How To Copyright
The most important thing to know is that copyrights are secured automatically upon creation of your work. If you can prove what you wrote and when you wrote it (for example), your work is protected. Again, according to the Library of Congress:
“The way in which copyright protection is secured is frequently misunderstood. No publication or registration or other action in the Copyright Office is required to secure copyright… There are, however, certain definite advantages to registration.A formal copyright registration is made with the Library of Congress. In order to register your work you will need to send a properly completed application form, a nonrefundable filing fee of $30 for each application, and a non-returnable deposit of the work being registered. For more information and specific details on how to file a formal registration you should consult your attorney and/or go to the Library of Congress copyright website at www.copyright.gov
Copyright is secured automatically when the work is created, and a work is "created" when it is fixed in a copy or phonorecord for the first time. "Copies" are material objects from which a work can be read or visually perceived either directly or with the aid of a machine or device, such as books, manuscripts, sheet music, film, videotape, or microfilm. "Phonorecords" are material objects embodying fixations of sounds (excluding, by statutory definition, motion picture soundtracks), such as cassette tapes, CDs, or LPs. Thus, for example, a song (the "work") can be fixed in sheet music ("copies") or in phonograph disks ("phonorecords"), or both.
If a work is prepared over a period of time, the part of the work that is fixed on a particular date constitutes the created work as of that date.”
