Mercoid Corporation v. Mid-Continent Inv Co’s Empirical Analysis
320 U.S. 661 · 1944
Citation profile
493 federal appellate · 163 district · 40 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 1,230 later decisions (98 by the Supreme Court) — most recently May 2021 · most notably Commissioner v. Sunnen (1948), Blonder-Tongue Laboratories, Inc. v. University of Illinois Foundation (1971)
493 federal appellate · 163 district · 40 state decisions — followed in 11 states
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Appellate journey
reviewedMid-Continent Inv. Co. v. Mercoid Corp. (from Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals)
Relationships
Relies on Cromwell v. County of Sac · Story Parchment Co. v. Paterson Parchment Paper Co. · Virginian Ry Co v. System Federation No 40 · Morton Salt Co. v. G. S. Suppiger Co.
Cited together with Morton Salt Co. v. G. S. Suppiger Co. · Mercoid Corporation v. Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Co · Carbice Corporation of America v. American Patents Development Corporation · Motion Picture Patents Company v. Universal Film Manufacturing Company · B. B. Chemical Co. v. Ellis
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 1,230 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“only as to those matters in issue or points controverted, upon the determination of which the finding or verdict was rendered.”
19 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“(i)t is the public interest which is dominant in the patent system.”
6 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“". . . in whatever posture the issue may be tendered courts of equity will withhold relief where the patentee and those claiming under him are using the patent privilege contrary to the public interest." Mercoid Corp. v. Mid-Continent Inv. Co., 320 U.S. 661, 669 , 64 S.Ct. 268, 273 , 88 L.Ed. 376 (1944), citing Morton Salt v. G. S. Suppiger Co., 314 U.S. 488, 492 , 62 S.Ct. 402 , 86 L.Ed. 363 (1942).”
5 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.