Property

Appropriation of Property
Taking the property of another for one's own purposes. Appropriation of property can include a legal taking of property, such as the taking of real property for a new highway through eminent domain, or illegal taking of property, such as in cases of embezzlement or larceny.

Community Property
In law, possessions held jointly by a married couple. Except for inheritances or gifts to either spouse, all property acquired by the husband or wife during the marriage is usually considered community property. This includes money, real estate, household furnishings, investment securities, automobiles, and other types of consumer goods that people have accumulated together. Property owned prior to the marriage and any income from such property remains separate and apart. Contractual agreements may also be made by the couple to allow them to maintain individual property.

In the past, marital property laws were biased in favor of the husband, who usually held title to the couple's major assets. In English common law, wives were unable to hold and dispose of property until about 1850, when various statutes were passed to protect the rights of married women.

At present the concept of community property is recognized under the laws of many states in the United States. In those states it is used to determine the division of possessions when a marriage ends in separation or divorce. Its purpose is to provide fair and equitable treatment for both parties.

Intellectual Property
Original creative works that can be protected by law. All original works, whether they are artistic creations, commercial designs, or scientific inventions, are considered intellectual property. Copyright, patent, and trademark laws protect intellectual property from being copied, performed, or disseminated by others without permission. In order to be protected by copyright, a creation has to be in tangible form: it must be written down, recorded, or performed in public. A patent protects an inventor of a process, product, or device. A trademark protects the symbol that identifies a manufacturer's goods.

Intellectual property is protected by national laws, although a number of international conventions have attempted to create a system of common protection. Enforcing the laws protecting intellectual property has become more difficult with the development of electronic methods of copying and dissemination. Electrostatic copiers, computers, and computer networks all make copying and misuse easy to do and difficult to detect.

Contiguous Property
Land sharing an edge or boundary.

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
A specialized agency of the United Nations. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) was founded in 1967 to protect rights to literary and artistic works and to such industrial property as inventions, designs, and trademarks. It became a UN agency in 1974 and had 151 members by 1995.

WIPO coordinates the work of several constituent associations; the most important ones are the Paris Union, formed in 1883 to protect industrial property, and the Bern Union, formed in 1886 to protect literary and artistic works. The agency helps members, especially developing countries, to acquire inventions and technology. It also promotes the dissemination of literary, artistic, and scientific works. WIPO is governed by a committee drawn from the executive bodies of the Paris and Bern unions. A central bureau in Geneva, Switzerland, headed by a director general, administers the agency.