Few people have any idea what a copyright protects or how it is enforced. Just how do you pass it along from generation to generation?
Passing on copyrights and transferring them in an estate plan can be complicated, according to the Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog in “Planning and Administering Copyrights in an Artist’s Estate.”
Most people have no idea what exactly it is that copyrights protect, how they are enforced and how copyrights are passed along between generations.
One of the important things to keep in mind, is that copyright is not a single right.
It is a collection of several different rights, including the right to copy, the right to distribute, the right to make derivative works and the right to perform.
Ownership of any or all of these rights can be transferred to another person or entity, or a license can be given for a temporary period of time to give another person any or all of those rights.
That means people who hold copyrights have several estate planning options for how to pass those rights along.
An estate planning attorney can advise you on creating an estate plan that fits your unique circumstances, which may include copyrights.
