The size of the Court is not specified; the Constitution leaves it to Congress to set the number of justices.

When the cases in volume 111 U.S. were decided the Court comprised the following nine members: In Burrow-Giles Lithographic Co. v. Sarony, 111 U.S. 53 (1884), the Supreme Court upheld the power of Congress to extend copyright protection to photography.

Regarding the interpretation of ”writings” in the Constitution, the Court held that Congress has ”properly declared these to include all forms of writing, printing, engraving, etching, &c., by which the ideas in the mind of the author are given visible expression”.

The Court noted that ”maps and charts” were among the subjects of the first Copyright Act of 1790, and that etchings and engravings were added when it was first amended in 1802.

As such, their interpretation of the Constitution, the Court decided, ”is of itself entitled to very great weight, and when it is remembered that the rights thus established have not been disputed during a period of nearly a century, it is almost conclusive”.