In the 1900 case of Elgin National Watch Company v. Illinois Watch Case Company, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of Elgin National Watch Co., affirming that they had not infringed upon Illinois Watch Case Co.'s trademark rights. The dispute arose when both companies used similar designs for their watch cases, leading to confusion among consumers and accusations of trademark infringement by Illinois against Elgin. However, the court found that there was no evidence to suggest any deliberate intent on part of Elgin to deceive or mislead customers into believing its products were those manufactured by Illinois. Furthermore, it was determined that while both companies' designs shared similarities due to functional requirements and industry standards, these did not constitute a violation of trademark law as such features could not be exclusively claimed by one company over another.

In the dissenting opinion for Elgin National Watch Company v. Illinois Watch Case Company, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a lower court ruling favoring Elgin National was incorrect. The dissent contended that there were significant differences between the watch cases produced by both companies and thus, no trademark infringement had occurred. They believed that consumers could easily distinguish between products of each company based on their unique characteristics and features. Furthermore, they disagreed with the majority's interpretation of "unfair competition," arguing that Illinois Watch Case Company did not engage in deceptive practices or intentionally confuse customers about product origin as alleged by Elgin National. Therefore, they felt this case should have been dismissed instead of being upheld in favor of Elgin National.