C. Elvin Feltner, Jr. v. Columbia Pictures Television, Inc.
523 U.S. 340 · Decided March 31, 1998 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
C. Elvin Feltner, Jr. v. Columbia Pictures Television, Inc. was decided on March 31, 1998 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Copyrights” in the Economic Activity area. SCDB records that the Court declared an act of Congress unconstitutional.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 523 U.S. 340 · 118 S. Ct. 1279 · 140 L. Ed. 2d 438 · 1998 U.S. LEXIS 2301
- Docket number
- 96-1768
- Decided
- March 31, 1998
- Argued
- January 21, 1998
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Clarence Thomas
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Copyrights
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- 17 U.S.C. § 504
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Held unconstitutional
- An act of Congress
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority |
Full case caption
C. Elvin Feltner, Jr. v. Columbia Pictures Television, Inc.
SCDB identifiers: case 1997-049, docket 1997-049-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Copyrights”
- Quality King Distributors, Inc. v. L'Anza Research International, Inc.
- Lotus Development Corporation v. Borland International, Inc.
- Traffix Devices, Inc. v. Marketing Displays, Inc.
- New York Times Company, Inc. v. Jonathan Tasini
- Luther R. Campbell aka Luke Skyywalker v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.
- Eric Eldred v. John D. Ashcroft
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- State Oil Company v. Barkat U. Khan and Khan & Associates, Inc.Altered precedent
- Bay Area Laundry and Dry Cleaning Pension Trust Fund v. Ferbar Corporation of California, Inc.
- Fidelity Financial Services, Inc. v. Richard V Fink
- Christopher H. Lunding v. New York Tax Appeals TribunalLaw held unconstitutional
- Newsweek, Inc. v. Florida Department of Revenue
- National Credit Union Administration v. First National Bank & Trust Co.
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