US appeals court reverses Jack Daniel's win in dog-toy trademark case

Brown-Forman

04/08/2026 19:37

By Blake Brittain
Aug 4 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday overturned a win for Jack Daniel's in a long-running trademark dispute with the maker of a "Bad Spaniels" dog toy that the whiskey company accused of violating its trademark rights.
The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed an Arizona judge's ruling that VIP Products' toy diluted its trademarks, in the latest twist in a 12-year-long legal fight that previously landed at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Spokespeople for Jack Daniel's parent company Brown-Forman BFb.N and an attorney for VIP did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the decision.
VIP's toy mimics Lynchburg, Tennessee-based Jack Daniel's famous whiskey 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 Circuit reversed the decision in 2020 based on VIP's free speech rights, and the Supreme Court revived the case in 2023 after finding VIP used the trademark to designate the source of its own goods, in a way that was not entitled to First Amendment protections.
U.S. District Judge Stephen McNamee determined last year that VIP diluted Jack Daniel's' trademarks, tarnishing them by associating the brand with dog excrement. The judge issued a permanent ban on sales of VIP's toy.
A 9th Circuit panel reversed McNamee's ban in a 3-0 ruling on Tuesday, finding that "Bad Spaniels" would not harm Jack Daniel's reputation.
"Bad Spaniels is a parodic dog toy not intended for human consumption," the 9th Circuit said. "There is no evidence in the record from which a court could reasonably infer that scatological references made on a dog toy have the same likelihood of generating disgust as identical references on a consumable product meant for humans might."
The case is VIP Products LLC v. Jack Daniel's Properties Inc, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 25-2027.
For VIP: Bennett Cooper of Dickinson Wright
For Jack Daniel's: Matthew Nicholson of Williams & Connolly
     
Read more:
US Supreme Court rules for Jack Daniel's in fight over parody dog toy
'100% smelly' whiskey bottle dog toy violates Jack Daniel's trademarks, US judge says
     

(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington)