--- description: Anne Frank's father will be listed as co-author on her famous diary in a move to extend the copyright on the book title: Anne Frank's Diary Now Has a Co-Author to Extend Copyright image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc5d8b1dc3cd85c7d/69887133524fc09450df57cc/anne-frank-diary-author.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Books](/tag/books/) ## Books Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Anne Frank's Diary Now Has a Co-Author to Extend Copyright  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Nov 15, 2015 8:10 PM CUT  Anne Frank (1929-1945). (Photo by Jewish Chronicle/Heritage Images/Getty Images) Anne Frank (1929-1945). (Photo by Jewish Chronicle/Heritage Images/Getty Images)Heritage Images/Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Nov 15, 2015 8:10 PM CUT Anne Frank’s father will be listed as co-author on her famous diary in a move to extend the copyright on the book, according to the foundation that owns the copyright. The news, [reported](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/14/books/anne-frank-has-a-co-as-diary-gains-co-author-in-legal-move.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined") by the New York _Times,_ comes just months before the copyright was set to expire in Europe. The co-author listing will extend the life of the copyright to 2050, 70 years after the death of Anne’s father Otto. The move by Anne Frank Fonds, the Swiss foundation that owns the copyright to the work, drew criticism over the historical question of who authored the book. Otto Frank had maintained that the book was mostly his daughter’s words during his lifetime. The foundation’s move contradicts that long-held position. The announcement disrupted the plans of many book publishers to print new editions of the book once the copyright expired. _The Diary of Anne Frank_, which documents Frank’s time in hiding to avoid Nazi persecution, has [sold more than 30 million copies](http://annefrank.com/about-anne-frank/ "undefined") and has been translated into 70 languages. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4113855/anne-frank-diary-co-author/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4113855/anne-frank-diary-co-author/"},"headline":"Anne Frank's Diary Now Has a Co-Author to Extend Copyright","datePublished":"2015-11-15T20:10:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:38:47.869Z","description":"Otto Frank previously had maintained that the book was mostly his daughter's words during his lifetime","url":"https://time.com/4113855/anne-frank-diary-co-author/","keywords":["Books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc5d8b1dc3cd85c7d/69887133524fc09450df57cc/anne-frank-diary-author.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc5d8b1dc3cd85c7d/69887133524fc09450df57cc/anne-frank-diary-author.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Anne Frank diary author","caption":"Anne Frank diary author","creditText":"Heritage Images/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4113855/anne-frank-diary-co-author/","name":"Anne Frank's Diary Now Has a Co-Author to Extend Copyright"}}]}] ```