Entertainment
High Court to Center Trademark Lawsuit on Jack Daniels-Like Dog Toys
The bourbon brand alleges that a dog toy maker using its likeness is a trademark infringement.
Today, the United States Supreme Court will oversee a dispute between the bourbon brand Jack Daniels and toy maker VIP Products LLC. Specifically, Jack Daniels has alleged that one of VIP’s dog chew toys, designed to resemble a Jack Daniels bottle as a deliberate spoof, infringes on trademark law, while VIP has argued that, as an obvious parody, the design is shielded by the First Amendment.
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“Jack Daniel’s adores dogs and enjoys a good jest just like anyone else. However, Jack Daniel’s values its customers even more and does not wish for them to be misled or to associate its exceptional bourbon with canine waste,” the company’s legal representative, Lisa Blatt, expressed in legal documents. VIP’s toy features an illustration of a dog with the phrase “Bad Spaniels: The old No. 2 on your Tennessee carpet.
Blatt further mentioned that VIP “markets products imitating Jack Daniel’s renowned marks and trade dress that deceive consumers, benefit from Jack Daniel’s established reputation, and link Jack Daniel’s bourbon with excrement.”
The Supreme Court is currently deliberating in a case that pits bourbon titan Jack Daniels against a dog toy manufacturer whose top-selling chewy toy parodies the brand.https://t.co/221P4SofvI
— NPR (@NPR) March 22, 2023
“The Bad Spaniels Silly Squeaker toy is unquestionably a sincere (and successful) parody,” remarked VIP’s legal advisor, Bennett Cooper. “It comprises a mock trademark and mock trade dress on a mock label on a mock bottle with mock contents, whereas the authentic product is a parody embodied in a solid-vinyl dog toy with a squeaker.”
