Copywriting a dead persons work

[punknlulu]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Connecticut

I recently found poetry written by my aunt in the attic. I also found music written by my uncle. They had no children and the only living relatives are myself and my sister. Can I get this work copywrited so I can own the work and compile the poetry/music into a book?

 

[quincy]

The poetry by your aunt and the music composed by your uncle were automatically copyrighted once they were fixed in tangible form. Do you know when these were created, if either were registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, or if they were ever published?

I suggest you read the information provided by the U.S. Copyright Office on copyright ownership and transfer of ownership, outlined in the Copyright Act's Chapter 2, Section 201 (d)(1), accessible through the link below.

http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap2.html

Then you can post back with additional questions, if any.

 

[punknlulu]

Dead relative's poetry

First, thank you Quincy for responding to my post. I appreciate your time. Neither my aunt or uncle had copyrighted any of the material or registered it. One of my aunt's poems was printed in a book of poetry that I have. But, the other poems were not published. I've read the link you sent me; but unfortunately, I am having a difficult time understanding what it means. All I want to do is publish her poems and giving her credit for the poems. If it's a problem to give her credit; then I can just publish her poems and not even state who wrote the poems. No one would know except for the one poem that she had published. I'd rather give her credit - but I don't want to deal with any legal issues down the road if the book of poems gets published. I'm thinking it may be easier just to say "anonymous" under the poems she wrote - but she was such a lovely person I really want people to know she wrote them.

 

[quincy]

Sorry, punknlulu. It wasn't very nice of me to tell you to post back with any additional questions and then ignore your post when you did. . . but I actually did not see your additional post until now.

If you and your sister are the rightful (only) heirs to your aunt and uncle's estate, then you would have rights in the works they created - however, it may be that your aunt released rights to her works already (at least the one poem that was published, at any rate), and you would need to investigate this prior to trying to publish any of her (or your uncle's) work.

I suggest you consult with an attorney in your area, to determine exactly what rights you may have in the poetry and the music created by your aunt and uncle. The attorney can go over the dates of creation with you, help determine if any licenses exist, and the attorney can help to ensure that you are legally entitled to the works. You should do this prior to publication, to avoid the potential for any lawsuit arising over the works.

I think it is nice, by the way, that you wish to honor your relatives in this way.

Good luck.