?The Diary of Anne Frank? gets a new author: her father, Otto

“The Diary of Anne Frank” provides readers a glimpse into the experiences of a teen girl living in World War II-era Europe – but now it’s getting a co-author: Frank’s father.

In a statement on its website, the museum stated that the date of expiry will vary from country to country, depending on national laws, but that it is sure that “Anne Frank is the sole author of the A and B versions of the diary and the short stories” and that “neither Otto Frank nor any other person is co-author”.

The Times noted the move’s “practical effect”.

In most of Europe, copyrights expire 70 years after the author’s death.

It seems inevitable that the question of whether or not Anne Frank’s diary will enter public domain on January 1st next year will end in a lawsuit between the Swiss Anne Frank Fund and the Amsterdam Anne Frank Foundation.

“The public domain was created precisely so that works like Frank’s diary could eventually be read and owned, collectively, by everyone”, Quartz’s piece read.

Because of his role in editing, merging, and trimming entries from Anne’s diary and notebooks and reshaping them into a single work, the foundation claims that Otto was a co-author of the third version of Anne’s diary – the one that was originally published.

Foundation officials “should think very carefully about the consequences”, said Agnès Tricoire, a lawyer in Paris who specializes in intellectual property rights. The foundation donates proceeds from sales of The Diary of Anne Frank to charities, and says this move at the 11th hour is not about the money – they just want to protect Anne’s legacy.

Karen Bartlett wrote for Newsweek of how the diary has sold 31 million copies and the worldwide exhibition – “Anne Frank – A History for Today” – features over 40 language translations.

The pages of Anne’s diary had been left scattered across the secret annex when her family was arrested in 1944.