Who really owns the legendary pirate ship known as the Black Pearl? This dispute centers on the ownership of the infamous pirate ship. Originally known as the Wicked Wench, the vessel was owned by the East India Trading Company (EITC) and captained by Jack Sparrow. After Sparrow disobeyed orders and freed enslaved individuals, the Company, led by Cutler Beckett, had the ship destroyed. Years later, Sparrow reclaimed the wreck by making an agreement with Davy Jones, who raised the ship from the sea. Sparrow renamed it the Black Pearl, transformed it, and became an infamous pirate captain. The EITC never reclaimed or repaired the wreck, and it was lost to the sea.

A Canadian company, The Metals Company (TMC), recently applied for U.S. government approval to mine the deep seabed. Specifically, parts of the Pacific Ocean outside any country's borders. Instead of going through the usual international process run by the United Nations International Seabed Authority, TMC is asking for a license under U.S. law called the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (DSHMRA), which allows U.S. companies to explore the ocean floors.

Taken in 1801 by Lord Elgin, then British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, the Parthenon Marbles remain encased in the British Museum, nearly 2,000 miles away from their original home in Athens, Greece. In a lost firman (permit), Elgin allegedly obtained permission from the imperial Ottoman Authorities to cast, draw, and erect scaffoldings of the Parthenon’s statues. However, debate surrounds whether he was actually authorized to remove the Marbles, including almost half of the famed frieze. After falling into severe debt, Elgin sold the sculptures to the British government in 1816.

Pierson v. Post is perhaps the most celebrated case in American property law, and scholars have delighted in debating its history and theory. Among other things, research has shown that the case’s presentation of the facts is incomplete and likely misleading. This post collects some of the academic literature to reconstruct a brief history of events, challenging the presentation of the facts as recited by the court.