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The decision is likely to force companies to toe a more careful line when making commercial products that mimic other brands for the sake of parody, legal experts said. The Rogers test is "not appropriate when the accused infringer has used a trademark to designate the source of its own goods - in other words, has used a trademark as a trademark," Justice Elena Kagan wrote. Other experts said the decision leaves space for the First Amendment to apply to parody products. "The likelihood of confusion analysis will still take the challenged product's funny message into account," Brannen said. (This story has been refiled to change dateline to June 12)Reporting by Blake Brittain in WashingtonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Brown, Forman, Jack Daniel's, Rogers, infringer, Elena Kagan, Kagan, Megan Bannigan, Plimpton, Bannigan, VIP, Doug Masters, Loeb & Loeb, Masters, Alexandra Roberts, Roberts, Elizabeth Brannen, Maher, Brannen, Blake Brittain Organizations: U.S, Supreme Court, Constitution, VIP Products, MCA Records, Mattel, Debevoise, Loeb &, Northeastern University, Stris, Thomson Locations: Danish, Washington

☆ Supreme Court rules for Jack Daniel’s in ‘poop-themed’ dog toy trademark fight
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Lawrence Hurley | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in favor of Jack Daniel's in a trademark fight over "poop-themed" dog toys that resemble the company's famous whiskey bottles. Justice Elena Kagan, writing for the court, said that VIP's alleged infringement of the Jack Daniel's trademark "falls within the heartland of trademark law, and does not receive special First Amendment protection." 7" label on Jack Daniel's bottles. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2020 ruled in favor of VIP Products, saying its toys are protected under the First Amendment, which prompted Jack Daniel's to seek further review from the Supreme Court. Various companies, including Nike , Campbell Soup and American Apparel, filed briefs backing Jack Daniel's, saying the appeals court's interpretation of the law threatened trademark protections that shield the value of iconic brands.

Persons: Jack Daniel's, Elena Kagan, Campbell Soup Organizations: VIP Products, U.S, Circuit, Nike, Apparel, Electronic Frontier Foundation

Jack Daniel's Properties Inc is owned by Louisville, Kentucky-based Brown-Forman Corp (BFb.N). The dispute pitted the whiskey brand's trademark rights against legal protections for creative expression - in this case a send-up by Phoenix-based VIP Products of Jack Daniel's Old No. Jack Daniel's spokesperson Svend Jansen said the company was pleased with the decision. "Jack Daniel's is a brand recognized for quality and craftsmanship, and when friends around the world see the label, they know it stands for something they can count on. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2020 ruled in favor of VIP Products on two grounds.

Persons: Jack, Read, Jack Daniel's, Elena Kagan, Brown, Kagan, Svend Jansen, Jansen, Ginger Rogers, Ginger, Fred, Federico Fellini, Fred Astaire, Rogers, infringer, Joe Biden's, John Kruzel, Andrew Chung, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, VIP Products, Inc, Forman Corp, VIP, Rogers, New, Circuit, Appeals, Hollywood, Thomson Locations: Washington, WASHINGTON, Louisville , Kentucky, Phoenix, Tennessee, New York, San Francisco

☆ Jack Daniel’s Tangles With Dog Toy at Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Jess Bravin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A bottle of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey next to a ‘Bad Spaniels’ dog toy. WASHINGTON—A trademark case put the Supreme Court’s humor to the test Wednesday, as the justices heard a distillery’s plea to stop a novelty company from selling a dog toy shaped like a bottle of Jack Daniel’s. Phoenix-based VIP Products LLC markets squeaky toys that mimic beverage bottles, including a 10-inch-tall item with a black label reading “Bad Spaniels: The Old No. Among those unamused was Brown-Forman Corp.’s Jack Daniel’s Properties unit, which produces Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 Brand Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey.

WASHINGTON, March 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday is set to hear a trademark clash between Jack Daniel's and a dog accessory company behind a parody chew toy resembling the distiller's widely recognized black-label whiskey bottle. The dispute pits the whiskey brand's trademark rights against legal protections for creative expression - in this case a send-up by Phoenix-based VIP Products LLC of Jack Daniel's Old No. A 2,300-strong group of authors took the opposite view, saying a win for Jack Daniel's could lead to a "catastrophic chilling effect" over worries that creative expression might spark litigation. The 9th Circuit said the Bad Spaniels toy was an "expressive work" and thus potentially shielded under the First Amendment from Jack Daniel's trademark infringement claim. President Joe Biden's administration supports Jack Daniel's appeal.

Jack Daniel's Properties Inc is owned by Louisville, Kentucky-based Brown-Forman Corp (BFb.N). "I'm concerned about the First Amendment implications of your position," conservative Justice Samuel Alito told an attorney for Jack Daniel's, referring to the constitutional provision enshrining free-speech protections. "Could any reasonable person think that Jack Daniel's had approved this use of the mark?" Jack Daniel's also contested a finding by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. "This is a standard commercial product," Kagan told a lawyer for VIP Products, Bennett Cooper.

Some companies have expressed concern that a ruling against Jack Daniel's would weaken their control over their brands and reputations. The toy mimics Lynchburg, Tennessee-based Jack Daniel's famous whiskey bottles with humorous dog-themed alterations - replacing "Old No. "Jack Daniel's loves dogs and appreciates a good joke as much as anyone," the company told the justices in a brief. "But Jack Daniel's likes its customers even more, and doesn't want them confused or associating its fine whiskey with dog poop." VIP Products has said a ruling favoring Jack Daniel's would make it easier for trademark owners to stifle free speech.

☆ Supreme Court to hear trademark dispute case over Jack Daniel's whiskey and poop-themed dog toy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in a case over a dog toy modeled after a Jack Daniel's bottle. Lower courts have differed on whether the toy harms Jack Daniel's brand or is protected expression. "But VIP's profit-motivated 'joke' confuses consumers by taking advantage of Jack Daniel's hard-earned goodwill." "The Bad Spaniels dog toy, although surely not the equivalent of the Mona Lisa, is an expressive work," Judge Andrew Hurwitz wrote in the ruling. Jack Daniel's did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

☆ Supreme Court takes up Jack Daniel's case against dog toy compamy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Colbi Edmonds | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Jack Daniel’s Whiskey has a bone to pick with a dog toy company, and the Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear their case. VIP Products, an Arizona-based company, makes dog toys that resemble Jack Daniel's iconic whiskey bottles. Jack Daniel’s is arguing that the toys are a violation of federal trademark rights and tarnish the company’s brand. "VIP has never sold whiskey or other comestibles, nor has it used “Jack Daniel’s” in any way (humorously or not). The high court will likely hear arguments in the Jack Daniel's case early next year.

☆ Supreme Court agrees to hear Jack Daniel's trademark case against dog toy company
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Stefan Sykes | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Supreme Court has agreed to take up a trademark case centered around a squeaky dog toy that's "43% Poo by Vol." The court on Monday agreed to hear the trademark dispute brought by whiskey maker Jack Daniel's against VIP Products, an Arizona-based company that sells products mimicking liquor, beer, wine and soda bottles. It features a cartoon spaniel on its front and references to Jack Daniel's Old No. In a 2020 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit sided with VIP Products, prompting Jack Daniel's to seek further relief from the Supreme Court. The court will likely hear arguments in the Jack Daniel's case early next year.

Phoenix-based VIP's toy mimics the design of the Jack Daniel's bottle with comical dog-themed text alterations, like replacing "Old No. After Jack Daniel's sent a cease-and-desist notice, VIP asked an Arizona federal court in 2014 to rule that its toy did not infringe the whiskey company's trademark rights. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2020 overturned a judge's ruling in favor of Jack Daniel's, finding that VIP's toy was a creative work with a "humorous message" that was entitled to First Amendment protections. The Supreme Court last year rejected a request by Jack Daniel's to reconsider that ruling. Jack Daniel's told the high court that the decision made it "virtually impossible to stop misleading or tarnishing use of a mark whenever a copycat deploys 'humor.'"

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