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Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc. v. VIP Products LLC
Citation:
599 U.S. 140, 143 S. Ct. 1578 (2023)Facts
VIP Products manufactures dog toys, including a line called “Silly Squeakers” that parodies popular beverage brands. In 2014, VIP introduced the “Bad Spaniels” toy, designed to resemble a Jack Daniel’s whiskey bottle but with humorous alterations. The toy maintained the same size, shape, and black label with white text and filigree border as the original Jack Daniel’s bottle, but replaced “Jack Daniel’s” with “Bad Spaniels,” “Old No. 7 Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey” with “The Old No. 2 On Your Tennessee Carpet,” and “40% alc. by vol. (80 proof)” with “43% poo by vol.” and “100% smelly.” The toy’s packaging included a disclaimer stating it was not affiliated with Jack Daniel’s Distillery. After Jack Daniel’s demanded VIP stop selling the toy, VIP filed for declaratory judgment that its product neither infringed nor diluted Jack Daniel’s trademarks. In its complaint, VIP described itself as “the owner of all rights in its ‘Bad Spaniels’ trademark and trade dress.” VIP argued that its use was protected under the Rogers test for expressive works and that its parody was exempt from dilution liability as noncommercial use. Jack Daniel’s contended that VIP was using the modified Jack Daniel’s features as trademarks to identify the source of VIP’s own products, making both the Rogers test and noncommercial use exclusion inapplicable.
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