US Supreme Court stands by precedent in Spider-Man toy patent case

Washington

WRITING for the majority in a patent case about a Spider-Man toy, Justice Elena Kagan concluded her decision with a quotation from a 1962 Spider-Man comic book: "In this world, with great power there must also come great responsibility."

The lesson, she wrote, is that the Supreme Court should use its power cautiously when it is asked to overrule a precedent. "What we can decide, we can undecide. But stare decisis (Latin for "to stand by things decided) teaches that we should exercise that authority sparingly."