2.1 What is Property
Property一般译为财产,一般的理解是指某一具体的物,又可以分为不动产（Real property）和动产（Personal
property）,这种划分源自普通法早期的诉讼程序, 在此诉讼程序中,有两种诉讼,一为真实的诉讼（Real
action）,处置土地为别人不当占有些案子,这个时候土地可以返回给合法的所有人,另一种为个人的诉讼（Personal
action）,处置土地以外的的财产纠纷,这个时候所有人只能获得资金赔偿,不能需要返还原物。
关于动产,英文有Chattels和Personal property两种不一样的表述,目前,大家一改早期常见用的Chattels,而广泛地使用Personal
property.动产又可以分为两类:有形动产（Tangible1 personal property）和无形动产（
Intangible personal property
Types of property）,前者指可以看到、摸得到的有体财产,而后者则指看不到、摸不到的无体财产,如股份,银行账号,人寿保险等。
Note:According to Black's
Law Dictionary, property is defined as:
That which is peculiar2 or proper to any person； that which
belongs exclusively to one. An aggregate3 of rights which are
guaranteed and protected by the government. Property extends
to every species of valuable right and interestthe right
to
posses it, use it, and to exclude every one else from interfering4
with it.
问题:下面什么不是财产？
a） Military Retirement5
b） Earning Capacity
c） Accrued6 Goodwill7 of Medical Practice
d） Law Degree
答案:都不是
2.2 Philosophies
财产和财产权是什么？不一样的法学家和法学派（Philosophies）有不一样的看法,以下就是几个有代表性的看法:
Posner（波斯纳）:（1）财产权是天分的（Property
rights are natural）；（2）无财产权,财产就不可以被有效地借助（Without
property rights, there is no incentive8 to use property efficiently9.）；（3）常见性（Universality）、排他性（Exclusivity）和可出售性（Transferability）是财产权的三大要点（Three
Elements）。
Bentham （边沁）:Property是一种可以从物当中获得一种利益的期待（basis
for expectation）。
Cohen（科恩）:财产权需要要考虑到下列原因:政府、契约、管制、价值（Property
merges10 by imperceptible degrees into government, contract, force
value）。
Locke（洛克）:劳动创造财产（Labor11 creates
property）。
Note:
关于边沁和波斯纳之看法比较,请参见下列注解:
Comparing Bentham to Posner
（1） Anomalies under Bentham: Under the Posner theory, property
is something that has value, not just what is legally defined
as property as under Bentham, but from what people hold as having
value. There are several cases of items treated as property
without law, such as illegal drugs, territories for marketing12
such, boyfriends and girlfriends. Here no property right exists
but people treat it as such either by enforcement of societal
values or by fear of retaliation13.
（2） Anomalies under Posner: Transferability frequently measures
more how much a person wants something, we being non-rational
operators, than how efficiently we will do so. Transferability
of some items actually induces inefficiencies, such as those
which are merit based. If you could transfer law school admissions,
you would be measuring who wanted it the most, or who could
pay the most for it, and not who could best utilize14 it.
2.3 Attributes of Ownership
国内法系的法律以所有权（Ownership）为基础来剖析财产和财产权,宣称一物一权,美国财产法不像国内法系那样强调财产的所有权,它看重的是财产权中各种不一样的利益和所有权的分割状况（Attributes
of Ownership）,这类利益常常是指:
e） 占有权Possession （right to have, hold, keep）
f） 排他权Exclusion （right to exclude others）
g） 处置权Disposition （right to alienate15）
h） 用权Use （right to employ the property as desired）
i） 受益权Benefit （right to profits realized through property's
use）
j） 破坏权Destruction （right to destroy property）
2.4 Origins of Property
一个人怎么样获得一件物品的财产权呢？财产权的最原始获得（Origins of Property）是怎么样达成的呢？根据洛克的看法（Lockean
view）:财产是通过劳动和努力来获得的（Property is acquired through investment
of labor and effort）,关于财产的获得（Acquisition）,这里还有一条要紧的原则: First
in time, first in right（时间在先,则权利在先）。比如在美国:Indians have right
to land, they were here first
Note:假如想在美国买房或土地,就要查看其所有权的链锁（Chain of title）,这个链锁可以追溯到该财产的原始获得之时,假如这个链锁的记录有问题,那你购买该财产就不安全,别的人可能对所有权提出争议,这个状况大家将来会详细讨论。
2.5 经典案例（中英文对照）
Case:Armory16 v. Delamirie
The plaintiff being a chimney sweeper's boy found a jewel and
carried it to the defendant17's shop （who was a goldsmith） to
know what it was, and delivered it into the hands of the apprentice18,
who under pretence19 of weighing it, took out the stones, and
calling to the master to let him know it came to three halfpence,
the master offered the boy the money, who refused to take it,
and insisted to have the thing again； whereupon the apprentice
delivered him back the socket20 without the stones. And now in
trover against the master these points were ruled:
1. That the finder of a jewel, though he does not by such finding
acquire an absolute property or ownership, yet he has such a
property as will enable him to keep it against all but the rightful
owner, and subsequently may maintain trover.
2. That the action well lay against the master, who gives a
credit to his apprentice, add is answerable for his neglect
3. As to the value of the jewel several of the trade were examined
to prove what a jewel of the finest water that would fit the
socket would be worth； and the Chief Justice directed the jury,
that unless the defendant did produce the jewel, and shew it
not to be of the finest water, they should presume the strongest
case against him, and make the value of the best jewels the
measure of their damages: which they accordingly did.
案例来源:（1722） 1 Strange 5O5； 93 E.R.
664 （Court of King's Bench）
案例:阿莫里捡宝石案
该案发生在1722年的英国。原告是一个烟筒清洗工。一天,原告捡到一枚宝石,然后交给被告金行鉴别。原告将宝石交给金行的徒弟手里。该徒弟在假装称重时将宝石拿下,然后告诉师傅,原告捡到的东西价值3个半便士。师傅就付钱给原告。原告不同意钱,坚持需要被告返还原物。徒弟在需要之下只将嵌宝石的托子还给原告,没将宝石还给原告。目前原告以失主的身份起诉,需要被告赔偿。法院的判决如下:
（1）尽管失物的发现者不因拾到宝石而获得一种绝对的所有权（ownership）,但他有如此一种财产权,即可以保留失物,除去原失主以外其他人都不能妨碍。因此,原告可以具备失主的身份。
（2）这个诉讼的被告是金行的师傅是正确的。金行的师傅信赖他的徒弟,因而对我们的疏忽大意负有责任。
（3）至于宝石的价值,依据考查买卖行情,只有最好水准的宝石才配有该托子。法官指示陪审团,除非被告拿出原宝石并证明它不是最好水准的,陪审团就应当需要被告根据最好水准的宝石来计算宝石赔偿价值。
Note: 这个案子已经有270多年的历史了,但到今天美国法院仍视其为美国普通法的原则之一。法学院的教科书中仍可以读到这个案子。
这个案子的重点部分是判决的第一部分,即失物的发现者可以享有占有该失物的财产权。这个财产权是一种先占（prior possession）。先占只须不是非法的,就能致使所有权。在这个案子里,假如原告一直没出现并诉求归还宝石,那样阿莫里就大概获得一种完全的所有权。
2.6 本章节英文读物:
First-in-time rule
1. The general rule of possession is that the
first person to take a
possession of a thing owns it. A corollary to this rule is that
a prior possessor prevails over a subsequent possessor. Thus,
a finder has rights superior to everyone but the true owner.
Armory v. Delamarie. However, there are important exceptions
to this rule.
EX: In Armory, A finds a jewel and takes it to
a jeweler to have
it appraised21. The jeweler refuses to give the jewel back to
A,
saying that A does not own it. A is entitled to recover from
the jeweler either the jewel or the full money value of the
jewel.
As between A and the jeweler, the prior possessor has superior
right.
2. The prior possessor wins rule also applies to
objects acquired
through theft or trespass22.
EX: If A steals a jewel and hands it to B, who
refuses to return it, B is liable to A. B cannot question A's
title or rightful prior possession if B is merely the subsequent
possessor.
The rationale for this is that to rule in favor of B would most
likely not deter23 crime, but it would likely immerse owners and
prior possessors in cosplaytly24 litigation with subsequent possessors
to prove they are not thieves.
3. For the finder to become a prior possessor,
the finder must:
a. Intend to possess object； AND
b. Take steps toward possessing object
Thus, mere discovery is not enough for possession
