Dowling v. United States (1985)
| Dowling v. United States | |
|---|---|
| Argued April 17, 1985 Decided June 28, 1985 | |
| Full case name | Paul Edmond Dowling v. United States |
| Citations | 473 U.S. 207 (more) |
| Case history | |
| Prior | United States v. Dowling, 739 F.2d 1445 (9th Cir. 1984); cert. granted, 469 U.S. 1157 (1985). |
| Holding | |
| Copies of copyrighted works cannot be regarded as "stolen property" for the purposes of a prosecution under the National Stolen Property Act of 1934. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Blackmun, joined by Brennan, Marshall, Rehnquist, Stevens, O'Connor |
| Dissent | Powell, joined by Burger, White |
| Laws applied | |
| Copyright Act of 1976, National Stolen Property Act of 1934 | |
Dowling v. United States, 473 U.S. 207 (1985), was a United States Supreme Court case that discussed whether copies of copyrighted works could be regarded as stolen property for the purposes of a law which criminalized the interstate transportation of property that had been "stolen, converted or taken by fraud" and holding that they could not be so regarded under that law.