The Three Kinds of Property

THREE KINDS OF PROPERTY: Personal, Real and Intellectual

by Alvin J. Buenaventura for THE LIVING LETTER, a column published in Perlas ng Silangan Balita, weekly newspaper in Cavite



What is the difference of your wrist watch and your vacant lot?

The price, you might say. But what else?

Your wrist watch is a personal property. This can be taken somewhere else or be brought along with you. You can wear the wrist watch to your workplace or even to leisure trips. And because it is your property, you have the right and the power to decide when, where or how to use it. You can lend it to your wife. You can ask your wife not to lend it to your father-in-law. You can pawn the wrist watch. You can also sell it. You can bequeath it to your child.

On the other hand, your vacant lot is a real property. You cannot bring it with you or move it to somewhere else. You cannot take it to your workplace nor to leisure trips. As the owner of this property, you have the right and the power to decide when, where or how to use it. You can lend it to your father-in-law. You can ban people from squatting there. You can pawn it, sell it, have it rented or bequeath to your heirs.

What about IP? What is intellectual property?

I.P.is a property created by the human mind. It has two kinds: 1. industrial property where these items belong: patent for invention, trademark for product brands and service mark for services brands and 2. copyright for any literary, scientific and artistic work.

Like personal property and real property, IP is owned by someone or some people. And the owner of IP has the right and the power to decide when, where and how to use it. It can be lent to someone else, pawned, sold, have it rented or bequeathed.
The different kinds of intellectual property will be tackled in the next issue of The Living Letter.

If you have questions, comments, suggestions, please email me at filcols@gmail.com. Visit filcols.blogspot.com for more information on IP and copyright.

If you are an author or publisher, join us so we can help you protect your rights. Just send us an email. We hope to hear from you soon.

This article was translated from Filipino by Beverly W. Siy.