Handwritten "Copyright 2021 Joe Doe" copyright notice on a handwritten 30-page work, published only on social media

Question

Would a handwritten "Copyright 2021 (My First and Last name)" copyright notice, be valid and have it's standard legal aplication in USA as well as in EU, for me - an author form Slovenia (EU), if I write it in handwritting on a handwritten 30-page original literary work of nonfiction, which I would publish only on social media, in the form of a collection of 30 pictures of scans of handwritting?

The work would not be catalogued, registered or published anywhere else so I assume that if it would be censored by the platforms - deleted, I would not have a link to an active published refference to the work, and don't know how could I persue my case in court, should it come to that, however my research so far has given me the impression that such a copyright notice is the best international protection and deterence symbol agianst infringement on the rights, and even to use in a court of law.

(My current project just has to be in handwritting...)

Grateful for any help.

Answer 1

In the united-states since the effective date of the 1976 Copyright Act, all copyright notices are optional, and copyright does not depend on any notice at all. The same is true in every country that adheres to the Berne Copyright Conventions, which is almost every country in the world, and includes all countries with significant publishing industries.

Even before the 1976 act, when a notice was absolutely required, a hand written notice was just as effective as a printed notice, provided that it was legible. Many painters, for example, included (and still include) hand-written copyright notices near the painter's signature, and these were effective.

In the US, one cannot file a copyright suit unless the work involved is first registered. If the work was not registered before the infringement occurred, statutory damages are not available (in the US) unless the work is registered within 3 months of publication. For non-commercial works, statutory damages are often the only way to get any significant damages.

The original handwritten work, whether posted to the net or not, is still protected by copyright, with or without a notice. A notice is not a substitute for registration. Neither is a post on social media.

Proving who created a copyrighted work is not usually a major issue in a copyright suit, and worrying overmuch about ways to establish this is often a waste of tiem and effort. The issues are more often: Was the work copied; if so who copied it; was it infringement, fair use, or use under a license; did some other exception to copyright apply; what damage was done to the copyright owner; what advantage did an infringer get?

A copyright notice does largely eliminate the defense of "innocent infringement" in which an infringer claims not to have known that the works was protected. If proved this can greatly reduce damages under US law. A handwritten notice will have the same effect on that defense as a printed one.

Answer 2

I am not an lawyer. I think you’re a bit confused, so I’m going to try to answer the questions I think you’re trying to ask:

1. Will the written work be copyright?

Yes. Copyright is automatic. You don’t need the copyright notice in the EU, but it won’t hurt.

2. Can people legally copy my work and repost it?

In general, no, but the social media site itself might gain a license to use your work, based on the terms of service.

3. Can I sue people who copy my work?

Excluding fair use, you probably can, but if it’s not registered, it might be hard to get damages in the US. You may need to register if you plan to sue someone. I’d check your laws. You’ll also need to show it’s your work, leading to:

4. Will posting it to social media prove it’s my work, without me spending the time/money to register my copyright?

Maybe…. It could help show you had a copy in 2021, which may help in a court case, but if someone else reposts it and your post is taken down, (maybe due to a false DCMA) you might find someone else has the earliest post, which may hurt your case. Keeping the originals may help, but this is all very speculative.

If you want to research this idea more, you can search for “poor man’s copyright” which has a lot of people talking about this idea.