[meteorite-list] Fossils - Is Ownership Governed by Surface Rights or Mineral Rights ?
Paul
etchplain at att.net
Tue Nov 20 21:44:23 EST 2018
This is an interesting legal battle about whether
surface rights or mineral rights determines fossil
ownership.
Fight over dinosaur fossils comes down to what’s a mineral
By Amy Beth Hanson, AP, Washington Post, November 16, 2018
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/fight-over-dinosaur-fossils-comes-down-to-whats-a-mineral/2018/11/16/6025a23a-e9e7-11e8-8449-1ff263609a31_story.html
The article states:
"Ownership of two fossilized dinosaur skeletons found on a
Montana ranch in 2006 are the subject of a legal battle over
whether they are part of a property’s surface rights or mineral
rights. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a split
decision saying fossils are minerals under mineral rights laws."
In case of meteorites, would a fall found on the surface be
governed by surface rights and a buried meteorite dug
from the ground be governed by mineral rights? :-) :-)
Yours,
Paul H.
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