Quote:
Originally Posted by BeccaPrice
ok, here's a question. My uncle wrote a book on his experiences in WWII, plus wrote lots of letters home. His book wasn't published in his lifetime, but is being published now by a military history publisher. My cousin, his daughter, is publishing his letters through Amazon. Who should own the copyright on these items? is it years after my uncle's death, or years after my cousin's death?
(quick answer: on the copyright page of both is my cousin's name. She did extensive editing and formatting on both documents, and she deserves it for all the work she's done on them. I'm just putting the situation out there for conversation.)
|
Posthumous works vary greatly from country to country.
Within the EU, copyright on posthumous works extends for the lifetime of the original author plus 70 years. However, the INITIAL publisher of a previously-unpublished work which would otherwise be in the public domain gets a one-time 25-year copyright on it. This is to encourage publication of old but unpublished works.