Higgins v. Keuffel

Higgins v. Keuffel
Argued April 7–8, 1891
Decided May 11, 1891
Full case nameHiggins v. Keuffel
Citations140 U.S. 428 (more)
11 S. Ct. 731; 35 L. Ed. 470
Holding
A label describing the contents of a container is not subject to copyright.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Melville Fuller
Associate Justices
Stephen J. Field · Joseph P. Bradley
John M. Harlan · Horace Gray
Samuel Blatchford · Lucius Q. C. Lamar II
David J. Brewer · Henry B. Brown
Case opinion
MajorityField, joined by unanimous

Higgins v. Keuffel, 140 U.S. 428 (1891), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held a label describing the contents of a container is not subject to copyright.[1]

The case has been read narrowly since it was decided. It applies to labels with "no artistic excellence."[2]

References

  1. ^ Higgins v. Keuffel, 140 U.S. 428 (1891).
  2. ^ Bracha, Oren (2016). Owning Ideas: The Intellectual Origins of American Intellectual Property, 1790–1909. Cambridge University Press. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-521-87766-4.