Illinois Tool Works Inc., et al. v. Independent Ink, Inc.

Decided March 1, 2006. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 04-1329 · 547 U.S. 28 (2006) · Cited 216 times

Holding

Because a patent does not necessarily confer market power upon the patentee, in all cases involving a tying arrangement, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant has market power in the tying product.

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 8–0.

“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.

• Jefferson Parish Hospital District No. 2 v. Hyde · 466 U.S. 2 (1984)
• International Salt Co. v. United States · 332 U.S. 392 (1947)
• Fortner Enterprises, Inc. v. United States Steel Corp. · 394 U.S. 495 (1969)
• United States v. Loew's Inc. · 371 U.S. 38 (1962)
• Mercoid Corp. v. Mid-Continent Investment Co. · 320 U.S. 661 (1944)
• Motion Picture Patents Co. v. Universal Film Manufacturing Co. · 243 U.S. 502 (1917)
• Standard Oil Co. of California v. United States · 337 U.S. 293 (1949)
• Morton Salt Co. v. G. S. Suppiger Co. · 314 U.S. 488 (1942)
• Henry v. A. B. Dick Co. · 224 U.S. 1 (1912)
• Times-Picayune Publishing Co. v. United States · 345 U.S. 594 (1953)
• Carbice Corp. of America v. American Patents Development Corp. · 283 U.S. 27 (1931)
• Dawson Chemical Co. v. Rohm & Haas Co. · 448 U.S. 176 (1980)
• United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. · 334 U.S. 131 (1948)
• United States v. Columbia Steel Co. · 334 U.S. 495 (1948)
• United States Steel Corp. v. Fortner Enterprises, Inc. · 429 U.S. 610 (1977)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Kimble v. Marvel Entertainment, LLC · 576 U.S. 466 (2015)
• John R. Sand & Gravel Co. v. United States · 552 U.S. 130 (2008)
• Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc. v. PSKS, Inc. · 551 U.S. 877 (2007)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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John Paul Stevens’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2006). 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).