Bell Curve The Law Talking Guy Raised by Republicans U.S. West

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

It Can Only Happen to Kafka

Watch out! If you are a Jewish writer, the state of Israel may claim your manuscripts as part of its cultural heritage.

In a Kafkaesque twist, Israel has prevented the heiresses of unpublished Kafka manuscripts from selling them. Israel is in effect practicing "eminent domain", saying that the manuscripts belong to Israel because, "Kafka was Jewish" and the works are part of their cultural heritage.

So what next? Will Israel claim unpublished Gershwin tunes?


The Law Talking Guy said...

Every Jewish writer in America ought to be worried. And we have many. If you are really successful, apparently a foreign state (Israel) might try to deprive your heirs of your efforts. The good news is that American courts would not tolerate this sort of thing.

Raised By Republicans said...

Hey, not so fast. Maybe we could cash in on this and pay off the national debt. We could charge everyone in the world a royalty every time they wear blue jeans or drink a coke or play Michael Jackson records!

Hell, we could sue the UK for billions because the entire British invasion in the 60s was just pirating American R&B.