Exclusive Rights

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Exclusive Rights

In law, an exclusive right is the power or right to perform an action in relation to an object or other thing which others cannnot perform. The law may require that a person seek such rights through application, or it may automatically grant such rights.
Exclusive rights may be granted in property law and intellectual property law as well as in relation to public utilities. Many scholars argue that such rights form the basis for the concepts of property and ownership.

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Types of exclusive rights

Property
An exclusive right in relation to property will generally arise where something tangible is acquired and others are prevented from using or exercising control in relation to that thing. For example, a person may prohibit others from entering and using his or her land, or from taking his or her personal possessions. However, an exclusive right is not necessarily absolute, as an easement may allow a certain level of public access to private land.

Intellectual property
Most governments recognize a bundle of exclusive rights in relation to works of authorship, inventions, and identifications of origin. These rights are sometimes spoken of under the umbrella term "intellectual property". An example is copyright, which grants a copyright holder a negative right to exclude others from exploiting his or her artistic or creative work. The position is generally similar with patents and trademarks. Exclusive rights arise from a grant of patent or registration of a trademark, while in other cases such rights may arise through use (eg. copyright or common-law trademark).

Holding an intellectual property right generally means that the exclusve rights holder can maintain certain controls in relation to the subject matter in which the IP right subsists. For example, a person who buys a copy of a computer program which is subject to copyright may use the software for personal use, but will probably be prohibited from creating or distributing copies of that software, subject to certain exceptions such as fair use or fair dealing, which vary widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.