Private property is the tangible and intangible things owned by individuals or firms over which their owners have exclusive and absolute legal rights, and can only be transferred with the owner's consent.Private property can take the form of real estate, homes, factories, automobiles, capital, patents and copyrights. It is distinguished from public property, which refers to assets owned by a state, community or government rather than by individuals or a business entity.
Marxists sometimes distinguish between private property and personal property, defining the former as the means of production (capital) and the latter as consumer goods.
