Legal Opinion
Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. Stiffel Co.
Supreme Court of the United States
Decided April 6, 1964No. 108PublishedCited by 661 opinions
1Opinion of the CourtJustice Black
The question in this case is whether a State’s unfair competition law can, consistently with the federal patent laws, impose liability for or prohibit the copying of an article which is protected by neither a federal patent nor a copyright. The respondent, Stiffel Company, secured design and mechanical patents on a “pole lamp” — a ver tical tube having lamp fixtures along the outside, the tube being made so that it will stand upright between the floor and ceiling of a room. Pole lamps proved a decided commercial success, and soon after Stiffel brought them on the market Sears, Roebuck &…
2Cases cited22 opinions
- Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. v. Supermarket Equipment Corp.Supreme Court of the United States · 1951
- Kellogg Co. v. National Biscuit Co.Supreme Court of the United States · 1938
- Morton Salt Co. v. G. S. Suppiger Co.Supreme Court of the United States · 1942
- Cuno Engineering Corp. v. Automatic Devices Corp.Supreme Court of the United States · 1942
- Atlantic Works v. BradySupreme Court of the United States · 1883
17 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by661 opinions
- Blonder-Tongue Laboratories, Inc. v. University of Illinois FoundationSupreme Court of the United States · 1971
- Inwood Laboratories, Inc. v. Ives Laboratories, Inc.Supreme Court of the United States · 1982
- Perez. v. CampbellSupreme Court of the United States · 1971
- Bonito Boats, Inc. v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc.Supreme Court of the United States · 1989
- Kewanee Oil Co. v. Bicron Corp.Supreme Court of the United States · 1974
656 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.