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Blonder-Tongue Laboratories, Inc. v. University of Illinois Foundation

402 U.S. 313 · Decided May 3, 1971 · Supreme Court of the United States

Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.

At a glance

Blonder-Tongue Laboratories, Inc. v. University of Illinois Foundation was decided on May 3, 1971 unanimously (9–0). The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Patents” in the Economic Activity area. SCDB codes this decision as formally altering one or more of the Court's own precedents.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
402 U.S. 313 · 91 S. Ct. 1434 · 28 L. Ed. 2d 788 · 1971 U.S. LEXIS 119
Docket number
338
Decided
May 3, 1971
Argued
January 14, 1971
Court era
Burger Court
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Vacated and remanded
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
9–0 (unanimous)
Majority opinion
Byron R. White
Opinion assigned by
Warren E. Burger
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Issue (SCDB)
Patents
Legal provision
Estoppel
Type of law
Other
Altered precedent
Yes — formally altered the Court's precedent
Decision direction (SCDB)
Liberal what this means

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Blonder-Tongue Laboratories, Inc. v. University of Illinois Foundation et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1970-095, docket 1970-095-01.

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Cases on the same legal provision: Estoppel

Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)

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Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error