The Position in The Institutes of Gaius
In the Institutes of Gaius, Gaius refers to a number of examples where this process occurs, and cites two conflicting schools of thought on the question of ownership.
- Sabinus/Cassus - the manufactured article should be held to belong to the owner of the material substance.
- Proculians - the manufactured article should be held to belong to the creator of the article.
Nicholas and Thomas consider the philosophical background of the two doctrines. The Stoic view gave primacy to matter, whilst Aristotle considered that form or essence was what mattered most. Nicholas considers that the Aristotleian 'form' or 'essence' faces the same difficulty of definition as 'identity'. Andrew Borkowski considers that the Proculians treated specificatio as a form of occupation. At the moment of its creation, a nova species was regarded as a res nullius open to the first occupier, and for that reason it should be held to belong to the creator.
Read more about this topic: Specification (legal Concept), Roman Law Specification, Ownership of The Nova Species
Famous quotes containing the word position:
“He who is usually self-sufficient becomes exceptionally vain and keenly alive to fame and praise when he is physically ill. The more he loses himself the more he has to endeavor to regain his position by means of the opinion of others.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)