ownerless property; bona vacantia
Legal term for property without an owner, such as abandoned items or unclaimed assets. Used in civil law contexts.
Under the law, ownership of ownerless property may sometimes be acquired by occupation.
Flotsam washed ashore is sometimes regarded as ownerless property.
acquisition by occupancy
Compound of 無 (mu, 'without') + 主 (shu, 'owner') + 物 (butsu, 'thing'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term follows standard Sino-Japanese legal vocabulary patterns.