Q. Todd Dickinson, Acting Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks v. Mary E. Zurko et al.

Decided June 10, 1999. Stephen Gerald Breyer delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 98-377 · 527 U.S. 150 (1999) · Cited 731 times

Holding

The Federal Circuit must use the framework set forth in § 706 when reviewing PTO findings of fact.

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 6–3.

“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.

• Morgan v. Daniels · 153 U.S. 120 (1894)
• Universal Camera Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board · 340 U.S. 474 (1951)
• Consolidated Edison Co. v. National Labor Relations Board · 305 U.S. 197 (1938)
• United States v. United States Gypsum Co. · 333 U.S. 364 (1948)
• Securities & Exchange Commission v. Chenery Corp. · 318 U.S. 80 (1943)
• Concrete Pipe & Products of Cal., Inc. v. Construction Laborers Pension Trust for Southern Cal. · 508 U.S. 602 (1993)
• Dobson v. Commissioner · 320 U.S. 489 (1944)
• Rochester Telephone Corp. v. United States · 307 U.S. 125 (1939)
• Interstate Commerce Commission v. Louisville & Nashville Railroad · 227 U.S. 88 (1913)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Link-Belt Co. · 311 U.S. 584 (1941)
• Square D Co. v. Niagara Frontier Tariff Bureau, Inc. · 476 U.S. 409 (1986)
• Coffin v. Ogden · 85 U.S. 120 (1874)
• Cantrell v. Wallick · 117 U.S. 689 (1886)
• Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. v. Grosjean · 301 U.S. 412 (1937)
• Dow Chemical Co. v. Halliburton Oil Well Cementing Co. · 324 U.S. 320 (1945)
• BORDEN’S FARM PRODUCTS CO., INC. v. TEN EYCK, COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE & MARKETS OF NEW YORK, Et Al. · 297 U.S. 251 (1936)
• Federal Trade Commission v. Curtis Publishing Co. · 260 U.S. 568 (1923)

Cited by

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

• Biestek v. Berryhill · 587 U.S. 97 (2019)

Official text

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

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Stephen Gerald Breyer’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1999). 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).