Summary
Virtually any original and creative work can be registered. This includes:
Visual arts, including paintings, drawings (both artistic and technical), cartoons, toys, dolls, advertisements, bumper stickers, maps, interior designs, graphic designs, games, puzzles, cards, jewelry, needlework, record covers, posters, sculptures and photographs
Computer programs, including the source code and graphical user interface
Literary works, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and any other text
Websites, including graphics and text
Sound recordings (e.g., an actual recording of a song)
Musical compositions (e.g., the music and lyrics for a song)
Architectural works
Motion pictures, multimedia and other audiovisual works
Dramatic works, including plays and scripts
Pantomimes and choreographic works such as dance movements
Serials and periodicals, including newspapers, magazines, journals, and blogs
A slightly more formal way of saying this:
The subject matter of copyright consists of any original (i.e., independently conceived) and creative work fixed in a tangible medium (e.g., paper, CD, film, DVD, or computer disk). 17 U.S.C. § 102(a). Works eligible for copyright protection typically fall into one of eight categories: (1) literary works; (2) musical works; (3) dramatic works; (4) pantomimes and choreographic works; (5) pictorial, graphic and sculptural works; (6) motional pictures and other audiovisual works; (7) sound recordings; and (8) architectural works. These categories are broadly interpreted and a single creative work can possess multiple copyrights. For example, a computer program can have its source code protected as a literary work and its graphical user interface protected as an audiovisual work. A song can receive protection as a musical composition and as a sound recording.
What generally cannot be copyrighted:
Facts
Functional works (e.g., although a car may be a “work of art” in one’s eyes, its features that are functional are not copyrightable)
Titles, names or short phrases