Jack Daniel’s Properties surely bought a round (or two) for its legal team yesterday to celebrate the Supreme Court’s unanimous holding that a parody dog toy’s use of the mark BAD SPANIELS and copycat trade dress as source identifiers disqualifies it from any special First Amendment protection when considering whether those trademarks infringe Jack Daniel’s rights in its JACK DANIEL’S mark and related trade dress. Though the Court stated its opinion was “narrow,” the decision is nonetheless a win for trademark owners seeking protection from confusing parody marks.
