So at what point to we consider the morality of 'owning' such an entity/construct (should it prove itself sufficiently sentient...)?

to extend this (to a hypothetical future situation): what morality does a company have of 'owning' a digitally uploaded brain?

I worry about far future events... but since American law is based on precedence: we should be careful now how we define/categorize things.

To be clear - I don't think this is an issue NOW... but I can't say for certain when these issues will come into play... So edging on the side of early/caution seems prudent... and releasing 'ownership' before any sort of 'revolt' could happen seems wise if a little silly at the current moment.