Anne Frank's diary now has a co-author

Michael Harthorne | Newser

The copyright on The Diary of Anne Frank — set to expire Jan. 1 in most of Europe — has been extended by at least 35 years after the Swiss foundation that holds the copyright claimed Anne's diary actually had a co-author: her father, Otto Frank, the New York Timesreports.

Frank has long been acknowledged as an editor and compiler on The Diary of Anne Frank, but by acknowledging him as an author, Anne Frank Fonds is able to extend its copyright on the work until the end of 2050.

In most of Europe, copyrights expire 70 years after the author's death. Anne died 70 years ago, but her father didn't pass away until 1980. Anyone in Europe wanting to publish the book will now need to continue asking the foundation for permission and paying it royalties.

The change isn't sitting well with many, the Times reports. One lawyer says it implies the foundation has been lying all these years about Anne writing the diary on her own and that it "should think very carefully about the consequences."

Author Cory Doctorow writing for BoingBoing says giving copyright protection to editors undermines authors and calls the foundation's claims that Otto co-authored the diary "spurious." The foundation—which donates proceeds from sales of The Diary of Anne Frank to charities—says it's not about the money, according to the Times. Rather they say they want to protect Anne's legacy.

That's not a good enough reason, Doctorow argues. "Virtually every historical person, from St. Francis to Shakespeare, is in the public domain. The martyrs of every purge and pogrom, the heroes of every war—all in the public domain."

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