Who Owns Your Digital Music and Books when You Die?

Just as Ben Franklin put it, the only things certain in life are death and taxes. So, one day, we all will head home, but what becomes of your iTunes and Kindle files?

Apparently, they’re going with you. That is, they’re done too.

Because you don’t own the rights to the files, you cannot transfer them, as the law is currently written. Amazon’s terms of use state, “You do not acquire any ownership rights in the software or music content.” Apple sets limits on the use of digital files to Apple devices used by the account holder.

Now, this doesn’t mean you can’t gain access to someone’s files through their passwords and such, or use their iPods and Kindle devices. But there is a distinction between gaining access to files and having the right to use them.

Jacksonville, Florida, attorney David Goldman notes in a recent Marketwatch.com article, ““Having access to digital content and having the legal right to use it are two totally different things.”

So far the law hasn’t done a great job in catching up to the light speed of technology. According to this same Marketwatch article, only “Connecticut, Rhode Island, Indiana, Oklahoma and Idaho passed laws to allow executors and relatives access to email and social networking accounts of those who’ve died, but the regulations don’t cover digital files purchased.”

Goldman is launching a new software called DapTrust, that allows estate planners the ability to create a legal trust for online accounts for music, e-books and movies that belong to their clients. This can help address that legal gray area of the law for electronic files.

So, the answer to the question “who owns these files?” is still being written. What do you think? Please share your thoughts below.

Marijo Tinlin is the Editor in Chief of Family First, one of the oldest family-oriented websites on the internet. She writes for Eagle Publishing’s Family Events, is the Managing Editor of www.myColoradoview.com and she runs a small business with her husband. She is also the author of a book about patriotism and teaching our children to love this country called “How to Raise an American Patriot, Making it Okay for Our Kids to Be Proud to Be American.”  It features 13 interviews with patriotic Americans including Ed Meese, Erick Erickson and Jackie Gingrich Cushman. It’s available at www.raisinganamericanpatriot.com.