In the United States v. American Bell Telephone Company case of 1896, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of Alexander Graham Bell and his company, upholding their patent rights to the telephone. The government had filed a suit against American Bell Telephone Company claiming that they obtained their patents for the telephone unlawfully and sought to invalidate them. However, after reviewing evidence presented by both parties, including prior inventions related to telephony technology such as Elisha Gray's liquid transmitter design and Philip Reis' musical telegraphy device, the court concluded that these devices were fundamentally different from Bell's invention which was capable of transmitting speech electrically. Therefore it held that neither could be considered as valid prior art against Bell’s patent claims. This decision affirmed Alexander Graham Bell as legally recognized inventor of practical telephone.

In the dissenting opinion for United States v. American Bell Telephone Company, Justice Harlan disagreed with the majority's decision to uphold Alexander Graham Bell's patent on the telephone. He argued that there was sufficient evidence to suggest that Elisha Gray had invented a similar device before Bell and thus should have been awarded the patent instead. Furthermore, he criticized how quickly and carelessly the Patent Office had granted Bell his patent without thoroughly investigating other claims of invention. In addition, Justice Harlan expressed concern about monopolies stifling competition in emerging industries such as telecommunications, which could potentially harm consumers by limiting their choices and driving up prices. He believed that this case represented an instance where corporate interests were prioritized over public welfare.