The constitution also establishes the principle of private property but leaves open the possibility of expropriation in case there is any public need that requires it.
"It is hard to think of a more fundamental American principle than the sanctity of the home and private property, " says Robert McNamara, an institute attorney.
For Madison and the Framers, it was a matter of principle that government was meant to protect persons and property not to redistribute income and wealth.
The first-sale doctrine, which the Court upheld in its decision, is a principle that the legal purchaser of a copyright-protected item may dispose of that property anyway he or she sees fit.