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With physical property, at some point the gov't takes possession. In most states in the US, intestacy checks for a couple of generations back (parents, grandparents) before giving up; while distant relatives might make a claim for land or other property of substantial value, I don't think the state looks for them indefinitely before reassigning ownership.
I'm not sure the gov't in the US can take possession of IP; its publications are automatically in the public domain. And I find it fascinating that googling turns up *nothing*, as if this were an obscure situation that's never come up in any legal setting.
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