Giving authors and creators rights to control uses of their works provides a financial incentive to create works in the first place. Dissemination of information and allowing others to use and build upon previous works advances that goal. Therefore, built into the copyright act are certain limitations on the exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder. Copyright covers all types of works Copyright protection attaches to all types of works including written material, music, plays, pantomimes, sculture, pictures, graphics, photographs, cartoons, motion pictures, audio-visual works, sound recordings, and architectural works. Copyright includes all forms of reproduction.
Protection begins the moment an original work is fixed in a tangible medium of expression.
This means, among other things, that a work does not have to be published or registered in order to be automatically protected by copyright. You don't have to do anything in order for copyright protection to begin. That doesn't mean you shouldn't register your work with the U.S. Copyright Office anyway. It's relatively easy and inexpensive to do. The copyright notice is no longer required.