Well, most places it is. This section is not meant to romanticize the obviously illegal practice of intellectual property theft, rather to put it into perspective. I know you want all the answers quick, but I'm a slow typist. You're just going to have to give me some time here. First of all, the copyright.
Copyrights work in many ways on many different levels.
The one that concerns us is the copyright of intellectual property. The intellectual property for the purpose of our discussion is a song. Most people choose to register their song with the Copyright Office. As confusing as it may sound, that registration process is not the copyright. Merely the registration of something that is already automatically copyrighted.