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Williams & Wilkins Co. v. United States

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Williams & Wilkins Co. v. United States
Argued December 17, 1974
Decided February 25, 1975
Full case nameWilliams & Wilkins Co. v. United States
Citations420U.S.376(more)
Case history
Prior487F.2d1345 (Ct. Cl.1973)
Holding
Court of Claims held that it was a fair use for libraries to photocopy articles for use by patrons engaged in scientific research. The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided Supreme Court.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Warren E. Burger
Associate Justices
William O. Douglas·William J. Brennan Jr.
Potter Stewart·Byron White
Thurgood Marshall·Harry Blackmun
Lewis F. Powell Jr.·William Rehnquist
Case opinion
Per curiam
Blackmun took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.

Williams & Wilkins Co. v. United States,487F.2d1345 (Ct. Cl.1973), was an importantintellectual propertydecision by the federalCourt of Claims,later affirmed by aper curiamopinion from an evenly dividedUnited States Supreme Court,with only eight justices voting (Harry Blackmuntook no part in the decision of this case). The decision held that it was afair useforlibrariestophotocopyarticles for use by patrons engaged in scientific research.

This decision, written by JudgeOscar Davis,has been cited as part of the trend in which the courts will take a cautious approach to intellectual property issues raised by the advent of new technology. Rather than enforce the rights of the author articles by placing a prohibition on such copying, the Court in this case held that this was not prohibited by the law as written, leaving it to theUnited States Congressto address the issue through legislation.

In particular, according toDavid L. Lange(No Law), the case was a turning point for the doctrine offair use:while for many decades the standards applied by courts to enforce copyright (or not) had been "arcana", the1976 Copyright Actcodified some fundamental criteria.

See also

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Further reading

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  • Perlman, Harvey S.;Rhinelander, Laurens H. (1975). "Williams & Wilkins Co. v. United States: Photocopying, Copyright, and the Judicial Process".The Supreme Court Review.1975.University of Chicago Press: 355–417.doi:10.2307/3108815.JSTOR3108815.
  • Gordon, Wendy J.(1982)."Fair Use as Market Failure: A Structural and Economic Analysis of the 'Betamax' Case and Its Predecessors".Columbia Law Review.82(8). Columbia Law Review Association, Inc.: 1600–1657.doi:10.2307/1122296.hdl:2144/22971.JSTOR1122296.S2CID151080880.
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  • ^420U.S.376(Text of the opinion on Findlaw.com)