Bernstein of Leigh v Skyviews & General Ltd [1978] 1 QB 479 is a case in English law in which a plaintiff attempted to sue for trespass when aerial photographs were taken of his property. The case established that a property owner does not have unqualified rights over the airspace above their land.
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Griffith J stated: "I can find no support in authority for the view that a landowner's rights in the air space above his property extend to an unlimited height." The case established that the rights of a land owner over his land extend only to a height necessary for the ordinary use and enjoyment of his land.
This case is a good example of the application of the Hobbes Theorem, which states that if parties could not negotiate to arrive at an efficient outcome, the role of the law is to allocate property rights in such a manner so as to achieve efficiency through that allocation.