Kimble v. Marvel Enterprises, Inc. (576 U.S. 466)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 22, 2015 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 576 U.S. 466 · 135 S. Ct. 2401
- Docket
- No. 13-720
- Argued
- March 31, 2015
- Decided
- June 22, 2015
- Term
- October Term 2014
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority author
- Justice Kagan
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
How the Justices voted
- Majority
- Justice Scalia, Justice Kennedy, Justice Ginsburg, Justice Breyer, Justice Sotomayor, Justice Kagan (wrote)
- Dissenting
- Chief Justice Roberts, Justice Thomas, Justice Alito (wrote)
Oral argument transcript and advocates · Opinion on Justia
Opinion excerpt
Justice KAGAN delivered the opinion of the Court. In Brulotte v. Thys Co., 379 U.S. 29, 85 S.Ct. 176, 13 L.Ed.2d 99 (1964), this Court held that a patent holder cannot charge royalties for the use of his invention after its patent term has expired. The sole question presented here is whether we should overrule Brulotte . Adhering to principles of stare decisis, we decline to do so. Critics of the Brulotte rule must seek relief not from this Court but from Congress. I In 1990, petitioner Stephen Kimble obtained a patent on a toy that allows children (and young-at-heart adults) to role-play as "a spider person" by shooting webs-really, pressurized foam string-"from the palm of [the] hand." U.S. Patent No. 5,072,856, Abstract (filed May 25, 1990). Respondent Marvel Entertainment, LLC (Marvel) makes and markets products featuring Spider-Man, among other comic-book characters. Seeking to sell or license his patent, Kimble met with the president of Marvel's corporate predecessor to discuss his idea for web-slinging fun. Soon afterward, but without remunerating Kimble, that company began marketing the " Web Blaster"-a toy that, like Kimble's patented invention, enables would-be action heroes to mimic Spider-Man through the use of a polyester glove and a canister of foam. Kimble sued Marvel in 1997 alleging, among other things, patent infringement. The parties ultimately settled that…
Excerpt of a 48,976-character opinion. The full text and citation network load in the interactive viewer above.