Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

Re: Diary

The copyright in the diary belongs to you, its author. Copyright is the right to copy, publish, disseminate information, etc. from the work. The fact that someone else has possession does not give them to exploit the copyright, which is what you are really asking. Because this is an unpublished work, it actually has greater protection under the law than a published work would have. You would have other remedies at law, including invasion of your right of privacy, if private facts were to come out from your diary.

If you did not intend to leave this diary at the person's house, or to give it to them, then you have every right to demand its return, or to go back to the house and retrieve it (provided you are admitted in).

Re: Diary

If you are afraid he will publish your diary, you should have an attorney write him a letter letting him know in advance that he will be committing violations of the law. This may help prevent him from doing so.

Best,

Daniel Bakondi, Esq.

IMPORTANT:

No attorney-client nor confidential relationship is created through this communication. You may not rely in any way on this communication, and nothing herein constitutes legal advice nor legal opinion. Your issue may be time sensitive and may result in loss of rights if you do not obtain an attorney immediately.

Re: Diary

I agree with Mr. Bakondi.

There are at least three legal principles here:

1. First, lost property (tangible property) belongs to the original owner, not the finder, and if the identity of the loser is known or easily discoverable, the finder must return the property, or offer to return it, or has committed theft.

2. The person who sets down an original creative work in a permanent medium (such as writing in a diary) has a copyright in the work. There are both common-law and statutory copyrights. You cannot sue under the copyright statutes unless you have applied for and received a copyright from the feds, but you can sue, or make a valid demand for non-publication, under state (common law) rules without having registered, although the protection is weaker.

3. Unauthorized publication of private facts is probably a privacy invasion that would give you a tort cause of action where you could recover money damages.

Have a local lawyer write a letter demanding return of the diary, without copying or publication of any part, and threatening action under these three principles.