Aro Manufacturing Co. v. Convertible Top Replacement Co.

Aro Manufacturing Co. v. Convertible Top Replacement Co.
Argued October 13, 17, 1960
Decided February 27, 1961
Full case nameAro Manufacturing Co. v. Convertible Top Replacement Co.
Citations365 U.S. 336 (more)
81 S. Ct. 599; 5 L. Ed. 2d 592; 1961 U.S. LEXIS 1944; 128 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 354
Case history
Prior270 F.2d 200 (1st Cir. 1959); cert. granted, 362 U.S. 902 (1960).
Subsequent312 F.2d 52 (1st Cir. 1962); cert. granted, 372 U.S. 958 (1963); affirmed in part, reversed in part, 377 U.S. 476 (1964); motion to dismiss granted, 240 F. Supp. 805 (D. Mass. 1965); affirmed, 352 F.2d 400 (1st Cir. 1965); cert. denied, 383 U.S. 947 (1966).
Holding
Petitioners were not guilty of either direct or contributory infringement of the patent.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Earl Warren
Associate Justices
Hugo Black · Felix Frankfurter
William O. Douglas · Tom C. Clark
John M. Harlan II · William J. Brennan Jr.
Charles E. Whittaker · Potter Stewart
Case opinions
MajorityWhittaker, joined by Warren, Black, Douglas, Clark
ConcurrenceBlack
ConcurrenceBrennan (in judgment)
DissentHarlan, joined by Frankfurter, Stewart

Aro Manufacturing Co. v. Convertible Top Replacement Co., 365 U.S. 336 (1961), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court redefined the U.S. patent law doctrine of repair and reconstruction. The decision is sometimes referred to as Aro I because several years later the Supreme Court readdressed the same issues in a second case in 1964 involving the same parties—Aro II.