Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. v. Supermarket Equipment Corp.
340 U.S. 147 · Decided December 4, 1950 · 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
Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. v. Supermarket Equipment Corp. was decided on December 4, 1950 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Robert H. Jackson wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Patents” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 340 U.S. 147 · 71 S. Ct. 127 · 95 L. Ed. 2d 162 · 1950 U.S. LEXIS 2604
- Docket number
- 32
- Decided
- December 4, 1950
- Argued
- October 18, 1950
- 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
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Robert H. Jackson
- Opinion assigned by
- Fred M. Vinson
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Patents
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- 35 U.S.C. § 33
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Robert H. Jackson | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Majority |
Full case caption
Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. v. Supermarket Equipment Corp.
SCDB identifiers: case 1950-014, docket 1950-014-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Patents”
- Automatic Radio Manufacturing Co., Inc. v. Hazeltine Research, Inc.
- Graver Tank & Mfg. Co., Inc. v. Linde Air Products Co.
- Faulkner v. Gibbs
- Graver Tank & Mfg. Co., Inc. v. Linde Air Products Co.
- Jungersen v. Ostby & Barton Co.
- Sanford v. Kepner
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Fogarty v. United States
- Standard Oil Company of New Jersey v. United States
- Libby v. United States
- United States v. United States Gypsum Co.
- Feres v. United States
- Cities Service Gas Co. v. Peerless Oil & Gas 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