A hotly debated US Supreme Court case came to a conclusion Thursday with a clear victory for the famous Jack Daniel’s whiskey brand in its dispute against a dog toy manufacturer that specializes in scatological pranks. At issue was a chew toy called “Bad Spaniels,” marketed by VIP Products, which featured visual codes similar to those of the well-known distillery: a square shape, a black label, and white lettering.
The toy was accompanied by a joke in questionable taste: it claimed to be made of “43%” dog excrement and joked about ending up on “Tennessee rugs,” a reference to Tennessee whiskey that has an alcohol content of 40%.
Due to the negative impact on its image, the maker of the alcoholic beverage filed a lawsuit against VIP Products based on trademark protection. The nine justices of the Supreme Court had to rule on whether humorous and parodic use of a trademark could be considered an exception to intellectual property laws and protected under free speech.
VIP Products, which also sells fake cans of “Canine Cola,” argued that they were exercising their right to parody, which allows for copyright violations in the cultural sphere. In its ruling, the court determined that “the use of a registered trademark cannot be considered non-commercial just because it is a parody or comments on another product,” Justice Elena Kagan said on behalf of the court.
With this decision, the Supreme Court upheld Jack Daniel’s claim and established that humorous use of a trademark is not sufficient to exempt infringers from intellectual property laws. This case raised important legal questions about the limits of free speech and trademark protection, and its resolution has set a precedent in the field of intellectual property.