The Book Institute Adopts the Rights to Janusz Korczak’s Books

On the strength of a copyright ownership transfer contract of December 24th, 2009, inked between the Ministry of the State Treasury and the Book Institute, copyright ownership for the work of Janusz Korczak, covering his entire oeuvre, has been transferred to the Book Institute in Krakow. In accordance with paragraph 36 of the act of February 4th, 1994 on copyright and related laws, these rights expire with the passage of seventy years from the author’s death; by a court verdict, the beginning of this period was May 9th, 1946.

The last formalities involved with the transfer of rights were finalized on January 8th, 2010 and from that day forward the Book Institute is the sole legal possessor of the rights to Korczak’s literary heritage.

Janusz Korczak [Henryk Goldszmit] (b. 1878 or 1879, d. 1942) was a teacher, writer, social activist, doctor, and pioneering children’s rights advocate. He wrote a great many books for children and young people, including "King Maciuś I" (1923), "King Maciuś on a Desert Island" (1923) and articles and dissertations on social and education topics. He perished in a gas chamber at the extermination camp in Treblinka, freely choosing to accompany his wards on their road to death.

The situation of the copyrights for Korczak’s work has been left unregulated for years.