Jack Daniel's Properties v. VIP Products
Jack Daniel's Properties, Inc. v. VIP Products LLC · 2023 · Supreme Court of the United States
What happened
VIP sold a squeaky dog toy shaped like a Jack Daniel's bottle with joke text. The Supreme Court held that the usual likelihood-of-confusion analysis applies when a parody is itself used as a trademark, narrowing the protection humour offers.
The money
No reliable public figure. This dispute matters for the rule it settled rather than for a damages number, and many trademark matters resolve on confidential terms.
What it means for your business
Parody is not a free pass. If you are using someone else's brand as your own source identifier — on packaging, as a product name — the ordinary infringement test applies regardless of the joke.