Quality King Distributors, Inc. v. L'Anza Research International, Inc.
523 U.S. 135 · Decided March 9, 1998 · 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
Quality King Distributors, Inc. v. L'Anza Research International, Inc. was decided on March 9, 1998 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice John Paul Stevens wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Copyrights” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 523 U.S. 135 · 118 S. Ct. 1125 · 140 L. Ed. 2d 254 · 1998 U.S. LEXIS 1606
- Docket number
- 96-1470
- Decided
- March 9, 1998
- Argued
- December 8, 1997
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- John Paul Stevens
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Copyrights
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- 17 U.S.C. § 109
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- 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 | 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 | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority |
Full case caption
Quality King Distributors, Inc. v. L'Anza Research International, Inc.
SCDB identifiers: case 1997-039, docket 1997-039-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Copyrights”
- C. Elvin Feltner, Jr. v. Columbia Pictures Television, Inc.Law held unconstitutional
- 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