brand of bourbon Jack Daniels filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer of accessories for animals LLC “VIP Products” for the development bottle toy for dogs. The case gained such momentum that it reached the US Supreme Court.
The scandalous toy is called “Bad Spaniels” and parodies a distillate bottle. In addition to the resemblance to the packaging of the whiskey, some phrases on the label have been changed to make a joke about dog poop. 43% faeces instead of alcohol by volume, 100% stinky is one of the most famous phrases.
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in the case on Wednesday to Decide if this product imitation violates the trademark of the alcohol company or is protected as a parody. First Amendment to the US Constitution.
Jack Daniel’s sued VIP Products for “brand diversion and infringement”, alleging that consumers may have mistaken a “Bad Spaniels” toy for a Jack Daniel’s toy.
The judges suggested possible scenarios: “What if someone sells a drunken elephant T-shirt as a symbol of the Republican Party and a slogan saying it’s time to sober up, America? What if the company makes a sex toy?” imitate a well-known product, and the manufacturer of this original product was against it?
Progressive Judge Elena Kagan suggested that the case “does not fall under the First Amendment” because it is not about “a political T-shirt, film, or art photograph.”
For his part, conservative judge Samuel Alito wondered if any reasonable consumer would consider the Bad Spaniel toy, with all its dog poop references, to have any connection to whiskey.
The lawyer representing Jack Daniel’s, Lisa Blatt, noted that the Supreme Court judges with their education hardly represent the average consumer in the country: “You went to law school. He is very smart, he is analytical,” said Blatt Alito.
Alito joked about his time at Yale, “I went to law school where I didn’t study any law.”
Regarding the theme of the session, there were a few moments where laughter broke out from time to time.
Other hearings are expected to crack the case and issue a new ruling by the end of June next year.
According to EFE
Source: La Opinion
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