Reed Elsevier, Inc. v. Irvin Muchnick
559 U.S. 154 · Decided March 2, 2010 · 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
Reed Elsevier, Inc. v. Irvin Muchnick was decided on March 2, 2010 unanimously (8–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Copyrights” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 559 U.S. 154 · 130 S. Ct. 1237 · 176 L. Ed. 2d 18 · 2010 U.S. LEXIS 2202
- Docket number
- 08-103
- Decided
- March 2, 2010
- Argued
- October 7, 2009
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Clarence Thomas
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Copyrights
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- 17-411
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Special concurrence | |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Majority |
Did not participate: Sonia Sotomayor.
Full case caption
Reed Elsevier, Inc., et Al., v. Irvin Muchnick et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 2009-028, docket 2009-028-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Copyrights”
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- Lawrence Golan v. Eric H. Holder, Jr.
- Supap Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
- Petrella v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.
- American Broadcasting Cos. v. Aereo, Inc.
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd.
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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