In the 1903 case of McLoughlin v. Raphael Tuck Co., the U.S. Supreme Court dealt with issues related to copyright law and infringement. The plaintiff, McLoughlin Bros., a publishing company, claimed that Raphael Tuck & Sons had infringed on their copyright by producing similar Christmas and Valentine cards which they alleged were copies of their own designs. However, the court found in favor of the defendant as it was determined that there was no substantial similarity between both parties' products beyond common themes or ideas which are not protected under copyright law. Furthermore, any similarities were deemed incidental or inevitable due to shared cultural influences rather than intentional copying.

In the dissenting opinion for McLoughlin v. Raphael Tuck Co., it was argued that copyright protection should extend to the plaintiff's work, despite its lack of originality in terms of design or concept. The dissenting justices believed that even though the plaintiff's work may have been based on common themes and designs, there were still unique elements present which deserved protection under copyright law. They contended that denying such protection would discourage creativity and innovation by allowing others to freely copy someone else’s labor without any repercussions. Furthermore, they disagreed with the majority view about what constitutes 'original' in copyright law context; emphasizing more on effort put into creating a piece rather than novelty aspect alone.