Originally Posted by
Kristi.G
Actually they are. Anything you write is technically copyrighted. You don't have to register it to own the copyright, although if you ever have to go to court over infringement, you stand a better chance of proving ownership if you did register it.
When I was doing my Masters, I was in a class where the professor used papers the students wrote in a book she published. We did not know it at the time, nor did she *ask permission* to use them. I thought that was pretty low, but I understand people do that all the time. One reason certain professors assign thesis topics is because they want students to do research for books they are writing. It is kind of a shock to see your words verbatim in someone's book.