•  Author
• Those deriving rights through or from the author
• Works for hire, the employer is the copyright holder
• Joint works, two or more authors can own copyright

Under 17 USCS section 102 the following is protected:

• Literature
• Music and lyrics
• Drama
• Pantomime and dance
  Pictures, graphics, sculpture
• Films
• Sound Recordings
• Architecture
• Software

"In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work."

(U.S. Copyright Office)