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Free Speech Likelihood of Confusion Trademarks

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Is the Art of Parody Dead? - Implications of SCOTUS Jack Daniel’s Opinion A Year Later

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It has been a year since the Supreme Court issued its decision in the multiple-year legal battle between VIP Products LLC and Jack Daniel’s. We covered this dispute when it was back at the 9th Circuit....more

Foster Garvey PC

Supreme Court Reinforces Trademark Protections for Brand Owners in Jack Daniel’s Decision

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The recent Supreme Court decision in the Jack Daniel's trademark lawsuit against a dog toy manufacturer has significant implications for both brand owners and those seeking to parody established trademarks....more

Jones Day

SCOTUS Holds Whiskey-Themed Dog Toy Not Entitled to First Amendment Protection

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In a closely watched trademark infringement case, the Supreme Court of the United States held that when an alleged infringer uses a trademark as a source identifier for the infringer's own products, the First Amendment does...more

Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass

Supreme Court’s Bad Spaniels Decision Limits Parody Defense to Trademark Infringement

On June 8, 2023, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc. v. VIP Products, limiting the scope of a parody defense to a trademark infringement claim...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Jack Daniel's Wins Supreme Court Battle with Dog Toy Seller Who Mocked Iconic Brand

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In a win for brand owners across the country, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that potential infringers as a threshold matter are not automatically shielded from liability by simply claiming their infringement includes...more

Amundsen Davis LLC

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Commercial Use Over Dog Toy Parody in Trademark Case

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On June 8, 2023, in a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of the United States found in favor of Jack Daniel’s in deciding that a whiskey bottle-inspired dog toy, “Bad Spaniels,” used Jack Daniel’s trademarks in a...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

SCOTUS Finds Dog Poop Jokes Reek of Infringement

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The U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously rejected the Ninth Circuit’s opinion that a poop-themed dog toy should be protected as parody under the First Amendment. SCOTUS ruled today in Jack Daniel’s Properties Inc. v. VIP...more

Warner Norcross + Judd

Identifying the Source of Goods and Services Is No Laughing Matter

On June 8, 2023, the United States Supreme Court clarified an important unanswered question about the line between the First Amendment’s freedom of speech and trademark owners’ rights under the Lanham Act. In a unanimous, 9-0...more

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP

Parody, trademarks and the courts

Delineating the boundaries between trademark protection and protected speech has been a long-contested legal issue. On one hand, the Lanham Act governs the use of trademarks to protect consumers from a likelihood of confusion...more

Polsinelli

Relax Jack...It’s Only a Joke!

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Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc. v. VIP Products LLC. (Docket 22-148) On March 22, 2023, VIP Products LLC told the Supreme Court that its parody Bad Spaniels whiskey-bottle-shaped dog toys do not violate the Lanham Act...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

This Could Change Everything: Nike Appeals Fleet Feet Injunction on Basis of Free Speech

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Fleet Feet, Inc. is a national running equipment retail store chain and owner of the trademarks CHANGE EVERYTHING and RUNNING CHANGES EVERYTHING for retail sporting goods stores and athletic apparel and related goods and...more

Knobbe Martens

Rights in Bob Marley's name and likeness trump free speech where defence not properly pleaded | World Trademark Review

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Fifty-Six Hope Road is a company run by some of Bob Marley's children, and it owns the property rights to Bob Marley's name, voice and likeness. Hope Road licensed Zion Rootswear the exclusive right to use Marley's name and...more

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