ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the notion of information ownership from several angles: 1. What legal precedent exists for claiming ownership of information? 2. Do present accounting principles help in answering questions of information ownership? 3. What about the casual use of the term "information owners" used within organizations? 4. Do we even own personal information about ourselves? 5. If we can't own information per se, is there something related to it we can own? The asset criterion of generating probable future economic value is an interesting one. Accounting practices changed to allow for capitalizing dormant assets for which one has an intention of and capability for generating economic value. The process and mechanisms of ownership, even for tangible assets, are somewhat complex. The notion of property ownership dates back to biblical times, with the first government statutes appearing in Napoleonic laws to replace a patchwork of feudal laws.
