High court chews over, spits out dog toy maker’s claim

A dog accessory manufacturer’s assertion that a dog chew designed as a parody of a Jack Daniels bottle was an “expressive work” rather than a trademark infringement is on the rocks after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled for the bourbon maker in a ruling Thursday. 

VIP Products LLC, which sold the “Bad Spaniels” chew toy, had argued that the parody chews were protected under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, Reuters reported. The chews are a send-up of Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 Tennessee whiskey bottle featuring labels like “the Old No. 2, on your Tennessee Carpet.” 

Throwing out lower court rulings in favor of VIP Products, the Supreme Court found that the so-called Rogers legal test, which allows artists to lawfully use another’s trademark when it has artistic relevance to their work and won’t mislead consumers, did not apply to the scatological chews, the news wire reported. 

Distilling the 9-0 ruling, Justice Elena Kagan wrote that the test does not apply when the infringer “used a trademark as a trademark,” Reuters reported.