Apple grants widow access to husband's Apple ID after demanding court order

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Comments

  • Reply 41 of 43
    icoco3icoco3 Posts: 1,474member
    cali said:
    There will be an emerging body of law / precedent in IP-rights-after-death in the years ahead.

    If my will explicitly transfers ownership of any digital content I own to someone (wife), and I provide that person with my User ID and password to any such content providers (e.g., iTunes), will the courts and publishers honor that -- acknowledging that actual ownership of the content has transfered to the new person?
    This situation has crossed my mind for years.

    Problem is the wife didn't purchase the content so it's not hers. If you could transfer licenses after death it would create a never ending chain of inhereted music/movies/games passed on to children/grandchildren forever for free.
    And that is a problem??  It was paid for.
  • Reply 42 of 43
    icoco3icoco3 Posts: 1,474member
    tenly said:
    birko said:
    Terms of the digital rights can not overwrite laws of the land. In most countries you have to right to transfer ownership of digital media you have legally bought.
    The point you are missing is that nobody has legally bought the song.  You have essentially rented the song and the rental period lasts from the time you pay for it until you die.  

    Perhaps they'll take it one step further and require your living spouse or heir to provide proof of deletion or the rental will start to incur overdue fees! /s

    My point is that just because you think you've purchased something (the song), it doesn't mean that you have purchased it!  You may just be purchasing the rights to listen to the song for a fixed period of time.
    Can you show me that in law?
    51
    edited January 2016
  • Reply 43 of 43
    icoco3 said:
    tenly said:
    The point you are missing is that nobody has legally bought the song.  You have essentially rented the song and the rental period lasts from the time you pay for it until you die.  

    Perhaps they'll take it one step further and require your living spouse or heir to provide proof of deletion or the rental will start to incur overdue fees! /s

    My point is that just because you think you've purchased something (the song), it doesn't mean that you have purchased it!  You may just be purchasing the rights to listen to the song for a fixed period of time.
    Can you show me that in law?
    51
    You can show yourself by reading the EULA of any source of digital media you interact with.

    Clearly law had trouble keeping up with the digital world. Even more clear is that few people here if any, are lawyers and deal with digital rights. This shows the need to have your "house" in order in preparation for your death.

    For most of us, finding a spouse's Apple ID is trivial. It's the password that could be the problem. That said, a will could specify how to bequeath estate and assets without revealing user IDs and passwords. An executor/lawyer could be charged with the duty of providing an envelope of passwords and user IDs completely separate of the contents of the will, in the event of a death. They do not have to be part of a public record. Only an idiot would make them so.

    Apple will have to figure out how they'll handle this in the future, as will every other similar provider. They need more transparency in doing so. People need to understand the rights they have and those they only think they have.

    If you want your survivors to be able to play Candy Crush or Solitaire, leave them your access info. If you don't, make it known in the will. So many people live as though they'll live forever. Until they don't.
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