Funk Brothers Seed Co. v. Kalo Inoculant Co.
333 U.S. 127 · Decided February 16, 1948 · 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
Funk Brothers Seed Co. v. Kalo Inoculant Co. was decided on February 16, 1948 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William O. Douglas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Patents” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 333 U.S. 127 · 68 S. Ct. 440 · 92 L. Ed. 2d 588 · 1948 U.S. LEXIS 2842
- Docket number
- 280
- Decided
- February 16, 1948
- Argued
- January 13, 1948
- Court era
- Vinson Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- William O. Douglas
- Opinion assigned by
- Fred M. Vinson
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Patents
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Frank Murphy | Majority | |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Dissent | |
| Justice Wiley B. Rutledge | Majority | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Majority |
Full case caption
Funk Brothers Seed Co. v. Kalo Inoculant Co.
SCDB identifiers: case 1947-039, docket 1947-039-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Patents”
- Mandel Brothers, Inc. v. Wallace
- Jungersen v. Ostby & Barton Co.
- Transparent-Wrap Machine Corp. v. Stokes & Smith Co.
- Graver Tank & Mfg. Co., Inc. v. Linde Air Products Co.
- Edward Katzinger Co. v. Chicago Metallic Manufacturing Co.
- Macgregor v. Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co.Altered precedent
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Federal Crop Insurance Corp. v. Merrill
- International Salt Co., Inc. v. United States
- Priebe & Sons, Inc. v. United States
- Lillie v. Thompson
- Aero Mayflower Transit Co. v. Board of Railroad Commissioners of Montana
- Callen v. Pennsylvania Railroad 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