From the United States Supreme Court
WASHINGTON CNN –
The Supreme Court on Thursday sided with Jack Daniel’s in a dispute over a poop-themed dog toy parodying the iconic liquor bottle, ruling that a lower court erred in saying the toy was among the Protection of free speech in the First Amendment falls.
Judge Elena Kagan’s unanimous ruling allows the spirits maker to resume its trademark lawsuit against VIP Products.
Although the court’s decision is a victory for Jack Daniel’s – which argued that an appeals court erred in saying the toy was “non-commercial” and therefore enjoyed constitutional protection – the judges denied the distillery’s request to allow the toy to be thrown away altogether An appeals court considered this when it ruled in favor of the toy, a move that would have given trademark owners wide latitude to sue companies that parody their trademarks on consumer products.
“Today’s opinion is narrow. We don’t decide whether the Rogers test is ever appropriate or how far the exclusion of ‘non-commercial use’ goes,” Kagan wrote, adding, “Use of a trademark is not considered non-commercial simply because it parodies or otherwise comments .” someone else’s products.”
“We merely consider that it is not appropriate if the accused infringer has used a mark to indicate the origin of his own goods – in other words, if he has used a mark as a mark.” This type of use falls into the core of trademark law and does not enjoy special protection under the First Amendment,” she said.
In the middle of the case is the toy created by VIP Products, which looks amazing like Jack Daniel’s bottles. The distiller sued the company over the toy – which is rife with scatological humor – claiming it violates federal trademark law, which usually deals with how likely it is for a consumer to confuse an alleged infringement with something owned by the true owner of the brand was manufactured.
This story has been updated with additional details.