Stewart et al. v. Abend, Dba Authors Research Co.
Decided April 24, 1990. Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 88-2102 · 495 U.S. 207 (1990) · Cited 321 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 6–3.
Majority · 5
- Sandra Day O'Connor · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Anthony McLeod Kennedy
- Harry Andrew Blackmun
- Thurgood Marshall
- William Joseph Brennan Jr.
Concurring · 1
- Byron Raymond White · filed a concurring opinion
Dissenting · 3
- Antonin Scalia
- John Paul Stevens · filed a dissenting opinion
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
“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.
- Fred Fisher Music Co. v. M. Witmark & Sons · 318 U.S. 643 (1943)
- Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc. v. Nation Enterprises · 471 U.S. 539 (1985)
- Mills Music, Inc. v. Snyder · 469 U.S. 153 (1985)
- Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc. · 464 U.S. 417 (1984)
- Community for Creative Non-Violence v. Reid · 490 U.S. 730 (1989)
- De Sylva v. Ballentine · 351 U.S. 570 (1956)
- Fox Film Corp. v. Doyal · 286 U.S. 123 (1932)
- American Tobacco Co. v. Werckmeister · 207 U.S. 284 (1907)
- Kalem Co. v. Harper Brothers · 222 U.S. 55 (1911)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Petrella v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. · 572 U.S. 663 (2014)
- Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith · 598 U.S. 508 (2023)
- Eldred v. Ashcroft · 537 U.S. 186 (2003)
- New York Times Co. v. Tasini · 533 U.S. 483 (2001)
- Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. · 510 U.S. 569 (1994)
- Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc. · 593 U.S. 1 (2021)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
Explore from here
Sandra Day O'Connor’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
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).