Festo Corporation v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co., Ltd.
535 U.S. 722 · Decided May 28, 2002 · 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
Festo Corporation v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co., Ltd. was decided on May 28, 2002 unanimously (9–0). The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Patents” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 535 U.S. 722 · 122 S. Ct. 1831 · 152 L. Ed. 2d 944 · 2002 U.S. LEXIS 3818
- Docket number
- 00-1543
- Decided
- May 28, 2002
- Argued
- January 8, 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
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Anthony M. Kennedy
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Patents
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- 35 U.S.C. § 112
- 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 | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority |
Full case caption
Festo Corporation v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co., Ltd., et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 2001-052, docket 2001-052-01.
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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