Using someone else's property, for example, for ingress and egress over a certain number of years, regularly and without the consent of the property owner, can give the user the right to continue using the property for the same purpose for as long as the user wishes. This method of acquiring an easement is called a "prescriptive easement" or "easement by prescription."

For example; There is an existing easement allowing your neighbor to enter his property by means of a path (or road), situated within 15 feet from your property lines. The neighbor has used the pathway, but it has used a path wider than described in the original easement and has taken 30 ft from the property lines. If your neighbor has used this path for an extended time period, he might have a prescriptive easement (depending on local laws).