The literary estate of a deceased author consists mainly of the copyright and other intellectual property rights of published works, including film, translation rights, original manuscripts of published work, unpublished or partially completed work, and papers of intrinsic literary interest such as correspondence or personal diaries and records. In academia, the German term Nachlass for the legacy of papers is often used.
A literary executor is a person acting on behalf of beneficiaries (e.g. family members, a designated charity, a research library or archive) under a deceased author's will. The executor is responsible for entering into contracts with publishers, collecting royalties, maintaining copyrights, and (where appropriate) arranging for the deposit of letters. According to Wills, Administration and Taxation: a practical guide (1990, UK)[1] "A will may appoint different executors to deal with different parts of the estate. One example of this is the appointment of a literary executor to deal with literary effects [...]".
Since the literary estate is a legacy to the author's heirs, the management of it in financial terms is a responsibility of trust. The position of literary executor extends beyond the monetary aspect, though: appointment to such a position, perhaps informally, is often a matter of the author's choice during his or her lifetime.
If a sympathetic and understanding friend is in the position of literary executor, there can be conflict: what is to be managed is not just a portfolio of intellectual property but a posthumous reputation. Wishes of the deceased author may have been clearly expressed but are not always respected. Family members often express strong feelings about privacy of the dead. For example, biographical writing is likely to be of a quite different authority if it is carried out with access to private papers. The literary executor then becomes a gatekeeper.
A particularly notorious example is Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche for Friedrich Nietzsche, as she resorted to fraud to make her brother's Nachlass more compatible with Nazi ideology.[citation needed] An exceptionally productive example is that of Rudolf Steiner. Although he did not originally intend that the stenographs of his thousands of lectures be published, he relented and named his second wife, Marie Steiner-von Sivers, to direct his Nachlass, which has produced more than three hundred volumes since his death in 1925.
A notable example is the case of Franz Kafka, who left no will. His friend Max Brod assumed the function of literary executor, though most of the literary estate was legally owned by Marianne Steiner and Věra Saudková.[2]
^Barlow, J. S., King, L. C., King, A. G. (1990). Wills, Administration and Taxation: a practical guide. Sweet and Maxwell, London. p. 192. ISBN9780421431003. Retrieved 14 November 2014.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Reed, T. J. "Pasley, Sir John Malcolm". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/94106. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
October 21, 2023
literary, estate, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, november,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Literary estate news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2007 Learn how and when to remove this template message The literary estate of a deceased author consists mainly of the copyright and other intellectual property rights of published works including film translation rights original manuscripts of published work unpublished or partially completed work and papers of intrinsic literary interest such as correspondence or personal diaries and records In academia the German term Nachlass for the legacy of papers is often used Adrian Conan Doyle left son and from 1940 executor of the literary estate of Arthur Conan Doyle right Contents 1 Literary executor 1 1 Examples 2 See also 3 ReferencesLiterary executor EditThe examples and perspective in this section deal primarily with common law countries and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject You may improve this section discuss the issue on the talk page or create a new section as appropriate July 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message A literary executor is a person acting on behalf of beneficiaries e g family members a designated charity a research library or archive under a deceased author s will The executor is responsible for entering into contracts with publishers collecting royalties maintaining copyrights and where appropriate arranging for the deposit of letters According to Wills Administration and Taxation a practical guide 1990 UK 1 A will may appoint different executors to deal with different parts of the estate One example of this is the appointment of a literary executor to deal with literary effects Since the literary estate is a legacy to the author s heirs the management of it in financial terms is a responsibility of trust The position of literary executor extends beyond the monetary aspect though appointment to such a position perhaps informally is often a matter of the author s choice during his or her lifetime If a sympathetic and understanding friend is in the position of literary executor there can be conflict what is to be managed is not just a portfolio of intellectual property but a posthumous reputation Wishes of the deceased author may have been clearly expressed but are not always respected Family members often express strong feelings about privacy of the dead For example biographical writing is likely to be of a quite different authority if it is carried out with access to private papers The literary executor then becomes a gatekeeper Examples Edit Examples of literary executors include Sir Edward Marsh for Rupert Brooke Robert Baldwin Ross for Oscar Wilde Robert Hayward Barlow for H P Lovecraft Rush Rhees G H von Wright and G E M Anscombe for Ludwig Wittgenstein Otto Nathan for Albert Einstein Regine Olsen for Soren Kierkegaard and Paul Williams for Philip K Dick A particularly notorious example is Elisabeth Forster Nietzsche for Friedrich Nietzsche as she resorted to fraud to make her brother s Nachlass more compatible with Nazi ideology citation needed An exceptionally productive example is that of Rudolf Steiner Although he did not originally intend that the stenographs of his thousands of lectures be published he relented and named his second wife Marie Steiner von Sivers to direct his Nachlass which has produced more than three hundred volumes since his death in 1925 Older examples of such appointments such as Kenelm Digby for Ben Jonson are essentially editorial rather than legal A contemporary case is Christopher Tolkien s work on J R R Tolkien s papers A notable example is the case of Franz Kafka who left no will His friend Max Brod assumed the function of literary executor though most of the literary estate was legally owned by Marianne Steiner and Vera Saudkova 2 See also EditAssociation Litteraire et Artistique Internationale Authors rights Backlist Copyright protection for fictional characters Digital inheritance Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc Klinger v Conan Doyle Estate Ltd Protection of Classics Societe Plon et autres v Pierre Hugo et autres Suntrust Bank v Houghton Mifflin Co References Edit Barlow J S King L C King A G 1990 Wills Administration and Taxation a practical guide Sweet and Maxwell London p 192 ISBN 9780421431003 Retrieved 14 November 2014 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Reed T J Pasley Sir John Malcolm Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 94106 Subscription or UK public library membership required Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Literary estate amp oldid 1162309006, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
