Copyright protection is automatic, from the time a work is first written down or recorded in some way. The author(s) of the work do not need to publish their work, put a copyright notice on it, or do anything else before the work is covered by copyright.

There are a number of situations in which people can use copyright material without permission. For example, there are provisions that allow students to use copyright material without permission provided their use is "fair". There are also special provisions for educational institutions, where some copying is permitted for educational purposes.