Copyright protection consists of five basic rights (distribution, display, duplication, performance and creation of derivatives) that allow the creator of an original work to control how, where, and by whom it is used.
Copyright law protects original works of authorship including (but not limited to) literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works. It can include poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture.
Under current US law the term of copyright protection extends to the end of the calendar year 70 years past the death of the original author.
They aren't. Copyright protection is for a limited time, while trademarks can be protected in perpetuity as long as they are in use.
For the most part, you can assume that a given text or image is protected by copyright unless explicitly stated otherwise. Protection is automatic, and the term of protection is quite long. The real challenge is in finding out who the copyright belongs to.
As long as the work is copyrightable, it is automatically protected and a notification may be added. Notification is not required for protection.
Copyright and patent protection is for a limited time, but trademarks can be protected for as long as they are in use.
Copyright protection extends to the end of the calendar year 70 years past the death of the author.
New works are protected for the life of the author plus 50 years in most countries (the US has extended this to 70 years).
Works enter the public domain if they are not protected by copyright (such as works of the US Government), or once copyright protection has expired. The current term of copyright is extremely long, so works are protected for many years before they enter the public domain (at least 50 years past the death of the creator, and often longer).
For materials published prior to 1923, protection has expired. Any type of re-publication and distribution (such as posting a long excerpt) is permitted. There is no mechanism in place for materials to revert to a protected state once protection has expired. For information on the restoration of protection of Soviet works under GATT, see the related link.
Computer code is protected as a "literary work," and (as a corporate work) would be protected for 95 years from release. Code is often patented as well; patent protection would last 20 years.
Copyright law does not treat film differently from any other form of intellectual property. As long as it meets the criteria necessary for copyright protection no special action is necessary for copyright protection to exist.If you do decide that you want or need the additional protection a formally registered copyright can provide, contact the copyright office in your country for the proper procedure and required fees.
Protection is automatic, and registration is not required.
If you draw something, it's automatically protected by copyright. Otherwise... "register" is way too long.