In 10-20 years, this will be a bigger issue

869 Paris-Marais

Hands up if you’ve ever bought music from Apple’s iTunes?  What about a book from Amazon on the Kindle?  Yep, I’ve done both (although, I’m moving away from Apple and to Amazon), and I’m sure you have too.  What is your view about what happens when you die?  I’m sure you haven’t thought about…or if you have you’ve assumed that your kids would have them.  For me, this is an issue because I’ve taken to buying digital books and music exclusively (well, where possible) But…..

Have a look at this article:  Bruce Willis is talking about suing Apple so his kids can have his iTunes music collection.  Why is this such a big deal?  Well, because if you have bought digital books or music, I assume you haven’t thought about it.  I assume you assume that your kids will get the “stuff” just like any of your other stuff.  BUT, that isn’t the case.  By default, you can’t transfer the “stuff” to another person.  In 10, 20, 40, or 50 years when people start dying and want to transfer these digital assets to their kids, I think some kids are in for a large shock when they don’t get it (under current law).  So, if he does sue them and win, it will be a game changer in this realm.

[Update 2012-12-26 09:46:54] Edited a few links

Image from i am not i via flickr

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