Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com
139 S. Ct. 881 · Decided March 4, 2019 · 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
Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com was decided on March 4, 2019 unanimously (9–0). 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
- CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
- Supreme Court of the United States — slip opinions, October Term 2018
- Supreme Court of the United States — docket 17-571
Case details
- Citations
- 139 S. Ct. 881 · 203 L. Ed. 2d 147 · 2019 U.S. LEXIS 1730
- Docket number
- 17-571
- Decided
- March 4, 2019
- Argued
- January 8, 2019
- Court era
- Roberts 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
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Copyrights
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. 411
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority | |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Sonia Sotomayor | Majority | |
| Justice Elena Kagan | Majority | |
| Justice Neil M. Gorsuch | Majority | |
| Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh | Majority |
Full case caption
Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com
SCDB identifiers: case 2018-027, docket 2018-027-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Copyrights”
- Rimini Street Inc. v. Oracle USA Inc.
- Georgia v. Public.resource.org Inc.
- Star Athletica, L.L.C. v. Varsity Brands, Inc.
- Google LLC v. Oracle America Inc.
- Unicolors, Inc v. H&m Hennes & Mauritz, Lp
- Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts v. Goldsmith
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Weyerhaeuser Company v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Escondido v. Emmons
- Henry Schein Inc. v. Archer and White Sales Inc.
- Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.
- Rimini Street Inc. v. Oracle USA Inc.
- Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP
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