'100% smelly' whiskey bottle dog toy violates Jack Daniel's trademarks, US judge says

Jan 24 (Reuters) - A dog toy meant to resemble Jack Daniel's whiskey bottles unlawfully associated the liquor maker's brand with "canine excrement," a federal judge in Arizona said on Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Stephen McNamee ruled that VIP Products' "Bad Spaniels" chew toy violates Jack Daniel's' trademark rights by tarnishing its brand, the latest twist in a decade-long dispute that previously landed at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Spokespeople and an attorney for Jack Daniel's did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday. VIP attorney Ben Cooper of Dickinson Wright declined to comment on the decision.

VIP's toy mimics Lynchburg, Tennessee-based Jack Daniel's' famous bottles with dog-themed alterations - replacing "Old No. 7" with "the Old No. 2, on your Tennessee Carpet" and alcohol descriptions with "43% Poo By Vol." and "100% Smelly."

VIP sued Jack Daniel's in 2014 after receiving a cease-and-desist letter, seeking a court ruling that it did not violate the whiskey maker's trademark rights.

The Arizona court found that the toy infringed and diluted Jack Daniel's' trademarks. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision in 2020 based on VIP's free speech rights.

The U.S. Supreme Court revived the case in 2023 after finding the toy was not an expressive work that would be entitled to protection from trademark lawsuits.

McNamee said on Thursday that VIP diluted Jack Daniel's' trademarks, ordering a ban on further toy sales. The judge rejected Jack Daniel's' argument that VIP infringed its trademarks, however, finding that the toys were unlikely to confuse consumers into thinking the whiskey maker approved them.

The case is VIP Products LLC v.Jack Daniel's Properties Inc, U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, No. 2:14-cv-02057.