How doe Congress protect the rights of authors and inventors?
2 answers
Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution, known as the Copyright Clause, empowers the United States Congress "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries". This means the author/inventor will get a a patent or copyright on their work, so they will get credit and will not be copied.
Authors and inventors hold copyrights and patents on their works. These are covered by laws passed by Congress. It's illegal to steal these works.