In all the civil law systems, immovable property is the equivalent of "real property" in common law systems, i.e. it is land or any permanent feature or structure above or below the surface. Civil law or continental law is the predominant system of law in the world, with its origins in Roman law, and sets out a comprehensive system of rules, usually codified, that are applied and interpreted by judges. ... Real property is a legal term encompassing real estate and ownership interests in real estate (immovable property). ... This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ...
In the United States, immovable property is any immovable object, real estate, item of property that can not be moved. Includes premises and property rights (for example, heritable building right), houses, land and associated goods and chattels. Real estate is a legal term that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings. ...
Property law is the law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property (land as distinct from personal or movable possessions) and in personal property, within the common law legal system.
In some jurisdictions, historically all property was owned by the monarch and it devolved through feudal land tenure or other feudal systems of loyalty and fealty.
A person may also obtain an interest in property under a trust established for his or her benefit by the owner of the property.
Intellectual property laws confer a bundle of exclusive rights in relation to the particular form or manner in which ideas or information are expressed or manifested, and not in relation to the ideas or concepts themselves (see idea-expression divide).
The basic public policy rationale for the protection of intellectual property is that IP laws facilitate and encourage disclosure of innovation into the public domain for the common good, by granting authors and inventors exclusive rights to exploit their works and invention for a limited period.
The use of the term "intellectual property" is often predicated on considerations such as the "free rider problem" or rationalized by problematizing the fact that owners of computers have the ability to produce and distribute perfect copies of digital works.