Copyright

According to Copyright.gov "Copyright is a type of intellectual property that protects original works of authorship as soon as an author fixes the work in a tangible form of expression. In copyright law, there are a lot of different types of works, including paintings, photographs, illustrations, musical compositions, sound recordings, computer programs, books, poems, blog posts, movies, architectural works, plays, and so much more!"

Source: Copyright.gov

Categories Protected by Copyright

Copyright does not protect ideas, titles, names, short phrases, works in the public domain, forms that collect information, or links to Web sites. It does, however, protect "forms of expressions" delivered in the following formats:

• Literary works
• Musical works (along with accompanying lyrics)
• Dramatic works (along with accompanying music)
• Pantomimes and choreographic works
• Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
• Motion pictures and audiovisual works
• Sound recordings
• Architectural works
• Computer programs

The copyright owner has exclusive rights to:

• Reproduce or copy the work
• Prepare derivative works based on the copyrighted work
• Distribute the work to the public
• Perform the work in public
• Display the work in public

You do not need to register your work with the Copyright Office in order for it to be protected.  The biggest consideration is that it must be in a fixed and tangible form to be protected. This means as long as you have a physical representation of your work it is protected from the moment that you create it. 

There are certain circumstances where the creator does not retain rights to the work. One of these is if the creator was hired by an employer to create the work or it's creation is a part of their duties. In this case the employer is considered the author of the work or the creator and employer have joint ownership. Creators are also able to waive copyright protection for their work as well. This can be done through Open Access or Creative Commons, which allow creators to waive certain rights while keeping others. 

This is very important for your own work, but also important to remember about the work of others as well. Just because something has not been formally published does not mean that copyright does not apply, this is why it is always important to be mindful of how you are using other's work. 

Works created on or after January 1, 1978:

Creators retain the rights to a work for the life of the creator plus 70 years. In the case of works for hire (created for an employer) or those works that are anonymously created  the time frame is either 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation depending in which one is shorter.  

Once a work has moved out of copyright protection it is considered to be in the public domain.