The initial owner of the copyright is the person who does the creative work (with a few exceptions). Works receive automatic copyright protection at the time they are created. You are not required to place a notice of copyright on the work or register it. Works that are original, published or unpublished, such as: a novel, poem, painting, photograph, film, digital item, industrial design or other type of created work are copyrighted.
Copyright protects OWNERS RIGHTS to :
Exceptions to OWNERS RIGHTS are limited in scope and number.
FAIR USE is a guide to USERS RIGHTS and is comprised of 4 factors which are used to access the big picture
FAIR USE CHECKLIST Columbia University Libraries
COPYRIGHT and FAIR USE Overview of copyright with additional resources. Stanford University Libraries.
COPYRIGHT QUICK GUIDE Overview of copyright from fundamentals, fair use, and resources. Columbia University Libraries
U.S. COPYRIGHT OFFICE Basic information, FAQs, and a site for teachers and students
What is Copyright? by Ryan Molton licensed by CC BY
Creativity, Copyright & Fair Use, by Common Sense Education licensed by CC BY-NC-SA 3.0