Teleprompter Corp. v. Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc.
415 U.S. 394 · Decided March 4, 1974 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Teleprompter Corp. v. Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. was decided on March 4, 1974 by a vote of 6–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision in part, reversed or vacated it in part, and remanded the case. Justice Potter Stewart wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Copyrights” in the Economic Activity area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 415 U.S. 394 · 94 S. Ct. 1129 · 39 L. Ed. 2d 415 · 1974 U.S. LEXIS 110
- Docket number
- 72-1628
- Decided
- March 4, 1974
- Argued
- January 7, 1974
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed and reversed (or vacated) in part and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Potter Stewart
- Opinion assigned by
- William J. Brennan Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Copyrights
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Legal provision
- 17 U.S.C. § 1
- 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 | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Dissent | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority |
Full case caption
Teleprompter Corp. et al. v. Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1973-069, docket 1973-069-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Copyrights”
- Goldstein v. California
- Twentieth Century Music Corp. v. Aiken
- Fortnightly Corp. v. United Artists Television, Inc.
- Sony Corporation of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc.
- Mills Music, Inc. v. Snyder
- Harper & Row v. Nation Enterprises
Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)
- Merrill Lynch v. Ware
- North Dakota State Board of Pharmacy v. Snyder's Drug Stores, Inc.Altered precedent
- National Railroad Passenger Corp. v. National Association of Railroad Passengers
- Sea-Land Services, Inc. v. Gaudet
- Federal Power Commission v. New England Power Co.
- United States v. General Dynamics Corp.
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