How can I tell if a material is U.S. Copyright protected?

Any picture, material, text, information, quote, map, song or illustration that you personally did not create is U.S. Copyright protected by the person who created and/or published the material. To find out whether a work is copyrighted in the U.S., first examine the work itself for clues as to whether it is protected by copyright. Works not protected by copyright are in the “public domain” and can be used freely. If you suspect a work may be protected by copyright, search for it through the records of the U.S. Copyright Office.