In a brief opinion, Justice Holmes wrote that this claim was based upon the allegedly defamatory actions and statements of the defendant, not any violation of the federal patent laws. The plaintiff alleged that defendant's conduct had damaged its business, and was not bringing suit to prove who had proper title to the patent. Holmes held that a suit for damages to a business caused by the defendant's allegations of patent infringement and threat to sue under the patent law was a matter of state law, and therefore the state courts had jurisdiction to hear the case. Whether or not defendant's statements about the patent were true was simply a piece of evidence to be examine by the state trial court.