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§ 343. Premature determination of precedent interest as affecting future interest

A future interest, valid in its creation, is not defeated by the determination of the precedent interest before the happening of the contingency on which the future interest is limited to take effect; but if the contingency afterwards happens, the future interest takes effect in the same manner and to the same extent as if the precedent interest had continued to the same period.

Sec.

CHAPTER 17-GENERAL DEFINITIONS AFFECTING

371. Definition of income.

PROPERTY

372. Time of creation of limitation, condition, or interest.

§ 371. Definition of income

The income of property, as the term is used in chapters 7, 9, 11, 13, and 15 of this title, includes the rents and profits of real property, the interest on money, dividends upon stock, and other produce of personal property.

8 372. Time of creation of limitation, condition, or interest

The delivery of the grant, where a limitation, condition, or future interest is created by grant, and the death of the testator, where it is created by will, is the time of the creation of the limitation, condition, or interest within the meaning of chapters 7, 9, 11, 13, and 15 of this title.

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423. Survival of thing in action after death of tort feasor or other person liable. 424. Survival of thing in action after death of person injured.

425. Transfer or assignment of actions under sections 423 and 424.

SUBCHAPTER III-PRODUCTS OF THE MIND

441. Ownership; composition in letters or art; invention or design. 442. Joint ownership.

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If there is no law to the contrary in the place where personal property is situated, the property follows the person of its owner, and is governed by the law of his domicile.

Subchapter II-Things in Action

8 421. Definition

A thing in action is a right to recover money or other personal property by a judicial proceeding.

§ 422. Transfer and survivorship

The owner of a thing in action arising out of the violation of a right of property, or out of an obligation, may transfer it. Upon the death of the owner it passes to his personal representatives, except where, in the cases provided by Title 7, it passes to his devisees or successor in office.

§ 423. Survival of thing in action after death of tort feasor or other person liable

(a) A thing in action sounding in tort is not lost because of the death of the tort feasor or other person liable. An action thereon may be brought or continued against the personal representative of the deceased person, but punitive or exemplary damages may not be awarded nor penalties adjudged in the action. This section extends to a thing in action for wrongfully causing death arising pursuant to section 126 of Title 5, and an action pursuant to that section may be bought or continued against the personal representative of the tort feasor or other person liable.

(b) Where a thing in action arises simultaneously with or after the death of the tort feasor or other person who would have been liable if his death had not (1) occurred simultaneously with the act, omission, circumstance, or event giving rise to the thing in action; or (2) intervened between the wrongful act, omission, circumstance, or event and the coming into being of the thing in action, an action to enforce it may be maintained against the personal representative of the tort feasor or other person.

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§ 424. Survival of thing in action after death of person injured (a) A thing in action sounding in tort is not lost because of the death of the person in whose favor the thing in action arose. action thereon may be brought or continued by the personal representative of the deceased person. The damages recovered in an action under this section shall form a part of the estate of the deceased.

(b) A thing in action for damages caused by an injury or wrong to a third person is not lost because of his death.

(c) If an action is brought for physical injuries to a person, and a separate action is brought for his wrongful death arising out of the same wrongful act, omission, circumstances, or event, the actions shall be consolidated for trial on the motion of an interested party, but the award of damages appertaining to physical injuries may not include prospective profits or earnings after the date of death of the person injured.

§ 425. Transfer or assignment of actions under sections 423 and 424

Sections 423 and 424 of this title do not authorize the transfer of a thing in action arising out of a tort against the person, but they do not preclude assignment pursuant to section 26 of the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (5 U.S.C., sec. 776), by beneficiaries under that Act or their legal representatives, of causes of action saved by those sections.

Subchapter III-Products of the Mind

§ 441. Ownership; composition in letters or art; invention or design

(a) The author or proprietor of a composition in letters or art has an exclusive ownership in the representation or expression thereof as against all persons except one who originally and independently creates the same or a similar composition.

(b) The inventor or proprietor of an invention or design, with or without delineation, or other graphical representation, has an exclu

sive ownership therein, and in the representation or expression thereof, which continues so long as the invention or design and the representations or expressions thereof made by him remain in his possession. § 442. Joint ownership

Unless otherwise agreed, a composition in letters or art, or an invention or design, in the production of which several persons are jointly concerned, is owned by them as follows:

(1) in equal proportions, if the composition in letters or art is indivisible or the invention or design is single; or

(2) in proportion to the contribution of each, if the composition in letters or art is divisible or the invention or design is not single.

§ 443. Transfer of ownership

The owner of a right in a composition in letters or art, or of an invention or design, or of a representation or expression thereof, may transfer his ownership or property therein.

§ 444. Effect of publication or making public

Subject to the law of copyright, if the owner of a composition in letters or art publishes it, or the owner of an invention or design intentionally makes it public, any person, without responsibility to the owner, may use the composition in any manner or make public a copy or reproduction of the invention or design.

§ 445. Subsequent and original inventors

If the owner of an invention or design, does not make it public, any other person subsequently and originally producing the same thing has the same right therein as the prior inventor, which is exclusive to the same extent against all persons except the prior inventor, or those claiming under him.

§ 446. Private writings

Letters and other private communications in writing belong to the person to whom they are addressed and delivered; but, except by authority of law, they may not be published against the will of the writer.

Subchapter IV-Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights

§ 471. Laws extended to the Canal Zone

The patent, trademark, and copyright laws of the United States have the same force and effect in the Canal Zone as in the continental United States, and the district court has the same jurisdiction in actions arising under those laws as is exercised by the United States district courts.

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CHAPTER 21-MODES OF ACQUIRING PROPERTY

501. Modes of acquisition generally.

8 501. Modes of acquisition generally

Property is acquired by:

(1) accession;
(2) transfer;
(3) will; or

succession.

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Sec.

531. Fixtures.

CHAPTER 23-ACCESSION

532. Removal of fixtures by tenant.

533. Accession by uniting several things.
534. Principal part; separation; value; bulk.

535. Uniting materials and workmanship.
536. Inseparable materials.

537. Materials of several owners.

538. Willful trespassers.

539. Election between thing and value.

540. Liability of wrongdoer for damages.

§ 531. Fixtures

Except as provided by section 532 of this title, when a person affixes his property to the land of another, without an agreement permitting him to remove it, the thing affixed belongs to the owner of the land, unless he chooses to require the former to remove it.

§ 532. Removal of fixtures by tenant

A tenant may remove from the demised premises, at any time during the continuance of his term, anything affixed thereto for the purposes of trade, manufacture, ornament, or domestic use, unless:

(1) the removal would cause injury to the premises; or

(2) the thing has become an integral part of the premises by the manner in which it is affixed.

§ 533. Accession by uniting several things

When things belonging to different owners have been united to form a single thing, and cannot be separated without injury, the whole belongs to the owner of the thing which forms the principal part. He must, however, reimburse the value of the residue to the other owner, or surrender the whole to him.

§ 534. Principal part; separation; value; bulk

(a) That part is to be deemed the principal to which the other has been united only for the use, ornament, or completion of the former, unless the latter is the more valuable, and has been united without the knowledge of its owner, who may, in the latter case, require it to be separated and returned to him, although some injury should result to the thing to which it has been united.

(b) If neither part can be considered the principal, within the rule prescribed by subsection (a) of this section, the more valuable, or, if the values are nearly equal, the more considerable in bulk, is to be deemed the principal part.

8535. Uniting materials and workmanship

If a person makes a thing from materials belonging to another, the latter may claim the thing on reimbursing the value of the workmanship, unless the value of the workmanship exceeds the value of the materials, in which case the thing belongs to the maker, on reimbursing the value of the materials.

§ 536. Inseparable materials

If a person makes use of materials which in part belong to him and in part to another, to form a thing of a new description, without destroying any of the materials, but in such a way that they cannot be separated without inconvenience, the thing formed is common to both proprietors in proportion, as respects the one, of the materials belonging to him, and as respects the other, of the materials belonging to him and the price of his workmanship.

§ 537. Materials of several owners

If a thing has been formed by the admixture of several materials of different owners, and neither can be considered the principal substance, an owner without whose consent the admixture was made may require a separation, if the materials can be separated without inconvenience. If they cannot be thus separated, the owners acquire the thing in common, in proportion to the quantity, quality, and value of their materials; but if the materials of one were far superior to those of the others, both in quantity and value, he may claim the thing on reimbursing to the others the value of their materials.

§ 538. Willful trespassers

Sections 531-537 of this title do not apply to cases in which_a person willfully uses the materials of another without his consent. In those cases, the product belongs to the owner of the material, if its identity can be traced.

§ 539. Election between thing and value

Where a person whose material has been used without his knowledge, in order to form a product of a different description, can claim an interest therein, he may demand:

(1) restitution of his material in kind, in the same quantity, weight, measure, and quality; or

(2) the value of the material.

If he is entitled to the product, he may claim the value thereof in place of the product.

§ 540. Liability of wrongdoer for damages

A person who wrongfully employs materials belonging to another is liable to him in damages, as well as under the foregoing provisions of this chapter.

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