What is the legal term for protection provided for original works of authorship?

The legal term for the protection provided for original works of authorship is copyright. Copyright law grants creators exclusive rights to their original works, which can include literature, music, art, and software, among other types of creative expressions. This protection is intended to encourage creativity by allowing authors and artists to control how their works are used, reproduced, or distributed and to benefit financially from their creations.

The other options refer to different forms of intellectual property protection. For instance, patents protect inventions or processes that provide a new way of doing something or offer a new technical solution, while trademarks safeguard symbols, names, and slogans used to identify goods or services. Trade secrets involve confidential business information that provides a competitive edge, but they do not grant an exclusive right in the same way that copyrights do. Understanding these distinctions is essential for navigating the landscape of intellectual property.