Wheaton v. Peters | |
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Decided March 19, 1834 | |
Full case name | Henry Wheaton and Robert Donaldson, Appellants v. Richard Peters and John Grigg |
Citations | 33 U.S. 591 (more) |
Holding | |
There is no common law copyright after a work's publication, and court reporters cannot hold copyrights on the cases compiled in the course of their work. | |
Court membership | |
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Case opinions | |
Majority | McLean, joined by Marshall, Johnson, Duvall, Story |
Dissent | Thompson |
Dissent | Baldwin |
Wheaton v. Peters, 33 U.S. (8 Pet.) 591 (1834), was the first United States Supreme Court ruling on copyright. The case upheld the power of Congress to make a grant of copyright protection subject to conditions and rejected the doctrine of a common law copyright in published works. The Court also declared that there could be no copyright in the Court's own judicial decisions.[1]