La clausola di recesso protegge il diritto d'autore.

Because clausola is a feminine singular noun in Italian. Feminine singular nouns normally take la in the definite form, so:

• la clausola = the clause

A lot of nouns ending in -a are feminine, and clausola is one of them.

Di recesso specifies what kind of clause it is.

• clausola = clause
• recesso = withdrawal, termination, cancellation, rescission (depending on legal context)

So clausola di recesso means something like withdrawal clause or termination clause.

This is a very common Italian pattern:

• nome + di + nome
• for example: camera da letto, bicchiere di vino, contratto di lavoro

In English, we often translate these with noun + noun or with of.

Because in this kind of classifying expression, Italian often uses di + noun without an article.

So:

• clausola di recesso = a clause of withdrawal / a withdrawal clause

This is similar to how English often says copyright law, employment contract, or termination clause without needing extra words like the.

If you added an article, it would usually sound more specific and would change the feel of the phrase.

No. This is a useful false-friend warning.

• recesso in legal Italian usually means withdrawal, termination, or rescission
• recessione is not the normal word for an economic recession
• recession in the economic sense is recessione

So recesso is about backing out of an agreement or ending it, not about the economy.

Protegge is the third-person singular present tense of proteggere (to protect).

The subject is la clausola di recesso, which is singular, so the verb must also be singular:

• la clausola ... protegge = the clause protects

Compare:

• la clausola protegge = the clause protects
• le clausole proteggono = the clauses protect

Because diritto is a masculine singular noun, so it takes il:

• il diritto = the right

Also, Italian often uses the definite article with abstract or general nouns more often than English does. So even when English might say copyright without the, Italian naturally says il diritto d'autore.

D'autore is an elided form of di autore.

Before a vowel, di is often shortened to d':

• di autore → d'autore

The apostrophe marks that shortening.

So:

• diritto d'autore literally = right of author
• natural meaning = copyright

This kind of shortening is very common in Italian before vowels.

Because this expression is talking about author in a general, classifying sense, not about the author as a specific person.

• d'autore = of author / author-related, in a general sense
• dell'autore = of the author, meaning a particular author

In diritto d'autore, Italian uses the fixed legal expression with no article before autore.

So:

• il diritto d'autore = copyright
• il diritto dell'autore would mean something more like the right of the author, referring more directly to a specific author or emphasizing the person

Because in Italian, il diritto d'autore is the standard singular term for copyright as a legal concept.

Even though English sometimes talks about copyright protections or authors' rights, Italian commonly uses the singular expression to name the concept itself.

So here:

• il diritto d'autore = copyright

If you changed the number, the meaning would shift.

Yes. The sentence follows the standard Italian order:

• Subject + Verb + Object

So:

• La clausola di recesso = subject
• protegge = verb
• il diritto d'autore = object

This is the most neutral and natural order for a simple statement. Italian can change word order for emphasis, but this version is the straightforward one a learner should expect most often.