Diamond, Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks v. Diehr et al.
Decided March 3, 1981. William Hubbs Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 79-1112 · 450 U.S. 175 (1981) · Cited 498 times
We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.
How the Justices voted
Decided 5–4.
Majority · 5
- William Hubbs Rehnquist · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Byron Raymond White
- Lewis Franklin Powell Jr.
- Potter Stewart
- Warren Earl Burger
Dissenting · 4
- Harry Andrew Blackmun
- John Paul Stevens · filed a dissenting opinion
- Thurgood Marshall
- William Joseph Brennan Jr.
“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.
Precedents cited
Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.
- Gottschalk v. Benson · 409 U.S. 63 (1972)
- Parker v. Flook · 437 U.S. 584 (1978)
- Cochrane v. Deener · 94 U.S. 780 (1877)
- Diamond v. Chakrabarty · 447 U.S. 303 (1980)
- Corning v. Burden · 56 U.S. 252 (1854)
- Funk Bros. Seed Co. v. Kalo Inoculant Co. · 333 U.S. 127 (1948)
- Le Roy v. Tatham · 55 U.S. 156 (1853)
- Dann v. Johnston · 425 U.S. 219 (1976)
- Perrin v. United States · 444 U.S. 37 (1979)
- Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. v. Supermarket Equipment Corp. · 340 U.S. 147 (1950)
- Eibel Process Co. v. Minnesota & Ontario Paper Co. · 261 U.S. 45 (1923)
- White v. Dunbar · 119 U.S. 47 (1886)
- United States v. Dubilier Condenser Corp · 289 U.S. 178 (1933)
- Expanded Metal Co. v. Bradford · 214 U.S. 366 (1909)
- Deepsouth Packing Co. v. Laitram Corp. · 406 U.S. 518 (1972)
- Halliburton Oil Well Cementing Co. v. Walker · 329 U.S. 1 (1946)
- Risdon Iron & Locomotive Works v. Medart · 158 U.S. 68 (1895)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc. · 566 U.S. 66 (2012)
- Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings v. Metabolite Laboratories, Inc. · 548 U.S. 124 (2006)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).