homestead principle

The Homestead principle in law is the concept that one can gain ownership of something which currently has no owner by using that thing.

Implications

In international law as well as U.S. law, there are various ways in which one can establish ownership of a piece of property. Property is not limited to real estate or land. It can also mean an item, or a non-tangible asset such as a business name. For instance, let's say someone creates a company and names it something unique and new like, "Margaret's Cupcake and Squid Mashing Factory", and advertises this company name for a while, using it to do business (successfully or not). They have ownership of their company name by the Homestead principle. Then, they get successful, and someone else creates a new company with the same name ("Margaret's Cupcake and Squid Mashing Factory"), Margaret can sue for trademark infringement and probably win. The homestead principle has many applications. In 2001, Gregory W. Nemitz created a claim in U.S. Federal Court on 433 Eros (a fairly large asteroid, the size of Lake Tahoe). His claim was based on a variation of the Homestead principle, which claims that persons (or organizations, but let's keep it simple) gain ownership of unowned things based on the amount of equity they invest in that thing. His claim was based on the fact that the U.S. Federal Government cannot own any object in outer space (by treaty obligation which carries the force of law). He, as a private citizen, is claiming the property based on the equity of his legal acquisition work, private study of, and interest in the property. This claim is as yet unfulfilled, but it illustrates a point. In maritime law, salvage rights are extended to finders of shipwrecks or other abandoned property.

History in the United States

In 1862, the U.S. Congress passed the Homestead Act distributing land to people who farmed it. This allowed anyone who settled on (and improved) land to own it.

External links

The Eros Project