Property matters

by James V. DeLong

What matters more, spotted owls or the right to cut timber on your own land? Who has a greater right to use the water of the Colorado River - California farmers, Denver housewives, or white water rafters? How do we protect computer software copyrights from piracy by hackers in Beijing? James DeLong argues that the nature of property has evolved far past the ability of our legal and political systems to cope. Using case studies and anecdotes drawn from all areas of everyday life - from copyright and trademark protection to the fights over water rights in New York, California, and elsewhere - DeLong recounts numerous horror stories about government abuses of property owners and their rights. These conflicts, he argues, are the result of the woefully inadequate structure of our laws, as well as a lack of respect for the private ownership of property. What is true for land can become true for intellectual property. Can makers of computer software be forced to donate their product to "worth