What laws protect authors' rights in their works?

Copyright laws are the specific legal framework designed to protect authors' rights in their original works. These laws grant creators exclusive rights to their creations, which include literary works, music, art, and other forms of expression. This protection typically allows authors to control how their works are used, reproduced, distributed, and displayed, thereby promoting creativity and ensuring that artists can benefit from their labor.

The essence of copyright is to give authors the legal means to prevent unauthorized use of their works, thus safeguarding their intellectual property. While patent laws protect inventions and processes, trademark laws safeguard brand names and logos, and trade secret laws focus on confidential business information, it is copyright that specifically addresses the rights of authors over their creative outputs. This specialized focus on creative expression is what differentiates copyright from the other types of intellectual property protections.