THE SEVERAL FUTURES OF PROPERTY - OF CYBERSPACE AND FOLK TALES, EMISSION TRADES AND ECOSYSTEMS

What does the future of property hold? In this Article, Professor Rose looks for general guidance from law and economics perspectives, and m ore specific guidance from two dynamic areas in property law, cyberspa ce and environmental protection. Drawing on those areas, she argues th at one of the most important challenges facing property law is to find a place for a type of property that is widespread but underappreciate d in our law-limited common property. Limited common property is a pro perty regime falling somewhere between private ownership and public co mmons; it is property held in common by a group that excludes outsider s, thus creating property on the outside, commons on the inside. Both cyberspace and environmental protection demonstrate heated legal confl icts between individual property and public approaches, but both areas also illustrate the current failure to take adequate account of the i ntermediate form, limited common property, In both contexts, Professor Rose points to examples where limited common property could be especi ally helpful: among others, in cyberspace, the proliferation of collab orative artwork; and in environmentalism the management of indigenous forests and fisheries. However, despite the fact that certain forms of limited common property exist, they largely remain off the legal prop erty radar. Professor Rose argues that this failure to recognize limit ed common properly undermines our ability to manage many types of reso urces, both physical and intellectual. As society progresses and faces new challenges, this Article asks us to recognize an age old yet newl y relevant property concept and to acknowledge its value in the emergi ng world of property.