Eric Eldred v. John D. Ashcroft
537 U.S. 186 · Decided January 15, 2003 · 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
Eric Eldred v. John D. Ashcroft was decided on January 15, 2003 by a vote of 7–2. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Copyrights” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 537 U.S. 186 · 123 S. Ct. 769 · 154 L. Ed. 2d 683 · 2003 U.S. LEXIS 751
- Docket number
- 01-618
- Decided
- January 15, 2003
- Argued
- October 9, 2002
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Copyrights
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- 17 U.S.C. § 302
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Eric Eldred, et al. v. John D. Ashcroft, Attorney General
SCDB identifiers: case 2002-015, docket 2002-015-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Copyrights”
- New York Times Company, Inc. v. Jonathan Tasini
- Traffix Devices, Inc. v. Marketing Displays, Inc.
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd.
- C. Elvin Feltner, Jr. v. Columbia Pictures Television, Inc.Law held unconstitutional
- Quality King Distributors, Inc. v. L'Anza Research International, Inc.
- Lotus Development Corporation v. Borland International, Inc.
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Yellow Transportation, Inc. v. Michigan
- Karen Howsam, Etc. v. Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc.
- Borden Ranch Partnership and Angelo K. Tsakopoulos v. United States Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency
- Pierce County v. Ignacio Guillen
- Federal Communications Commission v. Nextwave Personal Communications Inc.
- Victor Moseley and Cathy Moseley v. V Secret Catalogue, Inc.
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