Bobbs-Merrill Company v. Isidor Straus R H’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

127 federal appellate · 58 district · 38 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 441 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The precise question, therefore, in this case is: Does the sole right to vend (named in section 495.2) secure to the owner of the copyright the right, after a sale of the book to a purchaser, to restrict futux-e sales of the book at retail, to the right to sell it at a certain price per copy, because of a notice m the booh that a sale at a different price will be treated as an infringement, which notice has been brought home .to one undertaking to sell for less than the named sum? We do not think the statute can be given such a construction, and it is to be remembered that this is purely a question of statutory construction. There is no claim in this case of contract Uimtation, nor license agreement controlling the subsequent sales of the booh."”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Quality King Distributors, Inc. v. L'Anza Research International, Inc. · American Graphophone Co. v. Boston Store

2. ““In this case (he stipulated facts show that the books sold by the appellant were sold at wholesale, and purchased by those who made no agreement as to the control of future sales of the book, and took upon themselves no obligation to enforce the notice printed in the book, undertaking to restrict retail sales to a price of one dollar per copy. “The precise question therefore in this case is: Does the sole right to vend secure to the owner of the copyright the right, after* a sale of the book to a purchaser, to restrict future sales of the book at retail, to the right to sell it at a certain price per copy, because of a notice in (he book that a sale at a different price will bo treated as an infringement, which notice has been brought home to one undertaking to sell for less than (he named sum? We do not think the statute can be given shell a construction, and it is to be remembered that this is purely a question of statutory construction. There is no claim in this case of contract limitation nor license agreement controlling the subsequent sales of the book.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Quality King Distributors, Inc. v. L'Anza Research International, Inc. · Ford Motor Co. v. Benjamin Boone, Inc.

3. “The purchaser of a book, once sold by authority of the owner of the copyright, may sell it again, although he could not publish a new edition of it. In our view the copyright statutes, while protecting the owner of the copyright in his right to multiply and sell his production, do not create the right to impose, by notice, such as is disclosed in this case, a limitation at which the book shall be sold at retail by future purchasers, with whom there is no privity of contract.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. v. Kirtsaeng · Capitol Records, LLC v. Redigi Inc.