The Supreme Court in 1984 reversed the federal court decision finding that the VCR was an illegal product.

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The Supreme Court decided that the VCR was not illegal because the product is capable of important uses that do not infringe on copyright.

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"It is plain that if this law were about widgets or some other product, it would be illegal under very established doctrine, " says John McGinnis, a professor at Northwestern Law.

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The ruling would allow companies to sell the GM sweet corn in tins, clearly labelled as a GM product, but growing the crop would still be illegal.

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