About DRM protected music that you have purchased

[Mike Anderson]

There is more to the Constitution then the Amendments. Article 1 Section 8 specifically authorized the legislature "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." That is the constitutional foundation of the Copyright Act and by extention the DMCA.

All that does is give Congress the jurisdiction to legislate it; that does NOT elevate intellectual property rights to the status of a "constitutional right" held by individuals as against private parties. That's a critical distinction.

For example, Congress could pass a law tomorrow completely rescinding the Copyright Act, or the DMCA. By contrast, it could NOT pass a law allowing for takings of property by a state actor in violation of the Fifth Amendment, because that would violate individuals' constitutional rights.