I spoke to a literary agent at a conference recently, and he mentioned how many of his author clients are flummoxed when he asks what will happen to their copyrights after their death. It’s a topic that many authors just don’t think about. All right, let’s be honest: the fate of your property after your death is a topic many people don’t want to think about, because it’s just depressing. But death and taxes are the only certainties in life, so let’s answer the question right now: What happens to my copyrights after I die?
If you do nothing to change the fate of your copyrights, they will be part of your general estate. They will pass to your legal heirs or, if you have a will or trust, to your named beneficiaries. In most cases, these recipients lack the interest and/or expertise to manage the copyrights, so they will probably languish until the copyrights eventually expire. And for some people, that’s perfectly fine. Not every book is a bestseller, and many books cost more money to make than authors get back in royalties. In these instances, it might make sense to just let nature take its course.
But that’s certainly not true in every case. Not every author is willing to let their books go quietly into the night, and for those willing to make the effort, there are options to keep your books alive and in circulation. The question is, what is your ultimate goal? Do you want your books to be read by as many people as possible, or do you want them to generate a good income for your heirs and beneficiaries? Depending on your answer, you could:
- Make your books freely available. You can instruct your executor to make your books available to all. This could be as simple as not enforcing the copyright (easy for the executor, but not very effective for wide circulation), or it could mean setting the price on Amazon to zero and/or uploading it to a site where people can download it with a Creative Commons license. A podcast host suggested this option recently, and it is a viable option if you care more about wide circulation than income. Just be aware that people may use your book for things you don’t agree with, like copying passages for their writing or uploading it to an AI training database.
- Designate a manager/literary executor for your copyrights. If your goal is to keep generating revenue for as long as possible, then you’ll want to think about who is the best person to make that happen. This person should either already have some expertise in managing copyrights, or they should have enough interest to learn from you what needs to be done. Once you’ve identified your ideal torchbearer, you can plan how to incorporate them into your estate plan, and how to make the transition as easy as possible. I’ll talk more about this in a later article.
Thinking about the question “What Happens to My Copyrights After I Die?” is not a fun topic, but it will be a great relief once you’ve made a decision. If you need help deciding what’s best for your copyrights and incorporating that into your estate plan, please feel free to reach out to me at kaway@kawaylaw.com.
