As soon as it is "fixed in a tangible medium perceptible to human, machine reader or other device".
It should be assumed that a work is covered by copyright, as works do not need to state it, it is applied automatically.
No, your copyright is automatically applied once the work is created in a tangible form, such as written, recorded, etc.
Copyright law has existed in some form since 1709. The current laws protect a work of sufficient creativity as soon as it is fixed in a tangible medium.
A copyright notice generally consists of the word copyright or the symbol ©, the year the work was created, and the name of the creator (or rightsholder, e.g. the organization commissioning a work made for hire). Notification is not required for protection, but is certainly handy as a reminder to potential users, and quite frankly can be applied to the work anyway you wish: top, bottom, back, front, invisible ink, metadata, whatever.
To copyright a document, you can simply create the work and it is automatically protected under copyright law. However, for added protection, you can register your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office by submitting an application and a copy of your work.
Yes, you can use the copyright symbol () even if your work is not registered. The symbol indicates that the work is protected by copyright law, whether it is registered or not.
No; copyright would belong to the rightsholder of the underlying work.
Do I need to submit a different copyright application for each work that I do.
Copyright gives the creator of a work control over its use. A license is a way the copyright owner can allow others to use the work.
If you are not the creator of the work, you cannot claim copyright on it.
In Canada software is protected as a literary work under the Copyright Act of Canada. Copyright is acquired automatically when an original work is generated, the creator is not required to register or mark the work with the copyright symbol in order to be protected.
To ensure your work is protected under copyright law, you should create the work in a tangible form, such as writing it down or recording it. You should also include a copyright notice with your name, the copyright symbol , and the year of creation. Consider registering your work with the U.S. Copyright Office for added protection.