If you want a squeaky dog toy that resembles a Jack Daniel’s bottle, you had better order it soon because it might not be available months from now. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to a request by the distiller to review a lower court ruling which said that an Arizona company is free to produce a plastic toy which looks like the company’s distinctive Old No. 7 Black Label Tennessee Whiskey. Photo courtesy of the || court filing by Jack Daniel’s
By: Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services November 21, 2022
If you want a squeaky dog toy that looks like a Jack Daniel’s bottle, you had better order it soon.
It may not be available months from now.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to a request by the distiller to review a lower court ruling which said that an Arizona company is free to produce a plastic toy which looks all the world like the company’s distinctive Old No. 7 Black Label Tennessee Whiskey. The three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said that is permissible parody and humor.
In agreeing to take up the case, the justices did not explain their decision. And there is no guarantee that the full court will side with Jack Daniel’s, as it takes just the votes of four of the nine justices to grant review.
In fact, Bennett Cooper, attorney for Scottsdale-based VIP Products which has been selling the toy, said it’s equally possible that the court took the case not to squash the toy but to create a nationwide standard for what constitutes permissible parody.
What the justices ultimately rule could have implications beyond this specific toy.
The company’s web site features similar products, including Heine Sniff’n in something that looks like a Heineken bottle, Mountain Drool that mimics a Mountain Dew bottle, and Cataroma that bears more than a passing resemblance to Corona.
And the issue has attracted so much interest that attorneys for everyone from the Campbell Soup Co. to Levi Strauss & Co. have filed legal briefs.
At the heart of the legal fight is the Bad Spaniels Silly Squeaker that Lisa Blatt, attorney for Jack Daniel’s, insists cannot be sold because the company “has a strong interest in protecting its trademarks and trade dress from association with juvenile bathroom humor.”
But there are differences between the whiskey bottle and the toy.
