A copyright arises, by federal statute, at the moment an original work of authorship is fixed in a tangible medium of expression.
A copyright provides exclusive rights to control who can:
- reproduce the work;
- prepare derivative works;
- distribute copies to the public by sale, rental, lease, or lending;
- perform the work publicly; and
- display the work publicly.
These rights are divisible, and each one can be allocated for different uses, territories, times, mediums, etc.
More information is available from the U.S. Copyright Office.