What does it mean to “own” something? Do you “own” your body? Do you own the dirt in your backyard? If someone flies a drone over your deck, do you have the right to blast it out of the sky? (Seems fair to me, but the law says otherwise.) In their new book, *Mine!*, law professors Michael Heller and James Salzman explore the concept of ownership and property in ways you have almost certainly not considered.
I love books that make me re-think a concept that I take for granted. In *Mine!*, Heller and Salzman do just that. Most of us assume we know what it means to own something or who has the right to certain things or spaces. But the law isn’t always self-evident, is wildly inconsistent, and varies from country to country and state to state. Many of the examples they cite will piss you off! For example, who owns the space just behind the airplane seat in front of you? Does that sweaty dude in that chair have the right to recline? Or does that space belong to you and your sensitive knees? Also, why can you copyright a song but not a comedy routine? (Huh, HUH??!!!??!!)
I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation on this non-obvious topic with these two brilliant gentlemen. Michael Heller is the Lawrence A. Wien Professor of Real Estate Law at Columbia Law School. He has taught at NYU, UCLA, University of Michigan, and Yale Law Schools. He is an honors graduate of Harvard College and Stanford Law School. James Salzman is the Donald Bren Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law with joint appointments at UCLA School of Law and the UC Santa Barbara School of Environment. Among many other accolades, Jim is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a McMaster Fellow, and a Fulbright Senior Scholar. He is a graduate of Yale and holds graduate degrees in both Law and Engineering from Harvard University.
Are you really still reading? Go listen to another episode, silly.
