Digital inheritance: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 01:20, 18 December 2021

Revision as of 01:21, 18 December 2021

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Two principal issues arise over a person's digital estate. First, the inheritability of the digital content must be determined. Only digital content for which the deceased holds the copyright may be passed down to an inheritor. There is a distinction in law between full ownership and right-to-use licenses such as in software, digital music, film and books and there is legal precedent for denying resale or bequest of these.<ref>Masnick, M. (2010, September 13). ''Appeals court destroys first sale: You don't own your software anymore''. Techdirt''.'' https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100912/12212110968.shtml</ref> Second, the heir or administrator of an estate must be able to access the content. This sometimes means navigating any online contracts or service providers’ terms of service agreements regarding their policies on user privacy and user death.<ref name=":1" /><ref name="Moneywise2">Bevan, K. (2014, July 23). ''Leaving a digital legacy''. Moneywise. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402152830/http://www.moneywise.co.uk/cut-your-costs/family-life/leaving-digital-legacy</ref>

==Data heir==

A data heir is the person (or people) to whom a digital estate has been bequeathed or to whom rights have been assigned, either legally or informally. A data heir may be provided with clear instruction, may be faced with an un-sorted [[data flood]] with limited instructions, or may be left no instructions. Digital assets which involve contracts with service providers will have to be dealt with to prevent loss of access to data.

People's need to be able to pass on their digital assets has given rise to several companies that specialize in providing consumers with ways to allow their heirs to inherit their digital assets after they die.

==Issues==