Bonito Boats, Inc. v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc.
489 U.S. 141 (1989) - full text opinion
In direct response to this case, the Congress passed the
Vessel Hull Design Protection Act as part of the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The VHDPA provides copyright protections to hull designs, and many boat builders have registered their designs. The law has been incorporated into Chapter 13 of the Copyright Act.