Abandonment (legal)
This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2008) |
In law, abandonment is the relinquishment, giving up, or renunciation of an
Common law abandonment is "the relinquishment of a right [in property] by the owner therefore without any regard to future possession by himself or any other person, and with the intention to forsake [sic] or desert the right...."[2] or "the voluntary relinquishment of a thing by its owner with the intention of terminating his ownership, and without [the intention of] vesting ownership to any other person; the giving up of a thing absolutely, without reference to any particular person or purpose...."[2] By contrast, an example of statutory abandonment (albeit in a common law jurisdiction) is the abandonment by a bankruptcy trustee under 11 U.S.C. § 554.
In
Giving up an interest
Abandonment of property
Intentional abandonment is also referred to as dereliction, and something voluntarily abandoned by its owner with the intention of not retaking it is a derelict. Someone that holds the property or to whom property rights have been relinquished is an abandonee.[3] An item that has been abandoned is termed an abandum.[4] A res nullius abandoned by its owner, leaving it vacant, belongs to no one.
In the American legal and media context, investigative reporters have relied on the concepts of abandonment or "constructive abandonment" in receiving documents from sources. Examples include Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's receipt of materials related to the Watergate scandal from the former apartment of John Mitchell,[5] and more recently, Project Veritas' receipt of Ashley Biden's diary.[6]
- Examples
- Ghost town
- Abandoned amusement park
- Abandoned railway station
- Abandoned ship
- Abandoned village
Abandonment of easement
The relinquishment by a nonuser, for a specified period, of some accommodation or right in another's land, such as
Abandonment of domicile
Occurs when one ceases to reside permanently in a former domicile, coupled with the intention of choosing a new domicile. The presumptions which will guide the court in deciding whether a former domicile has been abandoned or not must be inferred from the facts of each individual case.[1] In the United States, a tenant is generally understood to have abandoned a property if they have fallen behind in rent and shown a lack of interest in continuing to live there. The landlord must then send notice of the intent to seize the property and wait a certain number of days to take action on it. How long the landlord has to wait depends on the value of the property. The landlord can keep the money up to the costs incurred as a result of the abandonment; the rest must be set aside for the former tenant, should they eventually return.
Abandonment of insurance
Abandonment occurs when the insured surrenders to the insurer all rights to damaged or lost property and claims payment for a total loss. Sometimes, this is permitted only when damage constitutes a constructive total loss.[1][4] In marine insurance parlance, abandonment involves the surrender of a ship or goods to the insurer,[1] who becomes the abandonee. Abandonment can also mean refusal to accept from a delivering carrier a shipment so damaged in transit as to be worthless.
Abandonment of copyright
Abandonment is recognized as the intentional release of material by a copyright holder into the public domain. However, statutory abandonment is legally a tricky issue that has little relevant case precedent to establish how an artist can abandon their copyright during their lifetime.[7] Owners who wish for the public to make free use of their work often seek to do so by using a Creative Commons license and retaining copyright rather than relinquishing ownership entirely.
Copyright protection attaches to a work as soon as it is fixed in a tangible medium, whether the copyright holder desires this protection or not.[8] Before the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976 an artist could abandon or forfeit their copyright by neglecting to comply with the relevant formalities. A difficulty arises when one tries to apply the doctrine of abandonment to present-day concerns regarding the abandonment or gifting of a digitized work to the public domain.[9] The abandonment of a work is difficult to prove in court, though Learned Hand proposed a test which parallels other forms of abandonment law wherein an author or copyright holder could abandon their work if they intend to abandon it and commit an overt act to make public that intention.[10]
Abandonment of trademark
Under US law, the abandonment of a trademark is understood to happen when the mark is not used for three or more years,[11] or when it is deliberately discontinued;[4] trademark law protects only trademarks being actively used and defended. So-called "zombie trademarks" may be used by other companies if they are deemed to have been abandoned by their original owners.[12]
Abandonment of patent
Abandonment is relinquishment by an inventor of the right to secure a patent, in such a way as to constitute a dedication of the invention to public use. Under United States patent law, abandonment of a patent application occurs when either the required reply is not filed within the required time period or an express abandonment is filed.[13]
Abandonment of public transportation systems
Abandonment is permission sought by or granted to a carrier by a state or federal agency to cease operation of all or part of a
Failure to fulfill a responsibility
This section may contain material not related to the topic of the article and should be moved to Default (law) instead. (December 2021) ) |
Abandonment rules in the military
The abandonment of a
Abandonment of contract
Abandonment of contract means failure to fulfil a contractual obligation, which will affect the abandoner's entitlement to the contractually agreed
Abandonment of family
Desertion refers to intentional and substantial abandonment, permanently or for a period of time stated by law, without legal excuse and without consent, of one's duties arising out of a status such as that of husband and wife or parent and child. It can involve the desertion of a spouse with the intention of creating a permanent separation. Desertion of one spouse by the other without just cause is called malicious abandonment.[4] Child abandonment is often recognized as a crime, in which case the child is usually not physically harmed directly as part of the abandonment. Child abandonment is also called exposure or exposition, especially when an infant is left in the open.
Abandonment of a patient
In
See also
- Attempt#Abandonment, abandonment of criminal intent
- Public domain
- Squatting
- Urban exploration, abandoned buildings, structures, and vehicles (most commonly seafaring ones) are often favored targets for urban explorers
References
- ^ a b c d e f g public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Abandonment". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 6–7. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^ a b Ginnow & Nikolic 1985, § 2
- ^ Garner 1999, p. 1
- ^ a b c d Garner 1999, p. 2
- ^ Roig-Franzia, Manuel (June 7, 2022). "During Watergate, John Mitchell Left His Wife. She Called Bob Woodward". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
- POLITICO. Retrieved 2022-06-08.
- ^ Fagundes & Perzanowski, Abandoning Copyright, Wm & Mary Law Review
- ^ 17 U.S. Code sec. 102(a)
- ^ Fagundes & Perzanowski, Abandoning Copyright
- ^ National Comics Publications, Inc. v. Fawcett Publications, 191 F.2d 594, 598 (2d Cir. 1951)
- ^ Elias & Stim 2010, p. 249
- ^ Gilson, Jerome; LaLonde, Anne Gilson (2008). "The Zombie Trademark: A Windfall and a Pitfall". The Trademark Reporter. 98: 1280.
- ^ MPEP § 711 Abandonment of Patent Application
Further reading
- National Comics Publications, Inc. v. Fawcett Publications, Inc. et al, 191 F.2d 594 (2d Cir. 1951).
- Elias, Stephen; Stim, Richard (2010). Stim, Richard (ed.). Trademark: Legal Care for Your Business & Product Name (9th ed.). Berkeley, CA: Nolo. ISBN 978-1-4133-1256-0.
- Garner, Bryan A., ed. (1999). Black's Law Dictionary (7th ed.). St. Paul, MN: West Group. LCCN 0029-8093.
- Ginnow, Arnold O.; Nikolic, Milorad, eds. (1985). "abandonment". Corpus Juris Secundum. Vol. 1: Abandonment-Account, Action on. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Co.
- Turetzky, Matthew W. (2010). "Applying Copyright Abandonment in the Digital Age". Duke Law & Technology Review. 19.