Bonito Boats, Inc. v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc.
| Bonito Boats, Inc. v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc. | |
|---|---|
| Argued December 5, 1988 Decided February 21, 1989 | |
| Full case name | Bonito Boats, Inc. v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc. |
| Citations | 489 U.S. 141 (more) |
| Case history | |
| Prior | 487 So. 2d 395 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986); affirmed, 515 So. 2d 220 (Fla. 1987); cert. granted, 486 U.S. 1004 (1988). |
| Holding | |
| The Florida statute is preempted by the Supremacy Clause, because it partially duplicated and therefore interfered with federal patent law. | |
| Court membership | |
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| Case opinion | |
| Majority | O'Connor, joined by unanimous |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. Art. VI | |
Bonito Boats, Inc. v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc., 489 U.S. 141 (1989), is a decision of the United States Supreme Court holding a state anti-plug molding law preempted because it partially duplicated and therefore interfered with the balance Congress had struck by federal patent law. The decision reaffirmed the Supreme Court's earlier decision in Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. Stiffel Co. (1964), which held a state unfair competition law preempted on the same ground.