With a copyright the original author(s) holds the exclusive legal right to a literary, musical, dramatic, or artistic work in which they are protected under the laws of the U.S to publish, distribute, perform the work publicly, reproduce, sell, or license the work. A copyright lasts for 70 years after the life of the author.

You can only copyright works that are made in a tangible form, such as books, written or typed words on paper for literary works; CD's, sound recordings, written lyrics for music; DVD's, VHS, film for movies etc. As soon as a work is created the copyright is automatically secured to you, the author. However, you must file for a copyright with the U.S. Copyright office in order to enforce your copyright by lawsuit.

When you sign a contract with a large publisher they will protect and enforce the copyright.

According to the U.S. Copyright Office, "the mere act of placing a copy in the mail addressed to oneself does not secure statutory copyright protection for the work, nor will it serve as a substitute for registration of a claim to copyright in this Office in terms of legal and evidentiary value." This act is commonly known as the "poor man's copyright."

You should also familiarize yourself with plagiarism: to imitate or copy another persons creative work, idea(s) or written work 'word for word' without crediting or sourcing the information. To avoid plagiarism you my want to quote, cite or paraphrase the original source.