AMU Case - Eight Point

The post below explains submits that the long-standing case may not be overruled, with the help of a famous quote from Spiderman comic.  

Spiderman - Image by Mike McKone and Morry Hollowell / Marvel Comics

ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY AND MUSLIM RESERVATION

Introduction।। Points Involved in the Case।। Institution Should Be Established and Administered।। AMU Established by the Principal Act।। AMU Not Administered by Minority।। Legislature Can Not Reverse Decision।। Article 30 - Electoral And Not Numerical Minority।। 1981 Amendments Are Arbitrary।। 1981 Amendment is Against Secularism।। Long Standing Decision May Not be Overruled।। Bourbaki & Zero।।

The Basha case {1968 (1) SCR 833 = AIR 198 SC 662 S Azeez Basha Vs Union of India} was decided 55 years ago. Should it be overruled? 

It is instructive to read an observation of the US Supreme Court from Kimble v. Marvel Entertainment, LLC, 576 U.S. 446 (2015) (the Kimble Case). It is a case involving patent rights regarding a toy to mimic Spiderman's web throwing ability, owned by Marvel Entertainment, LLC, where the court used a famous quote from Spiderman's comics to emphasise its point.

Article VI, Clause 2 of the US Constitution is the Supremacy Clause. It provides that:

• The Constitution, federal laws made pursuant to it, and treaties made under its authority, constitute the 'supreme Law of the Land', and take priority over any conflicting state laws.
• The State courts are bound by, and state constitutions are subordinate to, the supreme law.

In Brulotte v. Thys Co., 379 U.S. 29 (1964) (the Brulotte case), the question was whether or not, a contract for payment of patent royalties after the expiration of the patent was misuse of the patent right under Supremacy Clause, thus unenforceable. 

The US Supreme Court held that notwithstanding the state contract law, it was invalid. This case was subjected to academic criticism. The court revisited it in the Kimble case but refuse to overrule it.

Drawing - patented device

Kimble had obtained a US Patent on a toy that allows children and other persons interested in playing as Spiderman to shoot a spider web (pressurized foam string from the palm of the hand as Spiderman. There was earlier suit between Kimble and Marvel Entertainment for use of the toy. It was settled and Marvel agreed to purchase Kimble's patent in exchange for a lump sum and a 3% running royalty on Marvel's future sales of the toy. There was no end date for royalties.

Subsequently, Marvel refused to pay royalty on the reasoning of the Brulotte case on the ground that it was not obliged to pay royalties after the patent expired. Kimble sued Marvel for breach of contract and Marvel counterclaimed for a declaration that it was no longer obligated to pay Kimble after the patent expired. The US Supreme Court was requested to overrule the Brulotte case, but it declined, observing,

"Overruling precedent is never a small matter. Stare decisis—in English, the idea that today’s Court should stand by yesterday’s decisions—is a foundation stone of the rule of law. ... 

As against this superpowered form of stare decisis, we would need a superspecial justification to warrant reversing Brulotte1. But the kinds of reasons we have most often held sufficient in the past do not help Kimble here. If anything, they reinforce our unwillingness to do what he asks. ...

First, Brulotte’s statutory and doctrinal underpinnings have not eroded over time ... 

second, nothing about Brulotte has proved unworkable. ...

Lacking recourse to those traditional justifications for overruling a prior decision, Kimble offers two different ones. He claims first that Brulotte rests on a mistaken view of the competitive effects of post-expiration royalties. He contends next that Brulotte suppresses technological innovation and so harms the nation’s economy ...

What we can decide, we can undecide. But stare decisis teaches that we should exercise that authority sparingly. 

'[I]n this world, with great power there must also come—great responsibility') [See End-Note-1]. 

Finding many reasons for staying the stare decisis course and no “special justification” for departing from it, we decline Kimble’s invitation to overrule Brulotte." 

The Basha case was decided 55 years ago. It may not be overruled.

End-Note-1: "In this world, with great power there must also come — great responsibility" is a quote from a 1962 Spider-Man comic book {Cf. S. Lee and S. Ditko, Amazing Fantasy No. 15: “Spider-Man,” p. 13 (1962)}. Here, Uncle Ben trying to guide a young Peter Parker to use his superpowers wisely in Amazing Fantasy No. 15, the comic which features the first appearance of Spider-Man. 

All pictures are courtesy Wikipedia.

#AMU #AligarhMuslimUniversity #MuslimReservation #Precedent #Law #LongStandingDecision