Gottschalk v. Benson
409 U.S. 63 · Decided November 20, 1972 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Gottschalk v. Benson was decided on November 20, 1972 unanimously (6–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William O. Douglas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Patentability of computer processes” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 409 U.S. 63 · 93 S. Ct. 253 · 34 L. Ed. 2d 273 · 1972 U.S. LEXIS 129
- Docket number
- 71-485
- Decided
- November 20, 1972
- Argued
- October 16, 1972
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- William O. Douglas
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Patentability of computer processes
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- 35 U.S.C. § 100
- 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 | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority |
Did not participate: Potter Stewart, Harry A. Blackmun, Lewis F. Powell Jr..
Full case caption
Gottschalk, Acting Commissioner of Patents v. Benson et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1972-009, docket 1972-009-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Patentability of computer processes”
- Dann v. Johnston
- Parker v. Flook
- Diamond v. Diehr
- Diamond v. Bradley
- Ebay Inc. v. Mercexchange, L. L. C.
- Microsoft Corporation v. AT&T Corp.
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Evco v. JonesLaw held unconstitutional
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- Ricci v. Chicago Mercantile Exchange
- Hughes Tool Co. v. Trans World Airlines, 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