law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

, misappropriation is the unauthorized use of another's name, likeness, identity, property, discoveries, inventions, etc. without that person's permission, resulting in harm to that person. Another use of the word refers to intentional and illegal use of property or funds; it can particularly refer to actions committed by a

public official An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of the ...

. Article 17 of the

United Nations Convention against Corruption The United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) is the only legally binding international anti-corruption multilateral treaty. Negotiated by UN member states, member states of the United Nations (UN) it was adopted by the UN General Ass ...

specifies that each State party should criminalize misappropriation, embezzlement, or other diversion of priority by public officials.

Criminal law

In criminal law, misappropriation is the intentional, illegal use of the

property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, re ...

or funds of another person for one's own use or other unauthorized purpose, particularly by a public official, a

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

of a trust, an executor or administrator of a deceased person's estate or by any person with a responsibility to care for and protect another's assets (a

fiduciary A fiduciary is a person who holds a legal or ethical relationship of trust with one or more other parties (legal person or group of persons). Typically, a fiduciary prudently takes care of money or other assets for another person. One party, ...

duty). Depending upon the

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...

and value of the property, misappropriation may be a

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "''félonie''") to describe an offense that r ...

, a crime punishable by a prison sentence.

Scientific research

scientific Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

research Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

, misappropriation is a type of research misconduct. An investigator, scholar or reviewer can obtain novel ideas during the process of the exchange of ideas amongst colleagues and peers. However, improper use of such information could constitute fraud. This can include

plagiarism Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close ...

of work or to make use of any information in breach of any duty of

confidentiality Confidentiality involves a set of rules or a promise sometimes executed through confidentiality agreements that limits the access to or places restrictions on the distribution of certain types of information. Legal confidentiality By law, la ...

associated with the review of manuscripts or grant applications.

Consequences of misappropriation

Misappropriation can have very serious consequences, including imprisonment, fines,

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...

, and a permanent criminal record. The punishment for misappropriation may be determined by the value of the property affected and previous criminal record.

Defenses

Since misappropriation is considered a form of theft, arguments countering charges of theft can be modified and utilized against misappropriation, including: *Property did not belong to the plaintiff. Information which is available to everyone, such as facts in a news story, is considered public and thus cannot be owned by the plaintiff. *Independent development of property. The defendant did not "take" the plaintiff's trade secrets if the defendant created the trade secrets independent of the plaintiff's knowledge, resources and involvement. *Consent by the plaintiff. If the plaintiff had given the defendant permission to use the property for a purpose, then the defendant cannot be guilty of misuse if the defendant used the property for that purpose.

Differences between misappropriation and embezzlement

Embezzlement Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...

is misappropriation when the property or funds involved have been lawfully entrusted to the embezzler. In circumstances where the funds are accessible to, but not entrusted to, the perpetrator, it is not embezzlement but can still be considered

larceny Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Eng ...

, misappropriation, misapplication, or some other similar term.

Examples of misappropriation

For an example, se
§1803
of the Judicial Council of California's Civil Jury Instructions from 2013.

References

{{reflist Criminal law Commercial crimes Legal terminology