Eli Lilly and Company v. Medtronic, Inc.
Decided June 18, 1990. Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 89-243 · 496 U.S. 661 (1990) · Cited 245 times
Holding
Section 271(e)(1) exempts from infringement the use of patented inventions reasonably related to the development and submission of information needed to obtain marketing approval of medical devices under the FDCA.
The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.
How the Justices voted
Decided 6–2.
Majority · 6
- Antonin Scalia · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Harry Andrew Blackmun
- John Paul Stevens
- Thurgood Marshall
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
- William Joseph Brennan Jr.
Dissenting · 2
- Anthony McLeod Kennedy · filed a dissenting opinion
- Byron Raymond White
“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.
- Pittston Coal Group v. Sebben · 488 U.S. 105 (1988)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, Ltd. v. Novo Nordisk A/s · 566 U.S. 399 (2012)
- F.T.C. v. Actavis, Inc. · 570 U.S. 136 (2013)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
Explore from here
Antonin Scalia’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1990). 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).