confer benefits on employees and their families) and a charitable trust. In all cases, the trustee may be a person or company, whether or not they are a prospective beneficiary.

Intellectual property

• rights are legally recognized exclusive rights to creations of the mind

• Under intellectual property laws, owners are granted certain exclusive rights to a variety of intangible assets, such as musical, literary, and artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs

• The British Statute of Anne (1710) and the Statute of Monopolies (1624) are now seen as the origins of copyright and patent law respectively

• Common types of intellectual property rights include :

a)copyright-gives the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time.

b)trademarks-sign, design or expression which distinguishes products or services of a particular trader from the similar products or services of other traders.

c) patents-grants an inventor the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering to sell, and importing an invention for a limited period of time, in exchange for the public disclosure of the invention.d) industrial design rights-protects the visual design of objects that are not purely utilitarian

e) trade dress-legal term of art that generally refers to characteristics of the visual appearance of a product or its packaging (or even the design of a building) that signify the source of the product to consumers.f) trade secrets-formula, practice, process, design, instrument, pattern, or compilation of information which is not generally known or reasonably ascertainable, by which a business can obtain an economic advantage over competitors or customers.

Property right & Personal rights

• Property rights have effect against third parties by their nature

• Personal rights( rights arising from a contract ), are generally only binding between parties (inter parties)

Differences

• One difference between those rights concerns the right to follow and the right of preference -> these rights are connected only with property rights