An inheritance may also include rights to creative works. If a person has written books, composed music, created photographs, paintings, screenplays or other protected content, upon their death royalties may remain to be collected, contracts to be respected, unpublished materials to be managed and decisions to be made regarding publication. The question does not only concern economic value: it is often necessary to understand who can authorize a reprint, who receives the publisher's statements, and whether a manuscript found in an archive can be disclosed.
I want to help you distinguish between different rights that are easily confused. I will discuss the succession of economic rights, the protection of the name and integrity of the work, the weight of contracts already signed, and choices concerning unpublished works. The rules are national even when the heirs, the publisher or the author's archive are located in Milan; what changes from one case to another are the will, contractual relations and the instructions left by the author.
What passes to the heirs when an author dies
Economic rights in the work may form part of the inheritance. These are the rights that allow the authorization, within the limits of the law and agreements already concluded, of the publication, reproduction, distribution, translation, adaptation or digital dissemination of the work. These uses may generate compensation, including royalties provided for by publishing, musical, audiovisual or licensing contracts.
The inheritance is acquired through acceptance, not merely through the material availability of the assets. The civil code distinguishes the opening of succession from the acquisition of inheritance: those called to succeed become heirs upon acceptance, whether express or tacit in the cases provided for by law. A legatee, i.e. someone who receives a specific asset or right from a will, occupies a different position. The general framework of successions can be consulted in the civil code in force on Normattiva.
The will may attribute works or rights to a specific person. If the author has disposed of their rights by will, it is necessary to read precisely what has been assigned: the entire body of authorial assets, a single work, the proceeds of a contract or the original manuscript are not necessarily the same thing. A testamentary attribution must also coexist with the rules on reserved shares for forced heirs, when present.
The moral right does not coincide with royalties. Copyright law protects, even after the transfer of economic rights, the authorship of the work and the integrity of its expression. After the author's death, Article 23 allows the subjects indicated by the rule to act to enforce these rights. Entitlement to moral protection does not always depend on the inheritance share nor on being the person who collects the sums.
Royalties: difference between accrued credits and future revenues
Sums already accrued are credits that form part of the inheritance. If before death the author was entitled to compensation for sales, uses or licenses already executed according to the contract, the related credit can enter the estate even when payment arrives later. However, looking only at the date of the bank transfer is not enough: it is necessary to understand when the contract considers the compensation to have accrued.
Future proceeds follow the economic right still in existence and the contract in force. A royalty is not an autonomous asset separate from the work. It is the consideration, often calculated as a percentage, provided for the exploitation of the work. If a publisher validly retains the right to distribute a book in a certain edition, the heirs can receive the agreed compensation, but they cannot for this reason grant the same use to another publisher in contrast with the existing agreement.
A statement of accounts is interpreted together with the clause governing compensation. Copies sold, returns, digital sales, foreign licenses, subscriptions or secondary uses can affect outcomes differently depending on the contractual text. Sales data, in isolation, does not allow establishing what is due: it is necessary to know the calculation basis, the agreed percentages, the reported period and any items that the contract allows to be deducted.
Receiving a payment does not prove an exclusive right on its own. It may happen that the publisher maintains for practical reasons the bank details communicated by the author or pays the sums to a single person while awaiting instructions. That payment does not automatically resolve relations between co-heirs. If the rights have remained in the undivided inheritance estate, collection and internal distribution need to be kept separate.
Publishing contracts and licenses already concluded
The author's death does not automatically cancel rights already granted. For a completed work already delivered or published, it is necessary to start from the contract to understand whether the publisher, producer or licensee retains an exploitation right. Duration, territory, languages, authorized formats and causes of termination delimit what the other contracting party can continue to do and what remains at the disposal of the heirs.
A contract for printed edition does not necessarily include every use of the work. The publication of a paper book, audiobook, e-book, translation, theatrical or audiovisual adaptation and the use of images online are uses that must be traced back to the provisions actually subscribed to. A broad contractual formula deserves attention, but it does not render it unnecessary to identify with precision the work and the uses to which it refers.
If the author dies before completing the work, the issue changes. Articles 121 and 134 of the Copyright Act govern the publishing contract in this situation. If a substantial, independent part has already been delivered, the publisher may choose to publish it for proportionate remuneration, subject to the author’s wishes and the safeguards laid down by law. Drafts and notes must therefore not automatically be treated like an already published catalogue.
The sale of the original does not, as a rule, transfer the right to exploit it. Anyone who inherits and sells a painting, photograph, manuscript or digital medium transfers the material asset, barring different agreements. The buyer does not automatically obtain the right to make copies, include it in a catalog, put it online or authorize commercial uses. Articles 109 and 110 distinguish the transfer of the copy from the transmission of exploitation rights, which must be proved in writing.
The text of the copyright law offers the starting reference. The articles on moral rights, the publication of unpublished works, the duration of protection and the transmission of rights are contained in law no. 633 of April 22, 1941, available on Normattiva. However, the contract remains indispensable to establish which faculties have been actually granted and for how long.
Unpublished works, drafts and archival materials
An unpublished manuscript is not automatically free to publish. Article 24 of the copyright law grants the heirs or legatees of the work the right to publish it after the author's death, but subject to the author's express prohibition and any entrustment of publication to another person. A testamentary disposition, a reliable letter or a pre-existing agreement can therefore directly affect the choice.
It is necessary to distinguish a completed work from a draft or working notes. A recovered text may be ready for the public, a version to be revised, an interrupted project or private material. This difference matters both for correct editorial presentation and for the respect of the work's identity. Calling a collection of notes a "completed novel" is not a simple commercial decision: it can alter the public's relationship with the author and their work.
The protection of integrity limits modifications that alter the work. Editing a posthumous text, organizing an archive or preparing critical apparatuses may be necessary. It is different to add content, eliminate passages or attribute to the author creative choices they did not make. Articles 20 and 23 protect authorship and allow opposition to alterations or acts affecting the work that may prejudice the author’s honour or reputation, independently of economic rights.
Economic protection does not last without limits. Article 25 establishes, as a general rule, that economic exploitation rights last for the entire life of the author and until the end of the seventieth calendar year following death. Specific criteria may apply to works of collaboration or special categories. The expiry of economic protection does not eliminate for this reason every issue relating to the author's name, alterations of the work or rights to subsequent creative contributions.
How to avoid decisions that create new conflicts
The first useful choice is to separate four questions. Who holds title in succession, which rights are still protected, which contracts produce effects and what will the author left are different questions. A will primarily answers the first; a contract defines the granted uses; a statement indicates how compensation is calculated; a note on the unpublished work can influence publication.
An agreement between heirs can make future relations manageable. When multiple people hold title to rights, it is useful to clarify who receives communications from publishers, how sums are distributed, who can interface for current decisions and how to address new proposals, such as a translation or an adaptation. The agreement cannot ignore rights already granted to third parties, but it can prevent the absence of a shared position from blocking or making management opaque.
Dividing rights can be different from dividing objects. A physical archive, original copies, a computer or a manuscript can be assigned to one person, while economic rights remain common or are attributed to another person. Confusing possession of the material and the power to authorize uses of the work is one of the errors that most easily leads to disputes with other heirs, publishers or buyers.
Before signing a new license, a clear succession position is needed. Anyone proposing a reprint, translation, exhibition or digital use must know who to deal with and who can assume commitments. Wills, declarations and succession acts, existing contracts, statements and author instructions are different documents, but together they allow understanding whether the proposal concerns a free right, a right already bound or a work that cannot be published in the hypothesized forms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are the royalties of a deceased author always due to the heirs?
As a rule, credits and economic rights remaining with the author enter succession. However, it is necessary to distinguish sums already accrued from future revenues and verify whether a will, a legacy or a previous transfer of rights exists. A contract may grant exploitation faculties still effective to a third party, while leaving heirs the right to the foreseen compensation.
Can I publish a manuscript found after the author's death?
Yes, but only if you hold the related title and the author has not disposed otherwise. Article 24 of the copyright law grants the publication of the unpublished work to the heirs or legatees of the work, barring the author's express prohibition or the entrustment of publication to another person. It also matters to understand whether the text is a completed work or preparatory material.
Does the sale of a painting or photograph transfer the right to reproduce them?
No, it normally transfers only the material asset. Whoever purchases the original does not obtain for this reason the power to produce copies, publish it in a catalog or use it online. The economic exploitation right must result from a distinct title. Copyright law requires that the transmission of such rights be proved in writing.
Can a publisher continue to sell a work after the author's death?
Yes, if the contract still grants them that right. Death does not automatically eliminate a license or contract relating to an already completed work. Duration, territory, formats, any renewals and causes of termination establish whether the publisher can continue commercialization and what compensation must be recognized to those entitled.
Who can ask the publisher for royalty statements?
The request must come from someone demonstrating a title connected to the relationship. An heir, legatee or subject appointed by those entitled must be able to clarify their succession position and the connection with the contract. Previous statements, compensation clauses and succession documentation help identify both the sums and the subject entitled to receive information.
Regulatory sources and an initial orientation
The main references are the copyright law and the civil code. The former disciplines economic rights, moral rights, unpublished works, duration of protection and transmission of rights; the latter regulates the opening of succession, acceptance of inheritance, legacies and division. For updates to the digital single market discipline, legislative decree no. 177 of November 8, 2021, published in the Official Gazette, is also available.
The correct choice stems from the distinction between titleholders, contracts and concrete works. If you need to manage royalties, a publishing relationship or an unpublished work, you can contact me to frame the essential documents and the alternatives that the situation allows.