The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled narrowly in favor of Jack Daniel's Products Inc. in a trademark infringement case concerning a dog toy parody.
The whiskey maker was not amused. Jack Daniel's Properties sent a letter to VIP Products claiming the pet company broke the law with a "poop-themed" toy that infringed on its trademark and damaged its brand by confusing customers. VIP responded with a lawsuit.A bottle of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey is displayed next to a Bad Spaniels dog toy in Arlington, Virginia, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022.
VIP says its packaging makes clear that "This product is not affiliated with Jack Daniel Distillery." "Jack Daniel’s loves dogs and appreciates a good joke as much as anyone. But Jack Daniel’s likes its customers even more, and doesn’t want them confused or associating its fine whiskey with dog poop," lawyers forIf their appeal were to fail, they warned, "anyone could use a famous mark to sell sex toys, drinking games, or marijuana bongs, while misleading customers and destroying billions of dollars in goodwill — all in the name of just having fun.
"That kind of use falls within the heartland of trademark law and does not receive special First Amendment protection," Kagan wrote. "The use of a mark does not count as noncommercial just because it parodies, or otherwise comments on, another product's," Kagan wrote. The Jack Daniel's case was watched closely by free speech advocates, artists, and corporations with popular trademarked brands.
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