No, it is NOT enshrined in the Constitution. The
Constitution allows, but does not require, restrictions.
Article I, Section 8, Clause 8: "The Congress shall have
Power... 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;"
"Shall have the Power To" does NOT mean "SHALL" it means
"IS
ALLOWED TO." And that is restricted to "promote the
Progress of Science and useful Arts," limited by time, and
does not specifically state what means is used (ie. patents,
copyrights, etc).
Until Congress passed the 1st Patent Act (admittedly early
on), no Patents existed in the US. Even then, the subject
matter was very limited.
Ultimately Congress could (modulo the issues with
international treaties) eliminate patent or copyright and
still be within the Constitution.
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(Note IANAL, I don't play one on TV, etc, consult a practicing attorney, etc,
etc)
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