Supreme Court rules in favor of Jack Daniel's in trademark dispute over dog toy

June 8 (UPI) -- The Supreme Court on Thursday handed a win to Jack Daniel's, siding with the company in a trademark dispute with a company that makes a dog toy shaped like the distiller's whiskey bottle.

Jack Daniel's had argued that the toy, which also has the words "Bad Spaniels" on it, could confuse consumers. Arizona-based VIP Products, which makes the dog toy, had argued that it was a parody.

The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of the whiskey company, sending the case back down to a lower court for further review. However, the high court did not rule on the issue of whether or not First Amendment provides parodies with protection from trademark-infringement claims.

"This case is about dog toys and whiskey, two items seldom appearing in the same sentence," Justice Elena Kagan wrote.

However, a California appeals court had ruled in favor of VIP Products, saying that the toy maker was protected under the Rogers test, which balances trademark claims against artistic creations.

The Supreme Court did not use the Rogers test in its decision on Thursday.

"Without deciding whether Rogers has merit in other contexts, we hold that it does not when an alleged infringement uses a trademark in the way the Lanham Act most cares about: as a designation of source for the infringer's own goods ... VIP used the marks derived from Jack Daniel's in that way," Kagan said.