Copyright is so closely linked to you as the author that you cannot contractually transfer it in Austria. You cannot sell, transfer, or assign your copyright, neither in part nor in full. As the creator, you retain this right until your death, and it then passes to your heirs. 

However, copyright is not a perpetual right. Copyright is only valid for a certain period and expires after a term of protection. Once this period has expired, your work becomes "public domain" and is therefore available to the general public. After the term of protection has expired, anyone can edit and utilise your released work as they wish.

The term of protection has been largely harmonised in the EU: a term of 70 years applies to copyright. The following applies to the start of the term of protection:

  • As a rule, the term of protection begins upon your death. Your work enters into the public domain on the first day of the year following the 70th anniversary of your death. In the case of co-authorship, the death of the last co-author triggers the term. This rule also applies to associated musical works. 

or

  • The term of protection begins on the date of creation of the work if the work is anonymous or pseudonymous. The reason for this is that the author is not known and the start of the term of protection cannot be determined otherwise. This term begins again at the time of publication of the work of art, provided that the work is still published within the term of protection. 

Example: You have created a work, and it is known that you are the author. If you die on 18th March 2047, the term of protection of your work ends on 1st January 2118 and the work becomes public domain.

Example: You created a work of art on 18th November 2000, but it is not known that you are the author. This may be because you wish to remain anonymous or use a pseudonym. Your work’s term of protection started upon its creation on 18th November 2000. The provisional term of protection ends on 1st January 2071. 
You published your work—still anonymously or under a pseudonym—on 23rd June 2020. The term of protection therefore started anew and does not end until 1st January 2091. 

The term of protection for ancillary copyrights is 50 or 70 years. See the subchapter on ancillary copyrights.