[arin-ppml] On USG 'granting of rights' (was: ARIN-PPML 2015-2)

[William Herrin]

On Wed, Jun 3, 2015 at 6:42 PM, Seth Johnson <seth.p.johnson at gmail.com> wrote:
> I don't think you'll find very much in the way of common law rights to
> information as such.  It kinda has to be a statute to start with --
> and statutes giving property in information aren't really something
> that happens much, except in the areas you mention -- which were
> accorded to Congress to grant.

Hi Seth,

Common Law Intangible Property is so firmly embedded in your everyday
activities, you probably don't even know its there.

Take a bank check, for example. You hold a bank check written out to
you for $100. What do you own? Do you own a slip of paper? No, that's
silly. You own a promise of payment in the amount of $100, as
documented by the bank check.

That promise is a form of property called "documentary intangible
property." You won't find a statute defining a bank check. That's
because it derives from common-law precedent, not from any statute
that was ever written.

Anyway, look it up. Common Law.  Documentary Intangible Property. We
live our lives atop a huge base of law which never came from any
legislature and most of us don't even realize it.

Regards,
Bill Herrin




-- 
William Herrin ................ herrin at dirtside.com  bill at herrin.us
Owner, Dirtside Systems ......... Web: <http://www.dirtside.com/>