Twentieth Century Music Corp. v. Aiken
422 U.S. 151 · Decided June 17, 1975 · 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
Twentieth Century Music Corp. v. Aiken was decided on June 17, 1975 by a vote of 7–2. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Potter Stewart wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Copyrights” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 422 U.S. 151 · 95 S. Ct. 2040 · 45 L. Ed. 2d 84 · 1975 U.S. LEXIS 156
- Docket number
- 74-452
- Decided
- June 17, 1975
- Argued
- April 21, 1975
- Court era
- Burger 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
- Potter Stewart
- Opinion assigned by
- William J. Brennan Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Copyrights
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- 17 U.S.C. § 1
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority |
Full case caption
Twentieth Century Music Corp. et al. v. Aiken
SCDB identifiers: case 1974-126, docket 1974-126-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Copyrights”
- Teleprompter Corp. v. Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc.
- Goldstein v. California
- Fortnightly Corp. v. United Artists Television, Inc.
- Sony Corporation of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc.
- Mills Music, Inc. v. Snyder
- Harper & Row v. Nation Enterprises
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Gulf Oil Corp. v. Copp Paving Co., Inc.
- Bowman Transportation, Inc. v. Arkansas-Best Freight System, Inc.
- Kelley v. Southern Pacific Co.
- Standard Pressed Steel Co. v. Department of Revenue of Washington
- Train v. City of New York
- Train v. Campaign Clean Water, 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