Finders, keepers, sometimes extended as the children's rhyme finders, keepers; losers, weepers, is an
Englishadage with the premise that when something is unowned or abandoned, whoever finds it first can claim it for themself permanently. The phrase relates to an
ancient Romanlaw of similar meaning and has been expressed in various ways over the centuries.[citation needed] The 1982 English
Court of Appeal case Parker v British Airways Board expanded the phrase, with the judgement of
Donaldson L.J. declaring "Finders keepers, unless the true owner claims the article".[1] Difficulties arise when exploring how best to define when exactly something is unowned or abandoned, which can lead to legal or ethical disputes, especially as
jurisdictions often differ in their approach.[citation needed]
Application
One of the most common uses of "Finders, Keepers" involves
shipwrecks. Under international
maritime law, for shipwrecks of a certain age, the original owner may have lost all claim to the cargo. Anyone who finds the wreck can then file a salvage claim on it and place a lien on the vessel, and subsequently mount a
salvage operation.
Philosophies, such as
anarcho-capitalism, that advocate a right to own land and other natural resources often appeal to the doctrine of finders keepers in the case of claiming ownership of what was previously unowned (see terra nullius).
In the United States, the
Homestead Act allowed people to claim land as their own as long as it was originally unowned and the property was then developed by the claimant.