"does that automatically confer copyright?"

To my understanding - proviso: not only am I not a lawyer, I don't even play one on TV - copyright is not "conferred"; you have it automatically upon creation of a work - however, if you have no proof that you created something by a certain date, then you have no defence against someone else claiming the copyright. Similarly, if you have proof but do not present a legal challenge, then someone else might get away with claiming the copyright. So, copyright is only as good as your proof and your willingness to defend it.

Copyright is often confused with registering a work with a recognized agency, which is a different, though related, matter.