Advertisements are copyrightable despite their fundamentally commercial nature. Decided February 2, 1903. Opinion of the Court: Oliver Wendell Holmes → go there Dissenting: Harlan. Topic: Copyright/Patents. Bleistein v. Donaldson Lithographing Company, 188 U.S. 239 (1903), is a case in which the United States Supreme Court found that advertisements were protected by copyright. The case is now cited for the proposition that commercial speech can be protected by copyright. Wiki link