Copyright to Anne Frank’s diary extended by 35 years

Charitable foundation the Anne Frank Fonds has added the father of Anne Frank as a co-author to the well-known “The Diary of Anne Frank”, according to reports.

Anne Frank died in 1945, and under copyright law in the UK, France and Germany the term of protection is ‘life plus 70 years’. It had meant that the work would enter the public domain on January 1, 2016, but the addition of Otto Frank as co-author will see that term extend to 2050.

Otto Frank died in 1980 and he compiled the diary following his daughter’s death. He set up the Switzerland-based Anne Frank Fonds, which acts as his heir, in 1963.

The story was first reported by the  New York Times.