From the Copyright office of the Library of Congress:
A principle of American law is that an author of a work may reap the fruits of his or her intellectual creativity for a limited period of time. Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States for original works of authorship, including literary, dramatic, musical, architectural, cartographic, choreographic, pantomimic, pictorial, graphic, sculptural, and audiovisual creations.
Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States
(title 17, U. S. Code) to the authors of “original works of authorship,” including
literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This
protection is available to both published and unpublished works.
FAQs on copyright are available at the Library of Congress web site.
SLU Law research guide on Copyright Law is a great in-depth resource
Saint Louis Public Library, 1301 Olive Street, is a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) depository library, one of fifty in the United States. Librarians trained in patent searching are available to help anyone needing patent information. The phone number is 314-539-0390.
