Ruff Day In Court: Supreme Court Sides With Jack Daniel’s In Dispute With Makers Of Dog Toy
June 8, 2023 1:40PM CDT
FILE - A bottle of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey is displayed next to a Bad Spaniels dog toy in Arlington, Va., Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022. The Supreme Court on Thursday, June 8, 2023, gave whiskey maker Jack Daniel's reason to raise a glass, handing the company a new chance to win a trademark dispute with the makers of the Bad Spaniels dog toy. In announcing the decision for a unanimous court, Justice Elena Kagan was in an unusually playful mood. Observers who watched her read a summary of the opinion in the courtroom said she held up the dog toy at one point. (AP Photo/Jessica Gresko, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is giving whiskey maker Jack Daniel’s a reason to raise a glass.
The justices on Thursday handed the company a new chance to win a trademark dispute with the makers of a dog toy that mimics the whiskey’s signature bottle.
The justices unanimously said a lower court’s reasoning was flawed when it ruled for the makers of the Bad Spaniels toy.
The court did not decide whether the toy’s maker had violated trademark law with their toy, which squeaks and resembles the whiskey’s signature bottle.
Instead, the justices said a lower court needed to redo its analysis in the case and sent it back for further review.
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