Mazer v. Stein
Mazer v. Stein | |||||||
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Argued December 3, 1953 Decided March 8, 1954 | |||||||
Full case name | Mazer v. Stein | ||||||
Citations |
74 S.Ct. 460. 98 L.Ed. 630 | ||||||
Prior history | Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit | ||||||
Holding | |||||||
Copyright may extend to mass-produced items, even though just the aesthetic form, not the mechanical or utilitarian aspects. | |||||||
Court membership | |||||||
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Case opinions | |||||||
Majority | Reed, joined by Warren, Frankfurter, Jackson, Burton, Clark, Minton | ||||||
Concurrence | Douglas, joined by Black |
Mazer v. Stein, 347 U.S. 201 (1954), was a copyright case decided by the United States Supreme Court. In an opinion written by Justice Stanley F. Reed, the Supreme Court held that the statuettes—male and female dancing figures made of semivitreous china—used as bases for fully equipped electric lamps were copyrightable, even though the lamp itself was a utilitarian mass-produced item.
See also
Further reading
- Handler, S. P. (1971). "Copyright Protection for Mass-Produced, Commercial Products: A Review of the Developments Following Mazer v. Stein". University of Chicago Law Review 38 (4): 807–825. JSTOR 1598873.
- Hauhart, Robert C. (1983). "The Eternal Wavering Line – The Continuing Saga of Mazer v. Stein". Hamline L. Rev. 6: 95.
- Latman, Alan (1968). "Fifteen Years after Mazer v. Stein: A Brief Perspective". Bull. Copyright Soc'y U.S.A. 16: 278.