The Supreme Court is going to the dogs. The high court on Monday said it would hear a dispute between Jack Daniel’s and a company that sells a parody dog toy that mimics the whiskey brand’s iconic bottle.
Jack Daniel’s had asked the high court to hear its case against Arizona-based VIP Products, which manufactures the Bad Spaniels dog toy. The toy resembles the Jack Daniel’s bottle and label, though the wording is different. The parody label reads “The Old No. 2 on Your Tennessee Carpet,” while the original reads “Old No. 7 brand” and “Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey.”
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Other major companies, including Campbell’s Soup, Patagonia, and Levi Strauss, have urged the justices to hear the case as it would have important implications on trademark law, the Associated Press notes.
In court filings, attorneys for VIP Products said, “It is ironic that America’s leading distiller of whiskey both lacks a sense of humor and does not recognize when it — and everyone else — has had enough.”
“VIP has never sold whiskey or other comestibles, nor has it used ‘Jack Daniel’s’ in any way (humorously or not). It merely mimicked enough of the iconic bottle that people would get the joke,” the filing continued.
“To be sure, everyone likes a good joke. But VIP’s profit-motivated ‘joke’ confuses consumers by taking advantage of Jack Daniel’s hard-earned goodwill,” Lisa Blatt, the lead attorney for Jack Daniel’s, wrote in a court filing.
Blatt went on to criticize the Ninth Circuit for its earlier decision in the case, saying its decision “gives copycats free license to prey on unsuspecting consumers and mark holders” and that “companies like VIP may market funny alcohol-themed rip-offs to children” while others may “sell copies of popular food brands laced with marijuana.”
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The Bad Spaniels dog toy is part of VIP’s Silly Squeakers line. The toys resemble liquor, beer, wine, and soda bottles.
In 2008, a court prevented the company from selling a Budweiser parody, ButtWiper, the Associated Press reports.
