Rights After Death For Celebrities

What do the heirs of a rock musician, popular novelist, screen idol, and award winning artist have in common? Valuable personal rights are often overlooked or underdeveloped by artists during their lifetime, leaving heirs to wonder how to best make use of the artist’s creations. This article gives an overview of some of the major intellectual property issues that one might encounter when trying to organize a deceased artist’s intellectual property and provides some general guidelines on ensuring that heirs take full advantage of the marketing and licensing opportunities that might be available.