Bruce Willis not suing Apple over music inheritance rules
The wife of the action film star tweets that a report appearing in a British tabloid, suggesting Willis is itching for a fight, "is not a true story."
Reports of Bruce Willis' discontent over who will inherit his massive music collection when he dies have been greatly exaggerated.
The "Die Hard" actor, who has reportedly spent thousands of dollars on his iTunes music collection, was concerned that upon his demise, the rights to his music collection would pass back to Apple instead of to his children, according to a report in The Daily Mail. He was reportedly considering setting up trusts to act as legal "holders" of the music, as well as exploring the possibility of bringing a lawsuit against Apple to clarify the terms or force a change in policy.
However, Willis' wife says the story itself is out of tune. In a tweet this morning, actress and model Emma Heming said The Daily Mail wasn't true:
— Emma Heming-Willis (@EmmaHeming) September 3, 2012
@richied_ it's not a true story
While apparently untrue, the story does raise the question over who does actually own the rights to digital content purchased and stored on the Web. My colleague Zack Whittaker points out that consumers purchasing digital content from iTunes and Amazon are essentially renting the content indefinitely under license agreements.
"Very few of us have any significant portion of our wealth tied up in such digital goods," Forbes contributor Tim Worstall writes. "But it's obviously going to be something that looms larger in years to come. And I have a feeling that we're going to need some legal clarification on who really does own what after someone's death."