My father was an author of 3 books.He passed away 6 years ago.Do myself & siblings have the copyrights to republish these books?

Attorney answers (2)

1. Licensed in GA

   

   Michael Rhoades

   Tucker Criminal Defense Attorney

   Contributor Level 16

   Answered August 12, 2011 07:29. Did your father have a will? If so, what did it say? Unless he specifically gave the copyrights to someone else, either in the will, or by arrangement before he died, the rights should remain within the family.

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2. 

   Paul Fakler

   New York Intellectual Property Law Attorney

   Contributor Level 6

   Answered August 16, 2011 18:39. The answer depends, in the first instance, on whether your father assigned his rights or granted an exclusive license to the company that published the books. If you cannot find any contracts, you might want to contact the publishers and ask them for copies. If no rights were transferred, or if the rights reverted back to your father before he passed away, the manner in which the rights descended to the heirs can be complicated. Even if he transferred his copyrights to publishers, the Copyright Act allows authors or their heirs to terminate this transfers after a certain amount of time. Also, if the books are out of print the publishers may be willing to voluntarily transfer the rights back to the author's heirs. You should consult with a qualified attorney, preferably one with copyright experience.

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