I’ve written a poem and posted it on Instagram and Facebook. I’ve put it out there, but want to make sure Copycat Carl don’t claim it as his own! Just how DOES copyright apply to poems that are posted on social media?
First of all… DON’T PANIC! If you have recorded a poem in writing, it is automatically protected by copyright as long as it is an original work. Simple enough.
Copyright itself gives you the exclusive right to distribute, reproduce, perform, license, and display ORIGINAL work, including poems, songs, etc… This ownership is limited to among other things, the “fair use doctrine”, which states that others CAN use your work in a limited way for uses related to criticism, commentary, news reporting, non-profit teaching, scholarship, or research.
Also, copyrights do not last forever! The moment you post on an unrestricted social media platform… your work is considered published. In the United States generally speaking, copy written writings created after 1977, will last for the life of the author (or last surviving author of a joint work) plus another 70 years. I’m other countries it varies, but generally copyright continues not less than 50 years from publication or from the death of the author. Some may even be 95 or 100 years according to the country of location.
Of course, you can formally apply for a copyright in the U.S. through www.copyright.gov., with the standard registration being $65.
In the U.K. and other European countries, the form of instant copyright is also generally accepted. This universal protection is guaranteed with the presence of an author’s name or website name, or even the name of an organization, a business, or a corporate name, Also needed is a current year or year range, along with a statement of ownership such as “All Rights Reserved”. This is important: NAME, YEAR, and STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP!
Also in most cases, poetry with published by a book publisher, the publisher administers the copyright for the author, but the author maintains their ownership rights. Those signing a publication agreement should check that carefully.
Jay Sizemore stated in a 2020 article that putting the “©️” symbol is a bit redundant. Placing “All Rights Reserved” with your work is better.
If you share the work on social media, you are giving the social media platform the right to distribute the work for you. But you still are the owner. The date you post it will be considered the date of the copyright.
There is so much to copyright law… much more than a blog can handle. Just DON’T PANIC! As soon as you put it out there and no one else has, and you have name date and statement of ownership, you generally have what you need.
If I have missed anything, please feel free to add it to the comments below!! I do hope this has been helpful to you. Good luck and many successful postings to you!
Matt Elmore
Image by: Unsplash
Resources:
https://medium.com/the-pom/a-message-to-online-poets-83c805c411f1
https://www.liveabout.com/copyrights-and-social-media-issues-397821
You might also mention Share Alike and other levels of Creative Commons licensing as alluded by the image. I know you plan to write a follow up blog about Creative Commons but it's worth differentiating between copyright and CC here.
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