In the case of Buck et al. v. Jewell-LaSalle Realty Company, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1930 that a hotel owner was liable for copyright infringement when it retransmitted radio broadcasts to its guests through a speaker system installed within the building, even though they did not charge specifically for this service or benefit financially from it directly. The court reasoned that by providing this amenity, the hotel enhanced its overall attractiveness and profitability which constituted as "commercial use". Therefore, despite no direct profit being made from broadcasting copyrighted material itself, indirect commercial benefits were enough to establish liability under copyright law.

In the dissenting opinion for Buck et al. v. Jewell-Lasalle Realty Company, Justice Butler argued that the majority's decision to hold a hotel owner liable for copyright infringement due to a guest playing a radio in one of its rooms was unjust and overreaching. He contended that it was unreasonable to expect hotel owners to police their guests' activities so closely, especially when those activities were legal and commonplace like listening to the radio. Furthermore, he pointed out that there was no evidence suggesting that the hotel had any control over what stations its guests listened to or benefited financially from their choice of entertainment. Therefore, according this view, holding them accountable for potential copyright infringements committed by third parties without their knowledge or consent went against established principles of liability law.