Q: Hi in Florida, friend and I wrote a series of books I’m about to publish and podcast my friend died can I be sued
I’m wondering if her husband has any legal rights in the state of Florida there is no contract all the books are on my computer but he did create the artwork that I will not use.
A: The estate of your late friend and co-author presumably has rights to half of the proceeds. Ask her husband if a probate petition has been filed with the courts and a personal representative has been appointed.
A: If you co-authored the books, then you could be a joint author and copyright owner with the deceased writer. Giving your co-author their attribution would be appropriate and giving their estate their portion of any proceeds due to the sale of the books is also appropriate. More facts may be needed to answer this question, because the first step is to determine who owns the copyright of the written works, then based on that answer a copyright attorney can help you take next steps.
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